Lineup Lowdown: American League

The goal with Lineup Lowdown is simple: We're looking for trends which could help identify players that might be undervalued or overvalued. Who is playing more/less? Who is moving up/down? We'll be doing a deep dive into one league each week as we navigate the lineup landscape.

Baltimore Orioles

-- Adam Frazier entered play Monday having started just four of the Orioles' last 12 games. The main reason for that is Baltimore facing an inordinate number of lefties (seven) over that span. Frazier has also been on the bench twice against righties during that time, though, and is just 4-for-26 over his last 11 contests, contributing to his lack of playing time. Handling second base during the other eight games of the aforementioned 12-game stretch has been Jordan Westburg. Westburg initially split time between second and third base evenly, but eight of his last nine starts have been at the keystone.

-- The bevy of left-handers has also meant more Jorge Mateo and less Ramon Urias. Mateo came into action Monday having started six of the last 10 contests after having started just three of the previous 12 games. He's handling shortstop against southpaws, while Gunnar Henderson slides over to third base and Urias parks on the bench.

Boston Red Sox

-- Alex Verdugo came into Monday having started each of the last 10 games in the leadoff spot, including each of the last two versus a lefty (granted, one of them was an opener). He did plenty of leading off for the first three months of the season, but had been moved lower in the order following his downturn and Jarren Duran's emergence. Verdugo, though, has been excellent in August, which included three straight games leading off with a homer last week. Duran, meanwhile, has struggled this month and is currently out with a toe injury.

-- The red-hot Adam Duvall has been in the lineup for 13 of the past 14 games following a stretch where he started just four of seven contests and was benched two versus righties. Manager Alex Cora can't keep Duvall's bat out of the lineup right now, though, as the outfielder carries a .954 OPS with 10 long balls into action Monday, including five across his previous seven tilts.

New York Yankees

-- The Yankees have turned the page to 2024, summoning Everson Pereira and Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take over in left field and at third base, respectively. Pereira batted seventh in his first five major-league contests before moving up to the cleanup spot Sunday. He's gotten off to a slow start with just three hits and eight strikeouts in his first 22 at-bats. Peraza has batted eighth four times versus righties and ninth twice against lefties over the same stretch and has also scuffled at the dish.

-- With Peraza around and Anthony Rizzo (concussion) still out, each of DJ LeMahieu's last eight starts have come at first base. He's also batted leadoff in 10 straight games and has popped four homers over his last five contests. Rizzo seems like he might not be far off from a return, and when he does make it back manager Aaron Boone will have some juggling to do with the lineup, presuming the team is committed to everyday at-bats for Pereira and Peraza as they've indicated.

Tampa Bay Rays

-- Harold Ramirez has been in the lineup for 12 of the last 16 games, with half of those starts coming against right-handers. The right-handed hitting Ramirez has crushed lefties this season (.913 OPS), but he's hit everyone this month in batting .354. Granted, he hasn't gone deep over that stretch and in fact hasn't homered since all the way back on June 8.

-- Jose Siri has been on the bench for four of the last nine games, with Luke Raley handling center field those days. The ups and downs – from both playing time and performance perspectives – from Siri can be frustrating for fantasy managers. He has 24 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 2023, which is great. However, while he's homered four times both in July and August, Siri also has just a .660 OPS over that span and has started only 70 percent of the games for his club (that number drops to 65 percent in August).

Toronto Blue Jays

-- Davis Schneider has homered in each of his last three starts and enters play Monday on an absurd 16-for-37 run with five home runs to begin his major-league career. Even with that, he's started a mere three times over Toronto's last 12 contests. You'd think with Schneider's versatility that manager John Schneider (no relation) would have an easier time getting him into the lineup with the way he's swinging the stick, but that hasn't been the case. He hasn't played any third base with the Jays yet, but perhaps he'll get some run there with Matt Chapman (finger) landing on the IL.

-- What Schneider (the manager) has done is sit Kevin Kiermaier more likely, seemingly in an effort to inject more offense. Kiermaier has started just five of nine games since returning from the IL, and has been on the bench for three of the last four contests, including twice against a righty. While the defensive whiz's offensive numbers still look solid overall, they're being propped up by a big May, as Kiermaier sports just a .589 OPS since June 1.

