This article is part of our Lineup Lowdown series.
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.
Atlanta Braves
– It's been a rough stretch for Whit Merrifield. First he was demoted from a short-lived stint as the Braves' leadoff hitter, with Michael Harris being elevated back to the top of the batting order. Then Merrifield missed time following a beaning and more recently suffered a fractured left foot. The hope is that he can play through the injury, but it will be a pain tolerance issue. Luke Williams has stepped in at second base for six of the last seven contests with Merrifield banged up and would be in line to continue seeing those reps if Merrifield does eventually need an injured list stint. Ozzie Albies (wrist) looks to be at least a week or so away.
– Travis d'Arnaud was unavailable for five games in late August with a wrist issue, which meant five straight starts at catcher for Sean Murphy. After that, d'Arnaud was behind the dish for nine of the next 15 contests, as he now looks to be the 1A to Murphy's 1B at catcher. D'Arnaud has been away from the club for the last two games while on paternity leave. Murphy continues to rate as the better defender of the two, but
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.
Atlanta Braves
– It's been a rough stretch for Whit Merrifield. First he was demoted from a short-lived stint as the Braves' leadoff hitter, with Michael Harris being elevated back to the top of the batting order. Then Merrifield missed time following a beaning and more recently suffered a fractured left foot. The hope is that he can play through the injury, but it will be a pain tolerance issue. Luke Williams has stepped in at second base for six of the last seven contests with Merrifield banged up and would be in line to continue seeing those reps if Merrifield does eventually need an injured list stint. Ozzie Albies (wrist) looks to be at least a week or so away.
– Travis d'Arnaud was unavailable for five games in late August with a wrist issue, which meant five straight starts at catcher for Sean Murphy. After that, d'Arnaud was behind the dish for nine of the next 15 contests, as he now looks to be the 1A to Murphy's 1B at catcher. D'Arnaud has been away from the club for the last two games while on paternity leave. Murphy continues to rate as the better defender of the two, but d'Arnaud has been much better offensively in 2024 with a 108 OPS+ to Murphy's 77 OPS+.
Miami Marlins
– Connor Norby had started all but one game since being recalled on Aug. 19 before being scratched from Tuesday's lineup. After hitting between the fourth through sixth slots in the first four of those contests, he's batted either leadoff (eight times) or second (seven of eight games since Xavier Edwards returned at leadoff). Norby had his first career two-homer game Sunday and has popped six over the boards while posting a .990 OPS in 19 tilts. He does have a 32.5 percent strikeout rate with Miami and Baltimore, but Norby's 13.9 percent barrel rate has allowed him to do damage when he does make contact.
– It's been a less successful run so far for the other piece the Marlins acquired from the Orioles in the Trevor Rogers trade, Kyle Stowers. Stowers has started 30 of 38 games since arriving in Miami, including nine of the last 10 contests, but he has a .499 OPS and has struck out at a 37.1 percent clip with the Marlins. That includes a 0-for-22 stretch with 11 punchouts in his last six tilts. While most of his starts have been in left field (23), Stowers has also played some right field (two) and center field (five).
New York Mets
– Jeff McNeil suffered a season-ending fractured wrist over the weekend. Jose Iglesias has garnered starts at second base in three of four games since then and will continue to hold down that spot the rest of the way. Harrison Bader had started just eight of the previous 18 contests before the McNeil injury but has been in there for three of four games versus righties while Brandon Nimmo slides back to left field. Bader still isn't a given for everyday reps, though, as the Mets need to find reps for Jesse Winker and Starling Marte.
– Marte has been given exactly one day off per series since he returned from the IL in mid-August. He's sporting just a .514 OPS with zero home runs and an 18:1 K:BB over that time and six of his last seven starts have come from the seven spot in the lineup. Winker, meanwhile, has started nine of the last 11 tilts and hasn't hit lower than fifth over that stretch.
Philadelphia Phillies
– Alec Bohm finally landed on the 10-day IL after missing a handful of games with a hand injury. Edmundo Sosa handled third base in three of the first four contests without Bohm but then went down with an injury of his own and is also on the IL. Over the last seven tilts, it's been Kody Clemens at third base six times and Weston Wilson there once. Clemens was in the lineup for the other game, too, getting a start at first base while Bryce Harper was at DH.
