NL Lineup Analysis (6/14/18)

I’ve been going over lineups at the end of each week for about a month now. I’ve found doing the entire league at the same time is too much for several reasons. From now one, I’m going to take turns between leagues.

Big Five

  • Michael Taylor and his 17 stolen bases may be headed to the bench or another team.
  • Maikel Franco is riding-the-pine-for-nine since J.P. Crawford has returned from the DL.
  • Scott Schebler has heated up over the last 28 days (.329/.406/.494) and is now the Reds leadoff hitter.
  • Jon Jay is now the Diamondbacks everyday leadoff hitter.
  • Dominic Smith is starting at first base for the Mets but doesn’t hit well enough to be major league first baseman.

Braves

  • They are completely set in their ways with a constant lineup. A future change is Ronald Acuna coming off the DL and replacing Charlie Culberson.

Brewers

  • This lineup was set until Eric Thames came off the DL. Domingo Santana was playing whenever Braun needed a day off. Now, it’s a complete mess with the team’s two best hitters, Eric Thames and Jesus Aguilar in a first base platoon. If an owner has one of the players involved in this mess, monitor the lineups closely before the weekend FAAB run in case a repalcement is needed.

Cardinals

  • Harrison Bader (vs LHP) and Dexter Fowler (vs RHP) are in a right field semi-platoon. I think it has been created to keep Fowler and his inflated contract in the lineup. While a single season’s worth of splits data should not be used for decisions, it looks like the Cards are using them. Fowler has a .613 OPS vs RHP and .308 vs LHP. Bader has a .950 OPS against LHP and .665 against RHP. While Bader is better against right and left-handed pitchers, at least the Cards can “justify” playing Fowler.

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

  • The lineup is constantly changing with the Dodgers using the same non-pitcher lineup just once this season. Some of the recent confusion stems from Justin Turner being day-to-day with a wrist injury.
  • Joc Pederson (vs RHP) and Enrique Hernandez (vs LHP) are in a center field platoon.

Giants

Marlins

  • It’s consistent with two platoons. Derek Dietrich (vs RHP) and Cameron Maybin (vs LHP) form one in left field. Maybin has no split while Dietrich’s is 112 points (.782 OPS vs. 670 OPS). J.T. Riddle (vs RHP) and Yadiel Rivera (vs LHP) form one on the left side of the infield with Miguel Rojas swapping back and forth between short and third. I’m not sure why a platoon exists since Rivera can’t hit righties (.413 OPS) or lefties (.568 OPS). It seems like the platoon was created to keep everyone happy.

Mets

Nationals

  • Playing time and lineup positions are at a premium with both Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy recently coming off the DL. I’m not sure how the lineup will unfold with Daniel Murphy being able to DH this week.
  • Matt Adams and Matt Reynolds are in a first base platoon.
  • The outfield is overcrowded with four average or better outfielders (Bryce Harper, Adam Eaton, Juan Soto, Michael A. Taylor). Over the past three games, Eaton, Soto, and Taylor have each sat. The situation looks to be similar to the one in Milwaukee with just too many bats. While Taylor was an above average overall player last season, I could see him being traded for other needs since he’s performing the worst this season (.669 OPS). If Taylor heads to the bench, so will the chance to add to his 17 stolen bases (4th in the majors).

Padres

  • Besides Eric Hosmer and Freddy Galvis, the rest of the hitters are in some unknown playing time rotation with everyone not getting full-time at-bats.

Phillies

Name: AVG/OBP/SLG
Kingery: .211/.269/ .328
Franco: .242/ .282/ .407
Crawford: .200/ .273/ .325

Based off these stats, an owner would assume Kingery and Crawford would be sharing time. That assumption would be wrong. In the six games since Crawford has returned, Franco has been on the bench. I wonder if he peed in Kapler’s Cracklin’ Oat Bran. No matter the reason, Franco is unstartable until he resumes a full-time role.

Pirates

  • A consistent lineup with Corey Dickerson (vs LHP) and Gregory Polanco (vs RHP) in an outfield platoon.
  • Colin Moran and Josh Bell have swapped spots in the lineup with Moran batting 4th and Bell 6th. Bell is really struggling and has hit just .192/.293/.321 over the last month.

Reds

  • The outfield playing time continues to be a rotation but over the last week Scott Schebler has played every day and led off. Jesse Winker (vs RHP) and Adam Duvall (va LHP) are in a platoon. Billy Hamilton and his .559 OPS is still roaming centerfield most of the time.

Rockies

  • Fairly steady lineup expect when Carlos Gonzalez recently dealt with a rib injury.





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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Pirates Hurdles
5 years ago

Pirates are rotating 4 OFs in 3 spots, all 4 guys (Meadows, Marte, Polanco, and Dickerson) have sat recently.