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

– Much like they did with Jackson Holliday in his first stint in the big leagues, the Orioles had a quick hook with Coby Mayo following his initial struggles, optioning him back to Triple-A Norfolk after just seven games. Mayo had started just two of the last six games prior to his demotion. Ramon Urias started the other four at third base over that stretch and has been in the lineup for all six contests since then.

– Eloy Jimenez was in the lineup for four straight games after arriving in Baltimore but hadn't started consecutive games since then until he was in there Monday and Tuesday versus lefties. He has been in the lineup just two times in seven tilts versus right-handers over that span. By contrast, Cedric Mullins started just one of four games during the former stretch but has been in there for eight of 12 in the latter stretch.

Boston Red Sox

– Triston Casas is back! After missing nearly four months of action with cartilage damage in his rib cage, Casas has been in the Red Sox' lineup at first base for each of their last five contests. He batted third against three righties and was moved down to seventh versus the two lefties. Dominic Smith — who operated as Boston's primary first baseman for the bulk of the time Casas missed — has been released.

– Masataka Yoshida has been one of the best hitters in baseball in the second half, slashing .372/.460/.596 with five homers in 27 games. However, the return of Casas has meant a move down in the batting order for Yoshida, who has hit sixth in all three of his starts since Casas was activated. Prior to that, Yoshida had batted second or third in 13 of his last 14 starts versus righties, and he hit fourth in the other game.

New York Yankees

– Jazz Chisholm sprained his left (non-throwing) elbow last week, sending him to the injured list. There seems to be hope he can return soon, but in six games since he went down the Yankees have given Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza three starts apiece at third base.

– On the other side of the infield, DJ LeMahieu has chipped away significantly at Ben Rice's playing time at first base. LeMahieu has been the guy at first base for nine of the last 12 contests, including three of six versus right-handed pitching. Rice has managed just one hit so far in August and appears to now be a shoo-in to be sent down when Anthony Rizzo (forearm) is ready, although Rizzo still lacks a clear timetable.

Tampa Bay Rays

– Fantasy managers who had been stashing Junior Caminero finally saw him get promoted last week. Caminero has started at third base in each of his seven contests thus far, batting fifth for the first six of those games before hitting cleanup Tuesday. Curtis Mead and Jose Caballero had shared third base duties since the Isaac Paredes trade, but Mead was optioned as the corresponding move to add Caminero.

– Is another former Cardinals outfielder going to reach his potential with a fresh start elsewhere? Dylan Carlson has collected an .842 OPS with three homers and two stolen bases in 15 tilts since joining the Rays and has started nine of the last 13 games. Eight of his 10 starts have been in left field, with the other three coming in right. The switch-hitting Carlson has batted second in his three starts versus lefties and has mostly hit fifth or sixth against righties.

Toronto Blue Jays

– One of the prospects acquired from the Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi trade, Will Wagner, was summoned last week and has started six of eight games at second base for the Blue Jays. The left-handed batter has been in there for all three contests versus righties and picked up one start against a southpaw. Wagner has hit the ground running in reaching base 10 times already and was moved up to the cleanup spot Tuesday after hitting sixth in his first five starts.

– With Wagner absorbing most of the starts at the keystone lately, Spencer Horwitz has played either first base (four times) or been the DH (three times) for all but one of his starts lately. Vladimir Guerrero received a start at third base Tuesday, his seventh start there this season.

Chicago White Sox

– Dominic Fletcher has been getting regular run of late, making six straight starts overall and five straight starts versus right-handed pitching. He's started to show a little bit offensively during the stretch in slashing .346/.370/.423. Fletcher might be more of an extra outfielder over the long haul, but new interim White Sox manager Grady Sizemore figures to continue to give the 26-year-old a chance to show what he can do down the stretch.