– The Phillies have mixed Kyle Schwarber in in left field twice this month. It marks just the fifth time this season that he's made a start in the field and the first time he's done so since he strained his groin and required an IL stint back in early July. Harper was in the DH spot for one of the contests and has been dealing with a nagging elbow issue, but it does not seem as though moving him off first base for a bit is under consideration.
Washington Nationals
– Joey Gallo has been in the lineup for all 12 games against righties since he returned from the IL and sat out all six tilts versus lefties. Meanwhile, Juan Yepez hasn't started a game against a right-hander since Aug. 24. Yepez got off to a red-hot start with the Nationals, but he's sporting just a .614 OPS across his last 18 games and now looks to be in a short-side platoon role.
– Yepez had been alternating between first base and DH with Andres Chaparro, but Chaparro has maintained an everyday role with 16 straight starts and 24 starts across the last 25 contests. The 25-year-old has gone deep four times over his last 11 tilts and over the last 10 games has batted either third or fourth for the Nats.
Chicago Cubs
– Isaac Paredes got a day off Saturday and then returned to the lineup Sunday in the No. 6 spot, which is the lowest he's batted since joining the Cubs. The Paredes/Christopher Morel trade is looking like a lose-lose thus far, with Paredes sporting a lowly .559 OPS with the Cubs and Morel sitting on a .581 OPS with the Rays.
– Since Aug. 31, Dansby Swanson has batted second twice against lefties and hit there once versus a righty. It's the first time since June 8 that he's batted anywhere other than sixth or seventh. It's been a slog this season for the 30-year-old, but Swanson has collected a 1.102 OPS with four homers and 15 RBI over his last 12 contests.
Cincinnati Reds
– Amed Rosario has become an everyday guy for the Reds lately, garnering starts in 10 of the last 12 games. The Reds have faced three lefties and eight righties over that span, and each of the last eight of Rosario's starts have come from the DH slot. This, despite the fact that Rosario is sporting just a .512 OPS since joining Cincinnati. Rosario's playing time is sure to be cut dramatically when/if Jeimer Candelario (toe) comes back, but there's a good chance it will happen before then given his struggles.
– Dominic Smith is no longer around and Ty France has made 13 consecutive starts for the Reds, playing first base 11 times and occupying the DH spot in the other two tilts. He's slashing .412/.464/.549 over his last 14 games and has batted either fourth or fifth four times in the last five contests.
Milwaukee Brewers
– Sal Frelick has started just three of the last eight contests and eight of the previous 15 tilts. The Brewers have faced five left-handers over that stretch, and Frelick has been on the bench for four of those, but he's been out of the lineup on four occasions during that time versus righties, too. Garrett Mitchell has also started eight times over the 15-game stretch, but he's been in the lineup each of the last seven times the Brewers have faced a righty. Meanwhile, Blake Perkins has been in there for all but two of those 15 tilts.
– While Perkins has been an everyday guy of late, it no longer appears he'll hit second against lefties as he had been. It's been William Contreras in that spot the last two times the Brewers have faced southpaws, with Willy Adames moving up from fifth to third in the batting order. Perkins has hit sixth.
Pittsburgh Pirates
– Bryan De La Cruz has been abysmal since arriving in Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, producing just a .497 OPS with a 37:2 K:BB. As a result, he's started just four of the last eight games and one of the last three versus right-handed pitching.
– Nick Gonzales has started 12 of 15 games since coming off the IL and is batting .321 over that stretch, albeit with zero long balls. He has bounced around the batting order, hitting in every spot from first to sixth other than the two hole but never occupying the same spot in consecutive contests.
St. Louis Cardinals
– Michael Siani has made seven straight starts in center field since returning from the IL, pushing Victor Scott initially to the bench and eventually back to Triple-A Memphis. The Cardinals have faced all right-handed pitchers since Siani was activated, but he's expected to be in there versus lefties, too.
