Lineup Analysis (9/24/22)

by
September 24, 2022

American League

Angels

• Catcher-qualified Matt Thaiss (.213/.296/.340, 2 HR) has started in six of the last 10 games.

• Matt Duffy (.630 OPS, 2 HR) has started in 12 of the last 13 games.

• The 22-year-old Livan Soto (6 HR, 18 SB, .281 AVG in AAA) has started in four of the last five games at short.

Astros

• The team has started resting the regulars so Aledmys Díaz has made three straight starts.

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Athletics

• Tony Kemp (.658 OPS, 7 HR, 10 SB) is now starting against lefties and righties. He has leadoff for eight straight games.

Blue Jays

• Same as previous weeks.

Guardians

• Will Brennan (combined .314/.371/.479 with 13 HR and 20 SB in the minors) has started two straight games in the outfield.

Mariners

• Dylan Moore (.756 OPS, 6 HR, 18 SB) has started four of five since coming off the IL.

• Jesse Winker (vs RHP) and Sam Haggerty (vs LHP) are in a platoon.

Orioles

• Loaded with platoons.

• Gunnar Henderson (.312/.361/.532, 5 HR) has started nine straight and is now batting in the top half of the lineup.

Rangers

• Even though Josh Jung is struggling some (.627 OPS, 3 HR, 49% K%), he has started 13 straight games.

Rays

• Jonathan Aranda (.278/.361/.463, 2 HR in 61 PA) has started six straight games at three different infield positions.

Red Sox

• Triston Casas (.534 OPS) is only starting against righties.

• For some unknown reason, Yu Chang (.637 OPS) has started in four of the last five games.

Royals

• Edward Olivares (.797 OPS, 4 HR, 2 SB) has started six straight games.

• Nate Eaton (.737 OPS, 1 HR, 10 SB) has started seven straight games.

Tigers

• Kerry Carpenter (.833 OPS, 6 HR) has started in five of the last six games.

• Spencer Torkelson (.262/.348/.426, 16% K% in September) has started in 15 of the last 16 games.

• Akil Baddoo (.206/.325/.441 in September) has started seven straight (all vs RHP).

Twins

• Matt Wallner (.277/.412/.542, 27 HR, 9 SB in the minors, .819 OPS in the majors) has started eight straight in right field.

White Sox

• No actionable changes.

Yankees

• Harrison Bader (.680 OPS, 16 SB) made three starts but then sat against the first lefty. I’m guessing it was just for some rest because Bader is right-handed.

• Even with Bader coming off the IL, Oswaldo Cabrera (.671 OPS, 3 HR, 1 SB) continues to start (12 straight).

National League

Braves

• Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario aren’t playing enough to be rosterable.

Brewers

• Andrew McCutchen, Jace Peterson, Luis Urías, Garrett Mitchell, Tyrone Taylor, and Keston Hiura aren’t playing enough to be rostered.

Cardinals

• The Cardinals used to have an easy lineup to figure out but now it is a nightmare. They are running a ton of platoons.

• Not a single outfielder is getting regular at-bats.

• It’ll be interesting to see how Albert Pujols gets used over the rest of the season since he has hit #700.

Cubs

• A mess. Right now, I don’t know if anyone besides Ian Happ is rosterable.

• David Bote (.239/.280/.413, 2% BB%, 34% K% in Sep) has started in nine of the last 10 games. The run might end when/if Nico Hoerner gets healthy.

Diamondbacks

• Josh Rojas (.566 OPS in September) is droppable since he is not playing (sat four straight games).

• Emmanuel Rivera (.700 OPS, 12 HR) has started four straight and has hit either third or fifth in the lineup.

Dodgers

• Trayce Thompson (.820 OPS, 11 HR, 3 SB) is getting semi-regular starts (seven of the last 10) to give the regular outfielders a rest heading into the postseason.

Giants

• Same, nearly everyone gets a platoon.

• David Villar (.215/.322/.438, 7 HR) has started nine straight games.

Marlins

• Bryan De La Cruz (.317/.383/.585, 19% K%, 3 HR in Sept) has started in nine of the last 10 games.

• With Joey Wendle on the IL, Jordan Groshans (.290/.333/.387) has started in nine of the last 10 games.

Mets

• No changes.

Nationals

• Victor Robles (.227/.280/.310, 5 HR, 14 SB) has seven starts in center field.

• Ildemaro Vargas (vs RHP) and Cesar Hernandez (vs LHP) are in a third base platoon.

Padres

• Josh Bell (.196/.313/.288 with San Diego) has only started in four of the last seven games with Wil Myers (.660 OPS) getting the other starts at first base.

• José Azocar (.279/.323/.363) has started in centerfield in six of the last seven games with Trent Grisham (.641 OPS) getting the other one.

Phillies

• Brandon Marsh, Matt Vierling, Nick Maton, and Dalton Guthrie aren’t playing enough to be rosterable.

Pirates

• Several platoons and with the team facing only four righties next week, most of the players are unrosterable.

• Rodolfo Castro (.755 OPS) has started 20 straight games.

Reds

• Several platoons and the team is scheduled to face just five righties next week.

• Aristides Aquino (.832 OPS, 5 HR, 26% K% in September) sat on Thursday for the first time in 17 games.

Rockies

• It’s tough to know if anyone is in a platoon since the team hasn’t seen a lefty for two weeks.

• Michael Toglia (.230/.278/.446, 2 HR, 33% K%) has started in 20 of the last 21 games.

• Alan Trejo (.743 OPS, 3 HR, 0 SB, 2 CS) has started in eight of the last ten games.





 

Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.

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