Chicago White Sox

-- Lenyn Sosa has gotten an opportunity at regular playing time since being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on August 18, entering play Monday having started eight of 10 games at second base. He's provided some thump at the dish, too, with three home runs across 33 plate appearances. Sosa has not batted higher than eighth in any of those games, but perhaps he'll inch up if he continues to perform. With Sosa getting regular run at second base and Tim Anderson back from suspension, Elvis Andrus has been on the bench for three straight tilts.

-- Another young player getting a look lately has been Korey Lee, who started three straight games at catcher following a promotion before going to the bench Sunday. The former Astro has had a power outage this year in the minors, but there's still some potential there with some pop and also a little speed for a catcher. Losing time as a result of Lee's emergence has been Yasmani Grandal, whose start Sunday was his first in five games.

Cleveland Guardians

-- Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio had been sharing the shortstop position since Amed Rosario was traded, but Rocchio was optioned back to Triple-A Columbus last week. Arias started at shortstop in each of the three games after that before yielding to Tyler Freeman on Sunday. The 23-year-old Arias has had a weird month, as he's doubled his season home run total with four blasts this month, but also struck out a whopping 30 times in 73 plate appearances (41.1 percent).

-- What does not appear to be in the cards is giving Andres Gimenez a look at shortstop. That's the position he primarily played in the minors and in his first two years in the big leagues (including his first year in Cleveland). However, he has been used only at second base this season and it looks like that's where he'll remain after he inked a $106.5 million contract extension with the Guardians over the offseason. Gimenez initially moved up to the two hole following the Rosario trade but has since slid back down to primarily hitting fifth.

Detroit Tigers

-- The Tigers promoted Parker Meadows from Triple-A Toledo on August 21 and, coming into action Monday, had handed him six straight starts in center field. He's hit sixth the four times Detroit has faced a righty and against lefties has hit seventh once and ninth once. That the left-handed hitting Meadows is playing against lefties and also pushing Riley Greene to right field seems to speak to how highly the Tigers think of him. Meadows is off to a flying start, too, going 6-for-20 with a homer, a steal and five walks.

-- With Greene shifting over to right field (he did get one start in left field Sunday), it means Kerry Carpenter is set for more time in the DH spot and Miguel Cabrera is set to spend more time on the bench. Cabrera did homer in a start on Sunday, but he's been punchless this season as he prepares to ride off into the sunset, collecting a .661 OPS with just three long balls across 283 plate appearances.

Kansas City Royals

-- It had looked like Nelson Velazquez was playing his way into an everyday role, as he started six of seven contests from Aug. 11-18 and clubbed four home runs during that stretch. He's since started four of eight games heading into play Monday and has cooled off at the dish, going 2-for-16 with six punchouts. Velazquez's easiest path to playing time would seem to be at DH, although manager Matt Quatraro seems to prefer rotating regulars at DH rather than having a dedicated starter there.

-- The Royals have been using Matt Beaty and Salvador Perez at first base since Nick Pratto (groin) was injured. Beaty did go through a stretch with just one start over a six-game span, but he's since started four straight and has been getting on base at a nice clip. Perez seeing increased time at first base allows Kansas City to use Freddy Fermin more at catcher. Fermin, though, is finally cooling off, going hitless in his last 16 at-bats.

Minnesota Twins

-- Heading into action Monday, Royce Lewis had started all 11 games since returning from the IL, playing third base eight times and occupying the DH slot for the other three contests. The domino effect of Lewis settling in as the everyday third baseman has meant Jorge Polanco sliding back to second base and Edouard Julien being used as the regular DH versus right-handers. The Twins needing the DH spot for Julien means Byron Buxton (hamstring) should finally play some center field when he returns, which should be right around the corner.

-- Joey Gallo has been in the lineup only three times over the last nine games. It's due in part to Minnesota facing lots of lefties lately, but he's also been benched twice versus right-handers during that stretch. Gallo's last two starts and three of his last four have come in center field, and prior to that he had mostly been playing first base. With Buxton likely seeing time in center when he comes back and Alex Kirilloff (shoulder) also slated to return before long, Gallo could be on the chopping block.

