The All-Star break is nearly upon us, and soon enough, the trade deadline. Meanwhile, the hitter injuries are piling up. Time for our weekly look at lineups around the league, and who teams are valuing as the first half winds down.
Finish off the Fourth of July weekend in style with Star-Spangled Sunday on July 5, with all 15 of the day’s MLB games exclusively on NBC, Peacock and NBCSN.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Tommy Troy has taken over center field with Jordan Lawlar sidelined again. Max Kepler is getting most of the left field starts against righties now that he’s back from suspension. Pavin Smith is the primary first baseman against righties with Carlos Santana designated for assignment.
Athletics
Lots of moving parts as they’ve faced five straight lefties and the IL keeps filling up. Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson, and Zack Gelof are all sidelined. Plus, Brent Rooker is now out for the year. Henry Bolte and Lawrence Butler are two of the beneficiaries. Bolte has received numerous leadoff opportunities lately, while Butler has even started versus three of those five southpaws. Carlos Cortes, however, hasn’t started since June 19, even against right-handers.
Atlanta Braves
Austin Riley continues to hit in the bottom third of the lineup. Drake Baldwin is back at leadoff lately. Dominic Smith essentially platoons with Joey Bart (with Baldwin shifting to DH against lefties). They play their regulars as often as possible when everyone’s healthy.
Baltimore Orioles
Samuel Basallo made his first start of the season at first base on Sunday when Adley Rutschman came off the IL. Dylan Beavers is platooning with Tyler O’Neill in a corner outfield spot.
Boston Red Sox
Jarren Duran has sat against three straight lefties as Nate Eaton platoons with him. Tsung-Che Cheng has taken over shortstop with Marcelo Mayer on the IL. Anthony Seigler is the everyday second baseman with a few recent leadoff opportunities.
Chicago Cubs
We’ll see if Dansby Swanson moves up from the nine hole, but it’s been working for him with 29 RBI over his past 13 games. Michael Conforto is in a strong-side platoon role in right field with Matt Shaw hurt and Moisés Ballesteros at Triple-A.
The next generation of MLB stars is headed to Philadelphia, with Jesús Made, Leo De Vries, Kade Anderson and Eli Willits among the headliners.
-
D.J. Short
,
-
D.J. Short
,
Chicago White Sox
Kyle Teel has started seven of 10 since returning from hamstring and knee injuries. Jacob Gonzalez is the first baseman against right-handers. Andrew Benintendi has been primarily limited to DH, having started just seven games in the outfield. Braden Montgomery has started all but one game since being called up on June 9.
Cincinnati Reds
JJ Bleday remains a near everyday player but has sat against two of the past three lefties. Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo are consolidating at right field and second base, respectively. Matt McLain started in center field for the first time on Wednesday, but has only started five of the past 11.
Cleveland Guardians
Kahlil Watson is batting cleanup against righties over the past week. Rhys Hoskins and David Fry play against all lefties. Cooper Ingle is starting against all RHP.
Colorado Rockies
Jake McCarthy and Mickey Moniak bat 1-2 against righties. TJ Rumfield continues to hit third/fourth. Cole Carrigg has sat a few times over the past two weeks, but he remains the primary center fielder.
Detroit Tigers
Kevin McGonigle continues to shift back and forth between shortstop and third base. Kerry Carpenter, James Outman, and Colt Keith platoon with Matt Vierling, Jahmai Jones, and Ben Malgeri.
Houston Astros
Jose Altuve has moved back up to leadoff with Jeremy Peña sidelined again. The primary outfield setup is Joey Loperfido, Taylor Trammell, and Cam Smith. Brice Matthews spells Loperfido in left field against southpaws.
Astros host AL-best Rays aiming to climb AL West
CC Sabathia and Ahmed Fareed look ahead the Rays and Astros’ upcoming three-game series, which finishes with a critical clash at 3:30pm ET on Peacock and NBCSN Extra as part of Star-Spangled Sunday.
Kansas City Royals
Carter Jensen has started against six of the past seven lefties and is leading off vs. RHP. Jac Caglianone is playing more first base with Vinnie Pasquantino on the IL. Nick Loftin has taken over at third base with Maikel Garcia hurt.
