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.

To track all the latest changes around the league, visit our MLB batting order changes and MLB playing time changes pages. For today's lineups, head to our MLB Daily Lineups page.

Baltimore Orioles

– Cedric Mullins batted seventh against a right-hander on Opening Day, but Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has had little choice but to move him to a more high-profile spot in the batting order given that he's one of the few position players that hasn't disappointed thus far. Mullins has been in the leadoff spot for each of his last eight starts, which includes three contests versus left-handed pitchers. The left-handed batter is sporting a robust 1.258 OPS against lefty pitching in the early going.

– Tyler O'Neill is down with a neck injury, and Ramon Laureano has drawn starts in four of five games since O'Neill went on the injured list. The only time he wasn't in the lineup came during the second leg of a doubleheader. Laureano — who batted leadoff versus a left-handed Sunday — has a .745 OPS, and three of his nine hits this season have left the yard.

Boston Red Sox

– Manager Alex Cora said in March that he wasn't going to platoon at first base. However, the Red Sox have faced six left-handers this season and Triston Casas hasn't started any of those contests, yielding to Romy Gonzalez at first base each time. Casas also hasn't batted higher than sixth since April 13 after each of his first 12 starts this season came from the cleanup spot. The 25-year-old did homer in back-to-back games last week, so perhaps he's beginning to right the ship, and if he does, he should get some starts against southpaws and move back up in the batting order.

– Fellow left-handed swinger Wilyer Abreu has essentially swapped lineup spots with Casas, as Abreu began the year batting sixth or seventh but hass hit either fourth or fifth across his last 11 starts. Abreu is also being platooned, having been out of the lineup in favor of Rob Refsnyder in all but one game against lefties this season.

New York Yankees

– The biggest surprise for the Yankees from a position player perspective has unquestionably been Trent Grisham. As I write this, Grisham's OPS in 2025 is almost 400 points higher than it was in 2024, and his seven home runs are only two off last year's total. Each of the 28-year-old's last four starts have come from the leadoff spot, and it likely would be more if he hadn't been away on paternity leave during the middle of that stretch. I'm sure Grisham will come back to earth, but he's crushing the ball right now with an 16.7 percent barrel rate and has cut his strikeout rate to 20 percent.

– Oswaldo Cabrera is a switch hitter, but he's traditionally been a more capable offensive player from the left side of the plate and, as such, manager Aaron Boone has platooned him, starting him at third base in all but two games against righties and sitting him in every contest versus lefties. (Oswald Peraza has been at the hot corner for all but one of those games.) DJ LeMahieu (calf) has begun a rehab assignment and will factor into the third-base picture soon.

Tampa Bay Rays

– Speedster Chandler Simpson has arrived in the big leagues and has been handed starts in seven of eight games, appearing off the bench in the one contest he didn't start. He's even batted leadoff in four of those contests, has collected a hit in all eight games and has already swiped three bases. The Rays will have some decisions to make when Josh Lowe (oblique), Jonny DeLuca (shoulder) and Jake Mangum (groin) are healthy, but Simpson is surely going to continue playing regularly as long as he's producing.

– Christopher Morel has been absent from the lineup four times across the last 10 games, which includes only three starts in the team's last seven contests versus right-handed pitching. Morel has a .782 OPS and a barrel rate in the 100th percentile, but his strikeout rate is an untenable 40.2 percent and he hasn't looked great defensively in left field. His playing time might be further squeezed when the aforementioned injured outfielders get healthy.

Toronto Blue Jays

– Coming off a career-low .674 OPS in 2024, George Springer began the season as the Blue Jays' No. 6 hitter. However, he's had a resurgent year to this point and has hit cleanup for them in each of the last six games. Springer has played plenty of center field this season for Toronto but will return to right field with Daulton Varsho back from his shoulder surgery.

– Will Wagner started each of the first six games of the season and 12 of the first 15 contests. Since then, though, he's been in the lineup only six times across 13 games, and he's now been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. Wagner's loss of playing time is a result of Anthony Santander spending more and more time at DH and also Ernie Clement emerging as the primary third baseman.

Chicago White Sox

– The White Sox have not only been rolling with Joshua Palacios as their regular right fielder against right-handed pitching but also as their leadoff man, slotting him in at the top of the batting order each of the last four times they've faced a righty. The White Sox have already used six different players in the leadoff spot this season. It had seemed as though Chase Meidroth was likely to claim the spot, but he's been shelved with a thumb injury.

– It didn't take Edgar Quero long to work his way up in the White Sox's batting order. The switch-hitting catcher batted seventh in each of his first two starts in the big leagues, but he hasn't hit lower than fifth since then and has peaked in the No. 3 spot. After starting two of the first four games upon his promotion, he has been in the lineup six times across the last seven tilts, including being slotted in at DH twice.

Cleveland Guardians

– He did hit his first home run over the weekend, but Nolan Jones has yet to find his footing at the plate this season. Despite that, he's been elevated to the No. 2 spot in the Guardians' lineup for six of his last seven starts (he batted fourth in the other game). Jones has mostly served on the strong side of a platoon in right field with Jhonkensy Noel, but he's also played some center field to cover for the injury to Lane Thomas (wrist).

– Handling the bulk of the reps in center field with Thomas injured has been Angel Martinez, who has started 14 of the last 16 contests. Twelve of those starts have come in center field, and he's also played right field once and second base once. The switch-hitting Martinez is off to a nice start offensively and was up in the two hole the last time he was in the lineup.

Detroit Tigers

– The Tigers' new everyday center fielder is…Javier Baez? Baez had never started a game in the outfield prior to this season, but he's been in center field for six of the past seven contests for the Tigers. Each of Baez's last four starts against righties have come from the bottom of the lineup, but he's actually been an above-average offensive player this season with an OPS+ of 109.

