NL Lineup Analysis (6/21/19)

How will the Rockies make do with two of their infielders hurt? How are the Marlins using the newest member of their outfield? These questions and many others are answered in this week’s set of National League lineup analyses!

Arizona

Jarrod Dyson sat on Thursday against Jeff Hoffman and the Rockies, and that was only the third time in the last 16 games against a right-handed starter that he was left out of the starting lineup. He has started twice in place of Adam Jones in right field, with all of the other starts coming in center field. That bodes well for Dyson to start all three games against the Giants this weekend, as they are scheduled to go with an all-righty contingent of Jeff Samardzija, Tyler Beede and Shaun Anderson.

Christian Walker also took to the bench on Thursday, breaking a string of four straight starts and six starts in seven games. It remains to be seen when Jake Lamb (quad) will return and how that will affect playing time for both Walker and Dyson, but for now, he is still on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno.

Atlanta

Since this column most recently ran last Friday, the Braves have had exactly one non-battery lineup change: Charlie Culberson started in right field in place of Nick Markakis on Wednesday against the Mets. That is all.

Chicago

Second base continues to be a revolving door against righties, but Addison Russell appears to have the job to himself against lefties, having made starts in each of the last four games featuring a left-handed opposing starter. In the last four games against a righty starter, Daniel Descalso has started twice, and David Bote and Russell split the other two games. Kyle Schwarber and Jason Heyward continue to start nearly every day, while Albert Almora Jr. and Carlos Gonzalez are rotating in the third outfield spot.

Cincinnati

Jesse Winker appears to have nudged Nick Senzel out of the leadoff spot against righties. He has led off in three of the last four games versus a right-handed starter, with Senzel batting fifth in the last two of those. In the one game in that stretch where Senzel led off, Winker hit second, filling in for Joey Votto.

Curt Casali has taken over as the primary catcher, starting six of the last 10 games.

Colorado

The Rockies recalled Brendan Rodgers from Triple-A Albuquerque on Thursday as the corresponding move for putting Trevor Story (thumb) on the 10-day IL. Pat Valaika, and not Rodgers, started in place of Story at shortstop on Thursday, though Rodgers did enter the game after Nolan Arenado left with pain in his right big toe in the bottom of the ninth. Going forward, Rodgers figures to get the bulk of the playing time at shortstop while Story is out, which will likely be for at least two weeks. It is not yet known how long Arenado will be out, but Valaika should remain in the lineup until the All-Star third baseman returns.

David Dahl is rarely sitting against lefties, so owners can count on him and Charlie Blackmon to be regular presences in the Rockies’ lineup. Raimel Tapia and Ian Desmond have fallen into a platoon. Desmond’s start on Tuesday against right-handed Merrill Kelly is the lone exception to the pattern over the 12 games the Rockies have played since Blackmon returned from an IL stint for a calf injury.

Los Angeles

Enrique Hernandez has been filling a true super-utility role lately. He has started 11 of the last 13 games, but he has spread those starts across first base, second base, shortstop, left field and center field. With Matt Beaty getting sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, Hernandez could see more regular play at second base against righties, with Max Muncy shifting over first base.

With Corey Seager (hamstring) on the IL, Chris Taylor has been playing shortstop exclusively. That has opened up a spot in the left field platoon for 27-year-old rookie Kyle Garlick. So far, he has gone 7 for 20 with two home runs.

In his last four games against righties, Alex Verdugo has moved up to the second spot in the batting order. He displaced Muncy, who moved down to the fifth spot.

Miami

The Marlins have shaken up their batting order, batting Miguel Rojas at leadoff for each of the last three games and moving Harold Ramirez up from the fifth spot to the second spot for two of those games. Garrett Cooper and Brian Anderson have each slid down a spot, to third and fourth. However, with Cooper looking IL-bound for his triceps injury, there may be more batting order moves forthcoming. Yadiel Rivera started for Cooper on Wednesday against the Cardinals, and he filled in for Cooper when he exited Thursday’s game early. Rivera also got the nod at first base for Friday night’s game.

Cesar Puello was traded to the Marlins from the Angels on Wednesday, and on Thursday, he made his first start for Miami. He started in right field, with Ramirez moving to left field, and the Marlins will use the same alignment for their series opener in Philadelphia on Friday night.

