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.
To track all the latest changes around the league, visit our MLB batting order changes and MLB playing time changes pages.
Baltimore Orioles
– Tyler O'Neill started each of the first two games against right-handers upon his return from the injured list. Since then, however, he has been absent from the lineup for four straight contests versus righties. He has started all four games against lefties during that stretch. It could simply be the club easing O'Neill back into action, or it could be them realizing they've invested $50 million in a short-side platoon bat. Meanwhile, the position that had belonged to O'Neill — right field — has gone to Jeremiah Jackson in four of the last five tilts. Jackson has started all but one game since Aug. 21.
– Taking over as the everyday first baseman has been Coby Mayo, who has started all but two games since Aug. 25. He's cranked four home runs over that span, but unfortunately the production as a whole for Mayo has remained lackluster. He's consistently hitting in the lower-third of the Orioles' batting order versus righties and has batted ninth eight times over the aforementioned stretch. Mayo could have to cede some first-base reps
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.
To track all the latest changes around the league, visit our MLB batting order changes and MLB playing time changes pages.
Baltimore Orioles
– Tyler O'Neill started each of the first two games against right-handers upon his return from the injured list. Since then, however, he has been absent from the lineup for four straight contests versus righties. He has started all four games against lefties during that stretch. It could simply be the club easing O'Neill back into action, or it could be them realizing they've invested $50 million in a short-side platoon bat. Meanwhile, the position that had belonged to O'Neill — right field — has gone to Jeremiah Jackson in four of the last five tilts. Jackson has started all but one game since Aug. 21.
– Taking over as the everyday first baseman has been Coby Mayo, who has started all but two games since Aug. 25. He's cranked four home runs over that span, but unfortunately the production as a whole for Mayo has remained lackluster. He's consistently hitting in the lower-third of the Orioles' batting order versus righties and has batted ninth eight times over the aforementioned stretch. Mayo could have to cede some first-base reps to Samuel Basallo after Adley Rutschman (oblique) was activated from the IL.
Boston Red Sox
– The Red Sox have struggled to find the right lineup mix with Roman Anthony (oblique) and Wilyer Abreu (calf) sidelined. They did get Abreu back Sunday, starting him at designated hitter and batting him eighth (he struck out in all four plate appearances). Abreu should work his way back up higher in the batting order once he knocks some rust off. With Abreu handling the DH spot Sunday, Masataka Yoshida received his first career start in right field. He also batted cleanup for the fifth consecutive contest.
– Romy Gonzalez has started four of the past five games at second base, and all of those have come against right-handers. The right-handed batter has done most of his damage this season versus left-handed pitching (.985 OPS), but he's held his own against righties (.725 OPS). With Gonzalez settling in at the keystone, every one of Ceddanne Rafaela's starts since Aug. 29 have come in center field.
New York Yankees
– Anthony Volpe was out of the lineup for six straight games after being given a cortisone shot to combat a partially torn left labrum in his left shoulder, an injury it was revealed he's been playing through since May. He's since been back at shortstop for four of the past six tilts, and perhaps the injection helped because he's reached base seven times and stolen a couple bases in his last four contests. Jose Caballero looms as the Yankees' shortstop alternative.
– Paul Goldschmidt has seen an uptick in playing time lately, drawing six starts over the last eight games. Half of those starts have come against righties, which is notable considering he had been out of the lineup 10 times across his team's last 11 games versus right-handers. Ben Rice started at catcher each of the last two times Goldy started at first base against a righty.
Tampa Bay Rays
– It was looking like Richie Palacios might overtake Bob Seymour at first base against right-handed pitching, but Seymour has regained his foothold with seven starts over the last 11 contests, including making five of six starts versus righties. While Seymour sports a 55.3 percent hard-hit rate, he also has a 37.9 percent strikeout rate and has gone deep just once in his first 20 big-league contests.
– Nick Fortes has started at catcher in six of the last eight games. It's helped him that the Rays have faced four lefties, but the right-handed batter has drawn a couple starts against righties over that stretch, too. Neither Fortes (.639 OPS) nor Hunter Feduccia (.514 OPS) have offered much of anything offensively since the Rays decided to overhaul their catching duo at the trade deadline.
