MLB Lineup Report: Walker Jenkins set to debut, Bryce Harper’s dual eligibility

Once Monday hits there are just four weekly lineup periods left in the 2026 regular season. It can feel repetitive this time of year after a long summer with so many stats and performances already banked. But it doesn’t take long in the offseason to be missing fantasy baseball, and this winter comes with added uncertainty. Make sure not to take this final month for granted and to finish strong.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Jordan Lawlar has only started against one of four right-handers since coming off the IL. Lars Nootbaar and Max Kepler are in strong-side platoon roles. Ildemaro Vargas has filled in for Ketel Marte at second base, but Marte could return as early as next week.

Athletics

Henry Bolte has been leading off for most of the past two weeks. Lawrence Butler has played every game this month. Tommy White is splitting time between first and third base. Zack Gelof is getting run at third base and left field. This lineup has been decimated with five of their best hitters sidelined with injury.

Atlanta Braves

Mauricio Dubón has hit cleanup against three righties this week, which isn’t what anyone expected entering this season. Mike Yastrzemski is platooning with Lane Thomas in left field. Ha-Seong Kim has only started twice since coming off the IL on August 4. Austin Riley remains in the bottom third of the order.

Baltimore Orioles

Samuel Basallo has mixed in a couple of starts at first base since coming off the IL, and he should get as much playing time down the stretch as he can handle with Adley Rutschman no longer in the picture. Jackson Holliday is leading off every day. Dylan Beavers, Coby Mayo, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are all hot at the plate but not quite playing every day. For anyone looking to stream hitters, the O’s visit Sacramento and Coors Field over the next six days.

Boston Red Sox

All eyes on when Roman Anthony and Trevor Story return from their rehab assignments. It could shake up a lot between Andruw Monasterio at shortstop, Nick Sogard at leadoff, and Mickey Gasper at DH. Still curious if Franklin Arias gets a cup of coffee with the big league team at any point in September.

Chicago Cubs

Nico Hoerner is up to 17 starts at shortstop with Dansby Swanson on the IL, so he’ll likely add that eligibility heading into the offseason. Pedro Ramirez has been the biggest gainer for playing time since Swanson went down.

Chicago White Sox

Tristan Peters has become an everyday player over the past two weeks and has homered in five straight entering Friday. Braden Montgomery has been hitting ahead of Colson Montgomery over the past few weeks.

Eric Samulski and James Schiano discuss their favorite fantasy baseball waiver wire adds for the weekend.

Cincinnati Reds

Eugenio Suárez and TJ Friedl went unclaimed on waivers, so they’ll remain with the Reds. Friedl opened the year as their leadoff hitter but has barely been playing this month. Matt McLain has started every game since coming off the IL on July 30. Héctor Rodriguez hit leadoff on Wednesday, but we’ll need to see if that sticks given how often Terry Francona has rotated the spot this season.

Cleveland Guardians

The days of Steven Kwan not hitting leadoff feel like a lifetime ago. He’s done so in all but one of his starts since July 19. Jo Adell has settled in as the everyday cleanup hitter. Angel Genao has started 17 of 20 since debuting, playing 2B, 3B, and SS as the Guardians find ways to get him on the field. José Ramírez, Travis Bazzana, and Brayan Rocchio are all being given occasional days off to make room for him. In J-Ram’s case, that’s solely because he’s coming back from the hamate, of course.

Colorado Rockies

Cole Carrigg has nine games (five starts) at shortstop, but Ezequiel Tovar hasn’t fully gone away despite such a poor batting line. Zac Veen is 0-for-6 in starts against lefties since being recalled. Mickey Moniak might be falling in the order against righties with Hunter Goodman back from the IL.

Detroit Tigers

Max Clark has been the everyday center fielder since being called up, but he hasn’t been able to climb out of the bottom third of the lineup. Dillon Dingler has received a couple of days off recently while slumping in the second half. There’s been a lot of platooning lately but not much fantasy value to extract from it.

Houston Astros

Daulton Varsho has started against all four southpaws since he was acquired. Cam Smith continues to play close to every day and is closing in on matching last year’s plate appearance total, but the batting line hasn’t taken a step forward in Year 2.

Kansas City Royals

Nick Loftin hit leadoff on Sunday, but Carter Jensen has been there in all three games this week. Salvador Perez has only been behind the plate for four games this month.

Los Angeles Angels

Moisés Ballesteros has only sat twice since coming over from the Cubs, splitting time between catcher and DH with a start mixed in at first base. He’s been hitting third or fourth this week. Christian Moore has started five straight at second base since being recalled. Vaughn Grissom is the primary first baseman with Nolan Schanuel injured.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Alek Thomas has started in center field against all four righties since Andy Pages hit the IL. Teoscar Hernández hasn’t hit higher than seventh against a right-hander since July 8. Tommy Edman has mostly settled in at second base, but he started in center field against the first lefty faced since Pages got hurt.