– After spending nearly a month batting fifth, sixth or seventh, Paul Goldschmidt has batted third in each of the last five games. He earned a move up in the lineup as a result of a 21-game stretch which saw him collect a 1.020 OPS. Naturally, Goldschmidt went just 2-for-15 with zero extra-base hits in his first four games from the three spot.
Arizona Diamondbacks
– Since Lourdes Gurriel (calf) went down, it's been a platoon of Pavin Smith (against righties) and Randal Grichuk (against lefties) in left field. Smith exploded for a three-homer game in Houston on Sunday and has been sneaky good this season when given chances, collecting a .905 OPS with seven long balls over 102 plate appearances.
– Adrian Del Castillo has started just two of the last six contests, which includes being on the bench twice over that time against right-handers. The rookie catcher is just 3-for-23 with 10 strikeouts across his last eight games for the Diamondbacks.
Colorado Rockies
– You have to go back to June 5 to find the last game Michael Toglia didn't start for the Rockies, and since June 18 every one of his starts has come at first base. The 26-year-old has been one of the few bright spots for Colorado this season, putting up an .832 OPS with 19 home runs and seven stolen bases over 83 contests since the start of June. He's struck out at a 31.3 percent clip this season, but Toglia has also walked at an 11.5 percent rate and is crushing the ball when he makes contact, with a hard-hit rate in the 93rd percentile and barrel rate in the 98th percentile.
– On the other end of the spectrum has been Nolan Jones, who just can't get going this year following last season's breakout. In 16 games since coming off the IL, he's put up a .610 OPS with zero home runs. During the Rockies' current road trip, Jones has struck out 10 times in 15 plate appearances. He was down in the No. 8 spot in the lineup in his last start.
Los Angeles Dodgers
– The Dodgers had mostly been hitting Max Muncy seventh since he returned from the IL, but when Teoscar Hernandez was banged up they moved Muncy up to the cleanup spot. He's slowed down a bit so far in September, but Muncy is sporting a .912 OPS with three homers in 17 tilts since being activated. He's basically swapped spots with fellow lefty bat Gavin Lux, who has hit seventh each of the last two games. Lux has been great since the All-Star break but, like Muncy, has cooled off so far this month.
– Tommy Edman has started all but one game since coming off the IL and has settled in as the No. 6 hitter for the Dodgers in seven of the last eight contests. Twelve of his 18 starts — including six of the last seven — have come in center field, with the others coming at shortstop.
San Diego Padres
– Fernando Tatis Jr. is back and slid right back into the two hole in the Padres' lineup. Jurickson Profar (to third), Xander Bogaerts (to sixth) and Jackson Merrill (to seventh) have each scooted back one spot in the lineup versus righties to accommodate Tatis, while Jake Cronenworth (to fifth) went back two spots.
– Ha-Seong Kim's recovery from a right shoulder injury hasn't progressed as expected, which has San Diego considering shortstop alternatives. One of the options is returning Bogaerts to his old position, which would allow the club to insert a better bat into the lineup in the form of David Peralta and/or Donovan Solano. Mason McCoy has been the everyday shortstop over the last three weeks and the Padres might ultimately stick with that plan, with the idea that they could shift Bogaerts over to short mid-game if they need more offense.
San Francisco Giants
– Tyler Fitzgerald has slowed down, having gone homerless with a .600 OPS over his last 21 games. As a result, he's been demoted from hitting either leadoff or second each game from Aug. 8-29 to batting sixth twice and fifth and seventh once apiece across the last four tilts. Elevated from sixth to leadoff for eight of the last nine contests has been Mike Yastrzemski.
– The Giants outrighted Thairo Estrada off their 40-man roster and have since split starts at second base between Brett Wisely and Marco Luciano, giving them four starts apiece. (Casey Schmitt also made one start but has since been sent down.) The club has faced righties in all eight games, so it doesn't appear to be a platoon situation with the left-handed hitting Wisely and right-handed hitting Luciano. Neither guy has been productive this season, but it would be nice to see Luciano get a long look, even as his star has faded.