Toronto Blue Jays
– With Bo Bichette (knee) injured, Andres Gimenez has slid to the other side of the second-base bag to become the Blue Jays' shortstop against righties. The domino effect has meant Ernie Clement playing second base, Addison Barger handling third base and Davis Schneider becoming an everyday guy, as Schneider has made 11 straight starts. Nine of those have been in left field, and he's also started a pair of contests at second base versus lefties, with Clement handling shortstop those days. Schneider's production has slowed in September (.606 OPS) after a big August (1.051 OPS), though he does have an 8:9 BB:K this month.
– Barger is slashing only .183/.248/.294 with two homers over his last 21 tilts, but with Bichette shelved the left-handed-hitting Barger has taken over as the club's cleanup hitter each of the last eight times the Jays have gone up against a right-hander. Alejandro Kirk has been Toronto's cleanup man versus southpaws.
Chicago White Sox
– Chase Meidroth is back up in the White Sox' leadoff spot on an everyday basis, making five straight starts from the top of the batting order. The rookie infielder has earned the move back up by slashing .328/.403/.438 with a couple home runs so far in September. Former leadoff man versus righties, Mike Tauchman, has hit fifth three times, second once and been out of the lineup once covering the last five contests.
– From Aug. 16 to Sept. 15, all of Lenyn Sosa's starts came from the second, third or fourth spots in the batting order. Since then, he's been used in the Nos. 6 and 7 spots twice apiece and was out of the lineup once. Sosa has just a .568 OPS and 34.3 percent strikeout rate thus far in September.
Cleveland Guardians
– Bo Naylor has batted fifth for the red-hot Guardians in each of his last six starts, having earned a move up in the batting order thanks to a .306/.340/.592 batting line with three home runs this month. Naylor has greatly improved his plate discipline this season, upping his walk rate from 7.5 percent to 11 percent while cutting his strikeout rate from 31.4 percent to 23.8 percent year-over-year.
– Over the last eight contests, the Guardians have used four different players in the two hole sandwiched in between Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez. Angel Martinez hit there three games in a row last week, but in the last two contests he's batted seventh once and was out of the lineup for the other game. George Valera has drawn two starts in the two spot during that stretch, and the left-handed batter has been in the lineup four of the last five times Cleveland has faced a righty. He's reached base eight times and popped his first major-league homer over the span.
Detroit Tigers
– In the three games since the Tigers lost Colt Keith to a ribcage injury, the club has gone with Zach McKinstry twice versus righties and Andy Ibanez once versus a lefty at third base. McKinstry sliding over to the hot corner has meant three straight starts at shortstop for Javier Baez, who before that had started one of the previous five tilts and nine of the last 21 contests. Baez has given back any apparent improvement he made in the first half by posting a .501 OPS and 1:40 BB:K in the second half.
– Parker Meadows had already begun to seize the leadoff spot against righties before Keith was hurt, making five straight starts there versus right-handers, and he's ran that streak to seven since the Keith injury. With Keith — who easily still leads the team with 51 starts at leadoff this season — out, Meadows should continue to sit atop the batting order in the final week.
Kansas City Royals
– Rookie Carter Jensen has been included in the Royals' lineup for each of the last eight contests. He even batted leadoff in back-to-back games over the weekend before being moved back down to the No. 7 spot Sunday. Jensen has had a fantastic start to his big-league career, putting up a .966 OPS with two home runs and a 6:8 BB:K across his first 14 games. Mike Yastrzemski has been the team's regular leadoff man versus righties since early August and was back in the spot Sunday after Jensen was given a two-game test run there.
– After starting six of seven games upon his return from the IL, Jonathan India has since been absent from the lineup for five straight tilts. Michael Massey has started at second base in three of those games, while Adam Frazier played there in the other two contests (Frazier started the other three in left field). After serving as the team's everyday leadoff man through early August, India has been relegated mostly to the No. 7 spot against righties on days he's played.
Minnesota Twins
– In four games since Matt Wallner (back) was lost for the season, the Twins have used James Outman twice and Carson McCusker and Trevor Larnach once apiece in right field. The left-handed-hitting Outman also drew an additional start in center field during that stretch, and his playing time uptick is especially notable since two of his starts have been against lefties. Outman, though, has been a disaster at the plate for Minnesota, sporting a .596 OPS and 42.5 percent strikeout rate in 31 contests.