Miami Marlins

Heriberto Hernández is getting plenty of run lately and continues to receive a premium lineup spot against southpaws. Griffin Conine and Kyle Stowers drop in the order when they start against lefties. Agustín Ramírez has only started twice behind the plate since being recalled on August 4, which has been the concern for him in dynasty formats dating back to last year.

Milwaukee Brewers

Christian Yelich has sat against six of nine lefties this month. William Contreras hit as low as seventh earlier this month, but has since heated up and is back to batting third or fourth. Luis Lara has only sat once since August 14 as Garrett Mitchell’s playing time has evaporated.

Minnesota Twins

Walker Jenkins debuts Friday as Byron Buxton continues to battle a hip issue. Luke Keaschall has hit leadoff in every game since last Monday. Royce Lewis is essentially a first baseman now, but he’ll have 1B/3B eligibility next year and is up to nine starts at second base. Kaelen Culpepper has been the primary shortstop since being called up.

New York Mets

Luis Robert Jr. has started six in a row entering the weekend, which he has only done twice so far in 2026. Marcus Semien has also been an everyday player for the past week and a half. This lineup’s excitement is all about the rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, though.

New York Yankees

Luis García Jr. is finding his groove in the Bronx while hitting third or fourth against all righties. Cody Bellinger came off the IL this week, and Heliot Ramos hasn’t started since, though every game has been against a righty. Spencer Jones has started every game since July 29. George Lombard Jr. has started every game since being called up on August 4. Paul Goldschmidt has only started three games in August, all against lefties.

Philadelphia Phillies

Bryce Harper has 18 outfield starts entering Friday, so he’ll very likely be dual eligible in 2027. Kyle Schwarber has six games (four starts) at first base, which is a fun one to monitor for anyone playing with low minimum start thresholds. Justin Crawford has fully regained the starting center field job.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Oneil Cruz has started against two of four lefties since returning from the IL. Spencer Horwitz resumed hitting leadoff against RHP in mid-August. Rafael Flores Jr. has only sat twice since August 13.

San Diego Padres

Fernando Tatis Jr. has only started at second base once since the All-Star break. It’ll be interesting to see how often he plays there next year, but what matters for now is that he’ll have some incredibly valuable dual eligibility in 2027. Lots of consistency lately between Jake Cronenworth batting second, Ty France hitting cleanup, and Xander Bogaerts being buried at the bottom of the lineup.

San Francisco Giants

Drew Gilbert is hot at the plate while leading off against RHP. Jonah Cox gets some leadoff reps against lefties. Christian Koss has been playing shortstop since Willy Adames hit the IL. Unfortunately, Marcelo Mayer has been slowed in his return from injury, as it would’ve been a good opportunity to give him those shortstop reps in September. The depth in this lineup has been decimated over the past month due to trades and injuries.

Seattle Mariners

Cal Raleigh is moving back up the lineup against some lefties, hitting as high as cleanup over the past week. Taylor Ward got some leadoff exposure after the trade from Baltimore, but he’s been toward the bottom of the order since mid-August. After all the uncertainty of how shortstop and third base would be handled with three healthy regulars, J.P. Crawford is the only one active at the moment.

St. Louis Cardinals

Joshua Báez has sat twice in the past eight games as the strikeouts pile up. JJ Wetherholt is up to 10 starts at shortstop with Masyn Winn on the IL. Alec Burleson will lose outfield eligibility heading into 2027.

Tampa Bay Rays

Yandy Díaz hasn’t played a single inning in the field this season, so be aware that he’ll be UTIL-only this offseason. Liam Hicks has been the cleanup hitter against RHP since coming over from the Marlins. Ryan Vilade and Jonny DeLuca start and hit high in the order against lefties.

Texas Rangers

Ezequiel Duran has started at 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and CF in August alone while primarily hitting inside the top five of the lineup. A run of lefties has capped Joc Pederson’s playing time lately, but he’s still leading off against RHP while Justin Foscue gets most of those opportunities against southpaws.

Toronto Blue Jays

Brett Bateman has been the primary leadoff hitter for two weeks now. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continues to struggle, but manager John Schneider insists he doesn’t plan to drop him in the order. George Springer hasn’t played more than two games in a row since early August.

Washington Nationals

CJ Abrams picked up a minor ankle injury recently, which has kept him at DH this week. Still no second base starts, so it’s unclear if he’ll have that eligibility heading into drafts next year. Of course, the Nats could announce the position change before spring training, in which case he’d pick it up quickly in 2027. Abiemelec Ortiz has struggled lately as Andrés Chaparro is picking up more first base starts, even against righties. Daylen Lile has regained the cleanup spot against RHP.