This article is part of our In Some Depth series.
It's June 2. That means two things - (1) it's my birthday and (2) it's acceptable to revisit a few of my depth chart musings from earlier in the season.
Without any further ado...
Tigers CF
Starter: Anthony Gose
Next: Rajai Davis
I wrote about the Anthony Gose/Rajai Davis timeshare in center field in the season's first few weeks, surmising that the two would probably be in a handedness-based timeshare until Gose inevitably fell off. Well, we're into June, and Gose still has an OPS near .800 and a clear hold on the Tigers' center field gig. Davis made four starts in center in the month of May (Gose had the rest), but he was able to eke out nine starts at the other two outfield spots and the DH slot. Davis still stole six bases (in eight attempts) despite the slim playing time, but the center field slot should be Gose's for the foreseeable future.
Seattle C
Starter: Mike Zunino
Next: Welington Castillo
The M's picked up Welington Castillo from the Cubs last week to give them a viable second catcher behind offensively-challenged Mike Zunino. Welington is not an offensive powerhouse (he only had a .686 OPS as a semi-regular for the Cubs last year), and Zunino may not be as disappointing as his K's and career .200 average may suggest (he does have a .200ish career ISO). Hence, Castilllo has made just five starts in his two-ish weeks with the club. Castillo may see more
It's June 2. That means two things - (1) it's my birthday and (2) it's acceptable to revisit a few of my depth chart musings from earlier in the season.
Without any further ado...
Tigers CF
Starter: Anthony Gose
Next: Rajai Davis
I wrote about the Anthony Gose/Rajai Davis timeshare in center field in the season's first few weeks, surmising that the two would probably be in a handedness-based timeshare until Gose inevitably fell off. Well, we're into June, and Gose still has an OPS near .800 and a clear hold on the Tigers' center field gig. Davis made four starts in center in the month of May (Gose had the rest), but he was able to eke out nine starts at the other two outfield spots and the DH slot. Davis still stole six bases (in eight attempts) despite the slim playing time, but the center field slot should be Gose's for the foreseeable future.
Seattle C
Starter: Mike Zunino
Next: Welington Castillo
The M's picked up Welington Castillo from the Cubs last week to give them a viable second catcher behind offensively-challenged Mike Zunino. Welington is not an offensive powerhouse (he only had a .686 OPS as a semi-regular for the Cubs last year), and Zunino may not be as disappointing as his K's and career .200 average may suggest (he does have a .200ish career ISO). Hence, Castilllo has made just five starts in his two-ish weeks with the club. Castillo may see more action than the now-demoted Jesus Sucre.
Angels 2B
Starter: Johnny Giavotella
Next: Taylor Featherston, Grant Green
In the minors: Josh Rutledge
Johnny Giavotella fallen off a bit since his career-best April. He hit .317 with a .380 OBP in the season's first month, but he had a sub-.300 OBP in May. He made contact at a slightly higher rate in May (85 percent versus 82 percent), but his BABIP fell by 100 points. Still, his playing time did not suffer even as his batting average fell 40 points. It did not hurt that his primary backup in May was Rule V pick Taylor Featherston, who is still hanging around despite a sub-.050 batting average in 29 at-bats. Grant Green rejoined the team last week after OBP'ing .351 at Triple-A Salt Lake. Green could see some time at second if Giavotella's bat continues to slide, but he has not played regularly in the middle infield since 2013. Offseason acquisition Josh Rutledge has a puny.356 slugging percentage at Salt Lake.
Cardinals CF
Starter: Jon Jay
Next: Randal Grichuk, Peter Bourjos
Randal Grichuk and Peter Bourjos both saw a fair amount of playing time in center field during the past three weeks while Jon Jay was on the disabled list with a wrist injury. Bourjos had a .200 batting average during that stretch, but Grichuk had something of a coming out party in Jay's absence, positing an .886 OPS in in 53 at-bats with good defense. Grichuk stuck on the roster in the wake of Jay's activation, but he will slide into a reserve outfield role now that Jay is back in center.
Dodgers 3B
Starter: Justin Turner
Next: Alex Guerrero, Alberto Callaspo
In the minors: Hector Olivera, Corey Seager
Last week, a commenter asked how the Juan Uribe/Alberto Callaspo trade would impact Corey Seager's timeline to the majors. I surmised that Seager's slow adjustment to Triple-A should be a signal that he would probably not be up until later this year, if at all. Seager then had 10 hits and four home runs in three games. So he can clearly hit, but he probably needs to show more consistency before warranting The Call. Additionally, the Dodgers probably have to decide whether they want him to move to third base on a full-time basis this year if they will need someone to replace Jimmy Rollins in 2016. At the major league level, Justin Turner has been the biggest beneficiary of the Uribe move. He has started every game but two there since May 20, and Alex Guerrero has been used more often in the outfield with Yasiel Puig (and now Scott Van Slyke) on the disabled list. The aforementioned Callaspo has made one start at third since joining the team.
Nationals No. 3
Yunel Escobar has served as the Nats' No. 3 batter for the past two weeks while Jayson Werth has been on the disabled list. Werth is slated to be on the disabled list for the next while, so Escobar should slot in the third spot until Anthony Rendon's rehab stint ends.
Marlins No. 4
Over time, Giancarlo Stanton has been protected by the likes of Casey McGehee, Greg Dobbs, Placido Polanco, and Gaby Sanchez. Now it might be Justin Bour's turn. Bour has been a regular fixture at first with Mike Morse on the disabled list, and he supplanted Martin Prado as the Marlins' No. 4 batter over the weekend, and he hit there four of the Marlins' last five contests. He has gone 5-for-`5 with three home runs in those first four contests. That line includes an 0-fer Monday, but he should continue to see AB's behind Stanton for now, at least with Marcell Ozuna slumping.
Astros No. 3
Preston Tucker had been lost in the shuffle of the Astros' cavalcade of elite prospects, but he is now the No. 3 batter for the team with the best playoff odds in the AL. His placement there has been a part of the shuffle of the middle third of the Astros' lineup wherein George Springer now bats leadoff, Jose Altuve hits second, and former No. 2 man Luis Valbuena has fallen to sixth. Tucker is one of the few non-homerun/strikeout-only guys in the lineup, which means he could/should be on base when Evan Gattis and Chris Carter come to the plate, and he should be coming to bat with Jose Altuve on base.
Athletics' No. 1
Coco Crisp is questionable to return this season after leaving a game mid-May with neck soreness, or at least he is out until the All-Star break. Billy Burns has taken his place, both in center field and atop the Athletics' lineup. The A's lineup is not the enviable place it had been the past few seasons, but if you're going to hit anywhere, the top portion is the place to be. Burns is hitting .476 as the first batter of a game, and he is a sparking 9-for-11 on the basepaths through 27 contests.
Yankees No. 2
Jacoby Ellsbury's placement on the disabled list forced Brett Gardner to rise from No. 2 to leadoff, so the Yankees turned to Chase Headley to fill Gardner's vacancy at 2. Headley's first full season in the Bronx has started with an overwhelming "meh," and he had been primarily batting sixth or seventh. However, he has hit .317/.364/.439 in his first 10 contests in the second spot, and no one else in the lineup profiles to replace him.