– It's probably due primarily to guys like Eloy Jimenez, Tommy Pham and Paul DeJong being traded away, but Andrew Benintendi's sudden hot stretch surely is part of the reason why he's batted third in nine of the last 10 contests (four of them versus lefties). Benintendi boasts a .958 OPS with five homers in August after coming into the month with a lowly .574 OPS and eight homers across the first four months. He had hit fifth or sixth in 10 of 11 starts prior to that.

Cleveland Guardians

– With Lane Thomas struggling mightily since arriving in Cleveland via trade, Will Brennan — who was optioned to Triple-A Columbus last month to make room for Thomas on the roster — batted second for the Guardians in five straight games before hitting cleanup in their last contest. He's started in center field twice, left field once and at DH three times during that span. Meanwhile, Thomas has moved down the five spot for his last three starts and has been out of the lineup five times across the last 10 contests. Jhonkensy Noel has started eight of those 10 tilts, all in right field. With the mixing and matching the Guardians have done in their outfield and at DH lately, David Fry has sat out four of the last five games.

– It's been something of a committee approach at shortstop for the Guardians since the All-Star break. Former everyday shortstop Brayan Rocchio leads the club with 18 starts there since the break, but Daniel Schneemann has started there 10 times (in addition to making six more starts at other positions during this time) and Tyler Freeman has been there a couple times (and each of the last two times they've faced a lefty).

Detroit Tigers

– The Tigers have overhauled their lineup over the last few days. Not only did they get Riley Greene (hamstring) and Kerry Carpenter (shoulder) back from injury, but they also brought Spencer Torkelson back from Triple-A Toledo and gave Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney their first big-league promotions. All five guys were in the lineup Sunday, and we saw Greene bat second, Carpenter bat cleanup, Torkelson bat sixth, Jung bat seventh and Sweeney bat eighth. The fallout with all the new arrivals means Javier Baez will see his playing time cut, while Gio Urshela was released (and subsequently signed by the Braves) and Justyn-Henry Malloy and Bligh Madris were sent to Toledo.

– Also notable is that Parker Meadows has batted leadoff Sunday for the third straight game against a right-hander. He has not started either game against a lefty since returning from the IL earlier this month, but Meadows has been very productive with a .927 OPS, one home run and five stolen bases. The 24-year-old has a stolen base in each of his first two contests from the leadoff spot.

Kansas City Royals

– Maikel Garcia has been absent from the lineup each of the last four times the Royals have faced a right-hander. Michael Massey (three times) and Adam Frazier (once) have handled second base those days, while Paul DeJong has occupied third base all four games. Garcia did hit leadoff in the three contests versus lefties during that span, but it looks like he could be trending toward a short-side platoon role. The 24-year-old has a .613 OPS versus righties this season, although he hasn't been much better against lefties (.667 OPS).

– Frazier has been in the lineup for each of the last six tilts against righties, playing right field four times and second base twice. Prior to that, he had started just twice across the last nine games versus right-handers (and he also sat against all three lefties over that stretch). In addition to the aforementioned Garcia, Hunter Renfroe has also lost reps to Frazier, with Renfroe seeing his name penciled into the lineup on just two occasions over the last seven contests versus righties.

Minnesota Twins

– With both Byron Buxton (hip) and Brooks Lee (biceps) out, Austin Martin has seen an uptick in his playing time. The 25-year-old has been in the Twins' lineup for 10 of the last 14 tilts, making four starts at second base followed by six starts in center field. He's batted ninth in each of those starts. Absorbing starts at second base since Martin shifted to center has been Kyle Farmer and Edouard Julien, who have garnered four starts apiece over the last six games.

– Jose Miranda has started 17 of 25 contests since returning from a back injury and just eight of 15 games versus right-handed pitching. Miranda had been one of the team's hottest hitters before getting hurt but has put up just a .623 OPS with zero home runs since being activated, so it might be fair to question how healthy he is.