Houston Astros

-- Chas McCormick has a well-earned spot in the Astros' everyday lineup at this point, as he enters play Monday having started each of his team's last 15 contests. He's had just four non-injury days off since the beginning of July (he missed two games with a knee issue) and is batting .311/.394/.592 with 12 home runs and six stolen bases over that span. Since Yordan Alvarez returned from the IL, McCormick has made 15 starts in left field, six starts in center field, four starts in right field and one start at DH. Jake Meyers has made just 15 starts (all in center) over that span and Mauricio Dubon has been in the lineup 13 times (nine in center).

-- Coming into Monday's action, Jose Abreu had started three of five contests since returning from the IL, including just one start in three games against right-handers. He yielded to Jon Singleton at first base the other two days. Abreu hit seventh in his last two starts, which is the lowest he's batted all season. Singleton is drawing a bunch of walks but not doing much else, though, and manager Dusty Baker has indicated that Abreu is going to be his first baseman.

Los Angeles Angels

-- Perhaps it was their plan regardless, but C.J. Cron's back injury led the Angels to an aggressive promotion of Nolan Schanuel, who spent just 21 games in the minors after being taken in the first round of this year's Draft. He was thrown right into the fire, too, being plopped into the leadoff spot for each of his first six starts. Schanuel was on the bench against a lefty during that span and also missed a couple games due to illness, but he's shown off his elite on-base skills by reaching at better than a 50 percent clip. How much power he ultimately gets to is a question, as he hits the ball on the ground a lot and is still seeking his first extra-base hit.

-- The Halos have welcomed Logan O'Hoppe back from a four-month absence following surgery to repair a torn shoulder labrum, giving him six starts in nine games going into play Monday. He's just 3-for-24 over that stretch but did hit a home run. It wouldn't be a surprise if O'Hoppe doesn't have his strength and/or timing all the way back until next season.

Oakland Athletics

-- Ryan Noda was activated on Aug. 21 after missing more than a month of action with a fractured jaw. He batted third in his first game back and was then on the bench for two straight versus lefties. Since then, he's batted leadoff in four straight against right-handers. Noda's excellent batting eye makes him a great fit at the top of the batting order, and he enters action Monday boasting a .452 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot. He's also fared better versus lefties than righties this season and played regularly against them before getting hurt, so I wouldn't worry about him sitting twice versus southpaws recently.

-- Jonah Bride seems to have usurped Jordan Diaz on the third base depth chart, as he enters Monday having started three of the last four games there (he also started at DH and battes leadoff in the two games prior to that). Diaz is five years younger and has shown some glimpses of power upside, but he's been dreadful this month (granted, so has Bride).

Seattle Mariners

-- In 10 games out of the leadoff spot while J.P. Crawford was sidelined with a concussion, Julio Rodriguez went 24-for-52 with three home runs, six doubles, 17 RBI and six stolen bases. No, seriously, those were his actual numbers. Crawford went right back to the top of the batting order once cleared, though, and came into action Monday having reached base 13 times in six games. J-Rod has kept rolling along over that time, too, going 6-for-15 with a couple more homers and a couple more steals. The Mariners are a freight train right now.

-- Ty France moved back up to the third spot in the batting order for an eight-game stretch earlier this month, the majority of which occurred while Crawford was out. However, after posting a 1.128 OPS in the first 14 games of August, the first baseman entered play Monday having fallen back to a .556 OPS in his last 10 contests. It's resulted in a move back down to the six spot for the last three games.

Texas Rangers

-- He did hit a grand slam Sunday, but entering play Monday that was one of just three hits Jonah Heim has tallied in 30 at-bats since making a quicker-than-expected return from a wrist injury. He was on the bench for two straight contests over the weekend while battling through his slump, making it five times in 13 games that he's been absent from the lineup since making it back. Heim has been in the lower third of the batting order for each of his last four starts.

-- Mitch Garver looks like a better fantasy bet than Heim at catcher at this point. He's not doing much catching since Heim returned, which is part of the appeal. Garver entered play Monday having started 12 straight games and has been on the bench just three times since July 25. The 32-year-old has collected a 1.015 OPS with eight home runs across 111 plate appearances over that stretch. He's been the Rangers' No. 5 hitter since Aug. 7, other than the couple times he's hit cleanup. Eight of Garver's starts during the aforementioned 12-game stretch have come at DH.