– Jhonny Pereda has assumed primary catcher duties since both Ryan Jeffers (concussion) and Christian Vazquez (shoulder) went down, starting 10 of 16 games. Vazquez, though, is back for the final week, and he'll be the primary backstop unless Jeffers can make it back. Jeffers is with the team on their road trip but has yet to be cleared for game action.
Houston Astros
– Yordan Alvarez is hurt again, this time going down with a left ankle sprain that will end his regular season. If there's a silver lining for the Astros, it's that they got Isaac Paredes (hamstring) back from a two-month absence and immediately inserted him into the lineup at DH and the three hole. Paredes' hamstring tear is not yet fully healed, so he'll be a full-time DH down the stretch. Jose Altuve had already been seeing more and more action at second base, and with DH no longer an option, each of his last 10 starts have come at the keystone.
– Barely over a month ago, Zach Cole was playing at Double-A Corpus Christi. He got hot there, though, sustained it after being promoted to Triple-A Sugar Land and has continued to produce with the big club, sporting a .996 OPS with three home runs in his first nine major-league games. The left-handed-hitting Cole has started seven of nine tilts since being called up, with the last four of them coming in right field. Cole has batted eighth or ninth in five of his seven starts but was up in the No. 5 spot for the other two starts.
Los Angeles Angels
– With Zach Neto (hand) done for the season, the Angels called up Denzer Guzman and have handed him eight straight starts at shortstop. Guzman is only 21 and had put up middling numbers between Double- and Triple-A, so it was a push to stick him in the big leagues. Unsurprisingly, he's gone just 4-for-26 with 14 strikeouts thus far, though he has shown his plus raw power with a couple home runs.
– Guzman's double-play partner has been Christian Moore, as the 22-year-old is getting another opportunity at everyday reps at second base with eight straight starts at the position. Moore has slugged three home runs but also has a pair of games when he wore the golden sombrero, striking out in all four plate appearances. It feels appropriate for a guy with lots of power and also lots of swing-and-miss in his game. Moore has hit sixth four times, fifth three times and seventh once.
Sacramento Athletics
– After making 17 consecutive starts upon his recall in late August, Zack Gelof was in the lineup just twice over a five-game span before suffering a season-ending shoulder dislocation. The 25-year-old has an untenable 45.5 percent strikeout rate in 2025 and a 36.1 percent strikeout rate since the beginning of last season. The Athletics have turned to Darell Hernaiz at second base after he had mostly been playing third base. Hernaiz has made 12 straight starts.
– The A's have been mixing and matching in right field since Lawrence Butler shifted to center field full time after Denzel Clarke (hip) got hurt shortly after the All-Star break. Across 55 games, JJ Bleday has made 17 starts in right field (and five more between left and center field), Colby Thomas has made 13 starts in right field (and 11 more between left and center field) and Carlos Cortes has made 14 starts in right field (and five more in left field). Brent Rooker has also been mixed in in right field on days he doesn't DH. Each of the right-handed-hitting Thomas' eight starts have come against lefties.
Seattle Mariners
– Dominic Canzone yielded to Victor Robles in right field in each of the first two games against righties upon the latter's return from suspension. However, Canzone has since reclaimed a regular spot in the lineup versus right-handed pitching, making five straight starts in such situations. Three of those starts have been at DH, so there's still been room in the lineup for Robles.
– Each of Jorge Polanco's last three starts and seven of his last nine starts have come at second base. Polanco's 2025 season has been a bit of a roller coaster ride, but he's peaking again at the right time with a .985 OPS in September. Leo Rivas has started at second base in those two games Polanco was at DH, while Cole Young has been in the lineup on just one occasion across the last 17 contests.
Texas Rangers
– Alejandro Osuna has not only started 11 straight games, he has been elevated to the three spot in the lineup for the last two contests and batted second in the game before that. Though he's still looking for his first home run this month, Osuna is slashing .319/.385/.362 with a 5:6 BB:K in September. Injuries to Adolis Garcia and Wyatt Langford have been a factor in Osuna's emerging playing time, as Garcia is still dealing with nagging quad soreness and Langford missed a couple games over the weekend with a side issue before returning Sunday.
– Josh Smith was moved down from the leadoff spot to the No. 6 spot in the lineup Saturday and then was out of the lineup Sunday. Smith is slashing an anemic .205/.301/.247 since the beginning of August. With Smith demoted from the top of the batting order, Joc Pederson hit leadoff in each of the Rangers' last two contests.