Houston Astros

– With Alex Bregman missing some time with a swollen elbow, the Astros have decided to get a look at Shay Whitcomb, who has started four straight at third base. Whitcomb has hit eighth twice and ninth once against a righty and moved up to the five spot versus a lefty. Bregman is expected back soon, but at that point Whitcomb could be an option at first base, where Zach Dezenzo has struggled.

– Mauricio Dubon has made seven straight starts and done so at four different positions, playing right field three times, left field twice and third base and second base once apiece. The reigning AL utility Gold Glove winner has made starts at every position other than pitcher and catcher this season, and considering where the Astros are in terms of injuries and/or lack of production at multiple spots, he seems likely to continue to be basically an everyday player down the stretch.

Los Angeles Angels

– Willie Calhoun has made the bulk of the starts at designated hitter and in the cleanup spot versus right-handed pitching this season, but the Angels elected to move on from him last week. Joining the roster in his place has been Niko Kavadas, who has slid in seamlessly as the DH and cleanup man versus righties. Acquired from the Red Sox in the Luis Garcia trade, Kavadas in his first three games has been missing the home run element of his three true outcomes profile, going 0-for-7 with six strikeouts and two walks.

– Over the last five contests, Angels skipper Ron Washington has elevated Taylor Ward to the leadoff spot, slid Nolan Schanuel down to the three hole and demoted Logan O'Hoppe to fifth three times and sixth once. O'Hoppe had mostly been batting third prior to this stretch, but he went a dreadful 2-for-38 with 17 strikeouts out of the three hole.

Oakland Athletics

– The Athletics have landed on Darell Hernaiz as their primary third baseman since he returned from the 60-day IL earlier this month. Hernaiz played three different positions in his first three starts off the IL, but he's since started five of the last seven contests at the hot corner. Neither he nor former regular third baseman Abraham Toro have offered much offensively lately, but the A's remain hopeful that Hernaiz can be part of their future, so it makes sense to give him a long look.

– One potential impending roadblock for Hernaiz at third base could be Max Schuemann. Schuemann has started all but two games at shortstop for Oakland since Jacob Wilson (hamstring) was injured in his major-league debut, but Wilson has begun a rehab assignment and should be activated soon, which could shift Schuemann to the hot corner where he's made a couple starts this season. That said, while the A's have shown an affinity for Schuemann given how much they've played him, he's fallen off to a .456 OPS in August after posting an .849 OPS in July.

Seattle Mariners

– Julio Rodriguez is back in action, but all eight of his starts since being activated have come at DH as the Mariners protect his right ankle. He missed one game during that stretch after tweaking the ankle, so the club could elect to keep him at DH for a little while. The guy most affected by Rodriguez's defensive limitations is Mitch Garver, as his only path to starts now is a day off for Rodriguez or Cal Raleigh. Garver has started just one of the last seven contests and hasn't been in the lineup against a traditional righty starter all month, though he did make one start versus a righty opener.

– Also back from the IL is Dominic Canzone, who has played right field in four of seven tilts versus right-handed pitching since returning. Mitch Haniger had made five straight starts (three against southpaws) in right field prior to that, but he's been in the lineup for only four of nine contests since then and just once versus a righty.

Texas Rangers

– It's been surprising to see how much Carson Kelly has played. Acquired ahead of the trade deadline from the Tigers, Kelly has started eight of the last 11 games (six at catcher, one at DH), which is three more starts than Jonah Heim has made over that span. Kelly is off to a nice start with his new club and Heim has fallen off dramatically offensively from last year. That said, Heim was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 2023 and the top catcher for a team that won the World Series, so it would seem like this is just a little reset for the switch hitter.

– Adolis Garcia is on the upswing both in terms of his production and his placement in the lineup. Earlier this month, the 31-year-old was moved down to the seven spot in the Rangers' lineup five times during a six-game stretch, hitting sixth in the other contest. It appears he received the message, as Garcia sports a 1.059 OPS with three homers across his last 12 tilts and over the last nine games has been back up in the cleanup spot.