Los Angeles Angels
Denzer Guzman and Wade Meckler are hitting in the top five this past week. Josh Lowe is back from Triple-A and has started seven straight, all versus righties. Vaughn Grissom’s playing time has fallen considerably since returning from the injured list.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Tommy Edman has been bouncing between second base, third base, and left field since coming off the IL. Kyle Tucker is mostly hitting sixth, and occasionally seventh. Teoscar Hernández’s IL activation sent Ryan Ward to Triple-A.
Miami Marlins
Liam Hicks is off the IL and has resumed his leadoff duties versus RHP. Owen Caissie hasn’t moved to the top half of the lineup, but he’s lasted in the majors all year. Kyle Stowers is up to 15 starts at first base.
Milwaukee Brewers
Cooper Pratt has sat twice since being called up on June 16. He’s the near everyday shortstop. Andrew Vaughn is crushing lefties, but has started against only one of the past six righties. David Hamilton and Joey Ortiz are platooning at third base.
Minnesota Twins
Royce Lewis has settled in as the everyday first baseman. The rest of the infield features Kody Clemens at second base, Tristan Gray at shortstop, and Brooks Lee at third base. Trevor Larnach has been the leadoff hitter against righties since June 6.
New York Mets
Francisco Lindor is hitting cleanup behind the regular top three of Carson Benge, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette. Brett Baty is playing second base with Marcus Semien on the IL. Mark Vientos’ playing time has been limited to lefties for most of the past month.
New York Yankees
Paul Goldschmidt has sat against two of the past three righties after getting regular run versus them since mid-May. Jasson Domínguez is an everyday player with Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham, and Giancarlo Stanton all sidelined.
Philadelphia Phillies
No updates here as things remain extremely consistent. Expecting an outfield trade to replace the Gabriel Rincones Jr./Derek Hill platoon.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Konnor Griffin has led off in all five starts since returning from the injured list. Ryan O’Hearn has shifted from right field to first base with Spencer Horwitz hurt. Esmerlyn Valdez has moved up to cleanup against the past two righties.
San Diego Padres
Samad Taylor has been a near everyday player since early June. Gavin Sheets is platooning with Miguel Andújar. Ty France has consolidated first base.
San Francisco Giants
Heliot Ramos has started all three games since returning from the IL. Over the past week, Casey Schmitt has played second base, third base, shortstop, and left field. He’ll likely stick at the hot corner with Matt Chapman on the IL.
Seattle Mariners
The transition at shortstop from J.P. Crawford to Colt Emerson is complete. Cole Young has started every game this season. Dominic Canzone is hitting in the heart of the order against all righties. Cal Raleigh has fallen from the two hole to 5/6 over the past week.
St. Louis Cardinals
Lars Nootbaar has started three straight against lefties after sitting for the first three upon returning from the IL. Blaze Jordan has sat once since being called up on June 12. Nathan Church continues to hold down center field while Joshua Báez waits for his opportunity at Triple-A.
Tampa Bay Rays
Victor Mesa Jr. is up to cleanup against right-handers. He, Cedric Mullins, and Richie Palacios sit against lefties. Chandler Simpson hasn’t led off since June 5.
Caminero’s power putting him ‘in rarefied air’
James Schiano lauds Tampa Bay Rays’ star Junior Caminero’s performance as he achieves the record for youngest player to homer in six straight games. Schiano also says it might be the “beginning of a Hall of Fame career.”
Texas Rangers
Joc Pederson remains the leadoff hitter vs. righties. Justin Foscue is leading off against southpaws with Wyatt Langford sidelined. Evan Carter is back from the IL but has sat against two of the three lefties since. Nicky Lopez has played shortstop the past two games with Corey Seager back on the IL.
Toronto Blue Jays
Yohendrick Piñango has started all five games since coming up from Triple-A when Jesús Sánchez hit the IL. Nathan Lukes has been glued to a top-two lineup spot against righties for the past month.
Washington Nationals
They’ve faced a lot of lefties lately, and Curtis Mead has sat versus three of the past five righties. He likely wouldn’t have sat that often if the schedule weren’t giving them lefties to optimize around, but they haven’t let him loose so far this year. Luis García Jr. remains in a very favorable lineup spot, hitting second against righties on one of the best offenses in MLB.
Read the full article here
