Quick Look: AL Lineups
I went through the few American League lineups to see if there was a change in a player’s value different from preseason expectations. Here are my thoughts on each team.
Angels
- Albert Pujols has already sat in two of the six games.
- David Fletcher (1.022 OPS) is playing every day and leading off.
Astros
- Kyle Tucker (.188/.235/.313) started three straight games.
- It’s one of the more consistent lineups.
Athletics
- Khris Davis is moving down and out of the lineup with his early-season struggles (.118 OPS).
Blue Jays
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- Rowdy Tellez (.571 OPS) has started five of the six games batting from the 4th to 6th spots.
- Teoscar Hernández (.250/.296/.583) has played every day and is now leading off.
Indians
- Bradley Zimmer (vs RHP) and Jordan Luplow (vs LHP) are in a left-field platoon.
- César Hernández (.810 OPS) continues to leadoff.
Mariners
- Tim Lopes (.412/.444/.765) as started the last four games and could be a decent source of steals.
- Kyle Seager has solidified himself in the cleanup spot (.333/.370/.583).
Orioles
- While they have only played four games, José Iglesias (.500/.500/.750) as batted third in each one.
- Weak-hitting Hanser Alberto (.375/.444/.438) is batting near the top of the lineup.
Rangers
- Rougned Odor has moved up to third in the lineup with his .333 OBP.
- The team seems to have a versus right and left-handed lineup. Nick Solak moves up against lefties and Elvis Andrus moves down.
- Todd Frazier (.989 OPS) has started every game so far.
Rays
- Brandon Lowe is batting first or second against righties. He’s hitting .318/.400/.636 with a .538 BABIP bringing up his value and a 36% K% bringing it down.
- Yoshi Tsutsugo (.714 OPS) has hit third or fourth in all but one game.
Red Sox
- The team is running out two lineups based on the pitcher’s handedness. Jose Peraza is leading off against lefties and Andrew Benintendi against righties. Kevin Pillar (vs LHP) and Alex Verdugo (vs RHP) are in a right-field platoon. So is Mitch Moreland (vs RHP) and Michael Chavis (vs LHP) at first base.
Royals
- Maikel Franco (.348/.333/.739) is moving up the lineup and Adalberto Mondesi (.120/.120/.240) is headed down based on how they are hitting.
- Salvador Perez is back to normal by starting all six games so far, five at catcher.
Tigers
- They’ve used the exact same lineup for three games and not much changed in the other three.
- JaCoby Jones (1.450 OPS) but is still batting ninth.
Twins
- Again this year, they are going with two lineups depending on the pitcher handedness. The big change is Mitch Garver (vs LHP) replacing Max Kepler (vs RHP) in the leadoff spot.
White Sox
- Nicky Delmonico and his .347 OPS has played every day. Great.
- Luis Robert is cemented into the 7th spot right now with the chance to move up the one spot with Edwin Encarnación (.105/.150/.263) struggling.
Yankees
- With only four games, not much can be determined. They do seem to have distinct versus righty and lefty lineups.
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.
Great stuff — Thanks!