Milwaukee

Having just completed a string of six games that featured five left-handed starters, playing time has been scarce for Eric Thames and Travis Shaw. Thames started only the one game with a righty starter, while Jesus Aguilar (three starts) and Yasmani Grandal (two starts) handled first base in his absence. Playing first base has allowed Grandal to start 12 consecutive games. Shaw started the game against the righty (Jeff Samardzija) and also one of the five games with a lefty.

New York

The return of Robinson Cano has meant less playing time for Dominic Smith, as Jeff McNeil has been bumped from second base to left field. Smith was in the Mets’ lineup on Sunday — the day that Cano returned, but his Friday start at the Cubs was his first since then. It’s worth noting that the Mets have faced only one left-handed starter this week (Max Fried), and Cano sat against him. McNeil was back at second base, and J.D. Davis filled in as the left fielder.

The balance of playing time in center field has shifted in favor of Juan Lagares, who has received four of the last eight starts. Carlos Gomez has started only three times during that stretch, and Michael Conforto got his first start of the season in center field on Friday.

Philadelphia

The Phillies activated Roman Quinn on Monday, but Scott Kingery has continued to get regular play in center field. Quinn started the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader with the Nationals, but Kingery started the following two games. He also started at third base for the one game that featured Quinn in center field. No one has stepped up to claim the third base job, as Sean Rodriguez and Maikel Franco have each started three of the last eight games there. Brad Miller also joined the crowd, starting at the hot corner for the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader.

Bryce Harper got his first start as the Phillies’ leadoff hitter on Thursday. Jean Segura, who led off in each of the previous five games, batted fifth, while Rhys Hoskins assumed Harper’s former spot, batting second.

Pittsburgh

The Pirates’ outfield rotation has gotten more crowded, as Melky Cabrera has started two of the last three games after starting only once in the previous eight contests. Playing time has dried up for Gregory Polanco, as he has started twice in seven games, with only one of those benchings coming against a left-hander. Bryan Reynolds has started six games in a row, while Corey Dickerson has sat three times over the last seven games. Cabrera is in the Pirates’ starting lineup yet again for Friday night’s series opener against the Padres, and Polanco and Dickerson are both on the bench.

San Diego

After having the steadiest playing time in the Padres’ outfield for much of the season, Franmil Reyes is suddenly having trouble getting into the lineup. He has started only two of the last six games, including the final three games of a series in Colorado. Hunter Renfroe and Wil Myers are playing regularly, while Reyes and Josh Naylor have been splitting most of the starts in right field.

Since getting promoted from Triple-A El Paso on Monday, Francisco Mejia has started two of the Padres’ three games at catcher. He went 2 for 8 with a home run in those games after posting a .365/.411/.746 slash line in 73 plate appearances at El Paso.

Eric Hosmer is settling in at the second spot in the batting order after spending most of the season hitting cleanup. For each of the last five games, Hosmer has batted second and Renfroe has hit in the cleanup spot.

San Francisco

There has not been much change in the Giants’ lineup lately. Tyler Austin has started each of the last three games, but each one featured an opposing lefty starter. That moved Mike Yastrzemski out of the lineup on Tuesday against the Dodgers, and Steven Duggar sat on Wednesday and Thursday.

St. Louis

Could the Cardinals be moving towards an outfield rotation? After weeks of a steady alignment of Marcell Ozuna, Harrison Bader and Dexter Fowler, Jose Martinez has started three of the last five games. Ozuna, Bader and Fowler took turns sitting to make room for Martinez. He is in the lineup again for the Cardinals’ Friday night series opener against the Angels, with Fowler heading to the bench.

Paul Goldschmidt, who is just 4 for his last 27, has been left out of the starting lineup twice in the last six games. He is starting on Friday night after a 2 for 5 performance in the series finale against the Marlins.

Washington

Howie Kendrick has started only two of the Nationals’ last five games, which has helped to stabilize the playing time of Matt Adams and Brian Dozier. Adams had received five straight starts at first base, but Kendrick is supplanting him and hitting cleanup for the series opener against the Braves.





Al Melchior has been writing about Fantasy baseball and sim games since 2000, and his work has appeared at CBSSports.com, BaseballHQ, Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster and FanRagSports. He has also participated in Tout Wars' mixed auction league since 2013. You can follow Al on Twitter @almelchiorbb and find more of his work at almelchior.com.

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artistmk
4 years ago

Nice article. FYI, Franmil made a few diving plays in the outfield which resulted in a stiff neck and some absences from the lineup in the Colorado series. A couple of weeks before that he tweaked his shoulder. I would venture to guess he still isn’t 100% battling body soreness.