– Jace Jung failed to make the Opening Day roster, but he was promoted last week and has started six of seven tilts at third base, occupying the No. 6 spot in the lineup for five of those. Things have been trending in the other direction for fellow left-handed-hitting infielder Colt Keith, who has started just two of the last six games. Spencer Torkelson's re-emergence has been the main reason for Keith's dip in playing time, and more recently Kerry Carpenter being limited to DH duty because of a hamstring issue has meant no room for Keith. Of course, Keith hasn't helped himself by sporting a .531 OPS.

Kansas City Royals

– The Royals have been giving Drew Waters everyday run, putting him in the lineup for each of the last 11 contests. He's played all over the outfield during that stretch, making five starts in left field, three in right and three in center. Waters is starting to hit as he gets regular reps, too, entering play Tuesday sporting a 1.183 OPS across his last seven tilts. The emergence of Waters coincided with the demotion of MJ Melendez, who hadn't started more than two games in a row at any point this season before being sent down to Triple-A Omaha.

– Interestingly, Jonathan India hasn't played an inning at second base this season after it had been the only position he'd played in the big leagues coming into 2025. He's made 14 starts at third base and nine in left field, along with three starts in the DH slot. India has done very little at the plate so far but hasn't left the leadoff spot.

Minnesota Twins

– Edouard Julien has settled in as the Twins' leadoff man against right-handed pitching, making 12 straight starts there in such situations. Unfortunately, he's put up just a .654 OPS during that span, although he did hit his first two home runs of the season. Julien will need to pick up the pace soon, as Royce Lewis (hamstring) has begun a rehab assignment and Willi Castro (oblique) isn't far behind.

– Remember when we weren't sure who would be playing first base for the Twins? Well, Ty France leads all Twins players with 28 starts and is tied for the team lead with 115 plate appearances this season. A sub-.700 OPS inspires little confidence, but the Twins don't look to have much in the way of alternatives unless they want to give Jose Miranda another shot.

Houston Astros

– In what was apparently Jose Altuve's idea, Jeremy Pena has been elevated to the Astros' leadoff spot for each of the last two games, with Altuve batting second. Pena has never been a great on-base guy, but he does have a career-best 7.9 percent walk rate and career-low 14.9 percent strikeout rate so far this season. I'm skeptical that he'll remain at the top of the batting order, but it's good for Pena's fantasy prospects while he's there.

– Looking to inject more life into a disappointing offense, manager Joe Espada has written Zach Dezenzo's name onto the lineup card five times across the last six contests. He's also handed Chas McCormick back-to-back starts in center field. Meanwhile, the defensively-gifted but offensively-inept Jake Meyers has started only two of the last five tilts.

Los Angeles Angels

– As hot as Kyren Paris was to start the season, he's been that cold of late, entering play Tuesday hitless over his last 25 plate appearances with a whopping 14 strikeouts. He's seen his playing time dip as a result, with the 23-year-old being absent from the lineup in two of the last three games and three of the past seven contests. Tim Anderson has been getting the reps Paris has lost but is showing no signs of coming out of his offensive doldrums.

– Manager Ron Washington had Zach Neto batting seventh initially upon Neto's return from the IL, but that didn't last long, as Neto has hit second in each of the last six games. He's shown no lingering effects from his shoulder surgery with a .961 OPS, three home runs and three stolen bases in his first 35 plate appearances.

Sacramento Athletics

– Top prospect Nick Kurtz has arrived and taken over at first base, playing the position in each of his five starts. Tyler Soderstrom has patroled left field in four of those games, a position he had never played before. Kurtz has batted seventh four times and eighth once so far but could certainly work his way up in the batting order if he starts hitting.

– Lawrence Butler batted somewhere other than leadoff in his last game, with the left-handed-hitter occupying the No. 6 spot against a southpaw Monday. Jacob Wilson was up in the leadoff spot for the Athletics, a lineup position he's held in two of the last three contests. It's tough to get a true gauge of things because the A's have faced four straight lefties, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the change sticks at least versus left-handers. Butler was better against lefties in 2024, but so far in 2025 he's been much better versus righties.

Seattle Mariners

– With Jorge Polanco limited to DH duty because of a lingering side issue, Ben Williamson has handled third base in nine of the Mariners' last 12 contests. Williamson is known far more for his glove than his bat, but he's gotten off to a nice start offensively in his first foray into the big leagues. As for Polanco, he's still not able to start against left-handed pitching, as the switch hitter's side bothers him when he swings righty. He hasn't started a game versus a southpaw since March.

– J.P. Crawford batted sixth Sunday, which was the first time in 27 starts this season that he didn't hit ninth. He's been scorching-hot at the plate the last couple weeks, so the move up to the six spot could be a sign of things to come rather than just a one-off. Crawford, of course, has plenty of past experience as a leadoff hitter, and it would be a boon to his fantasy value if he eventually moves back there.

Texas Rangers

– Marcus Semien's brutal start has cost him his leadoff spot, as he's batted fifth in the Rangers' last seven games. Taking over at the top of the batting order since Semien's demotion has been Josh Smith against right-handers and Kevin Pillar versus left-handers. Smith has been in his usual super utility role for most of this season but has become the Rangers' everyday shortstop of late with Corey Seager (hamstring) going down.

– Leody Taveras looks to be losing his grip on the center field job. The switch hitter has been in the lineup just twice over the last eight contests, with Pillar starting there three times versus lefties and Dustin Harris (twice) and Smith (once) playing there against righties on days Taveras sat. Of note: Evan Carter is heating up at Triple-A Round Rock. In nine games there since returning from a hand injury, he's sporting a .973 OPS with two home runs and three stolen bases.