Lineup Lowdown: National 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.

Atlanta Braves

-- The Braves have received next to nothing offensively at catcher since the All-Star break, with Sean Murphy sporting a .450 OPS and Travis d'Arnaud carrying a .489 OPS into action Monday. The two backstops have split the work evenly over the last eight games with four starts apiece. Atlanta is going to coast to the NL East title, so it makes sense for manager Brian Snitker to give Murphy plenty of rest down the stretch so he's fresh for the postseason, especially when he has such a capable No. 2 in d'Arnaud.

-- Snitker has not started mixing in off days for his other regulars, at least not yet. The one exception is Eddie Rosario, who sat twice versus lefties in favor of Kevin Pillar last week and another two games last month with a hamstring issue. Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Matt Olson have all started every game this season.

Miami Marlins

-- The Marlins shook up their corner infield situation at the trade deadline in shipping out Garrett Cooper and Jean Segura and acquiring Josh Bell and Jake Burger. Bell has immediately slid into the cleanup spot, coming into action Monday having starting three games at first base and two at designated hitter, with Yuli Gurriel drawing the start at first base on Bell's DH days. Burger has started four of five contests (all at third base), batting fifth twice and sixth twice.

-- Avisail Garcia has started five of eight games since returning from the injured list, with three of them coming in right field and one apiece in left and center. All but one of those starts have been against left-handed pitching, and that could be Garcia's role down the stretch, assuming the hamstring injury Jazz Chisholm suffered over the weekend is indeed only a cramp as the team has indicated. Garcia, Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez are all candidates to see time in center if Chisholm needs to go back on the IL, although the team could also bring back Dane Myers to play center.

New York Mets

-- Tommy Pham and Mark Canha were traded and Starling Marte (groin) is back on the IL, freeing up playing time in the outfield for a Mets club that's essentially turned the page to 2024. Jeff McNeil started in right field Monday, which was his seventh start in the outfield over the last nine games. With McNeil seeing more outfield action and Luis Guillorme (calf) out several more weeks, second base will be occupied by Danny Mendick and Jonathan Arauz. Rafael Ortega has started six of the last seven games and DJ Stewart has started four of the last five contests versus righties.

-- Mendick got the start at third base Monday after the Mets optioned the disappointing Brett Baty to Triple-A Syracuse. He could continue to see action there versus lefties, but Mark Vientos is expected to be at the hot corner against right-handers. Vientos had already started 10 of the last 14 contests prior to Monday, although he's mostly been at DH. Daniel Vogelbach has started just one of the last five games versus righties, but could get another look at DH against them with Vientos handling third.

Philadelphia Phillies

-- Manager Rob Thomson has finally relented and dropped Trea Turner in the batting order amidst the $300 million man's season-long slump. Prior to July 29, Turner had batted lower than cleanup just once all season (and that was fifth). Since then, he's hit higher than sixth just once (and that was also fifth), which included a span of three straight tilts all the way down in the eight spot. Turner's production on the whole has been unchanged since the demotion, although he did have a homer and a couple doubles over the weekend.

-- The biggest beneficiary of Turner's slide down the batting order has been Alec Bohm, who entered play Monday having hit second in each of the Phillies' last seven contests. Bohm had also batted fourth in three of four games prior to that after spending most of his time hitting seventh. The corner infielder has earned the prime lineup spot by putting up a .341/.411/.471 batting line since the All-Star break.

Washington Nationals

-- The Nationals trading Jeimer Candelario and cutting Corey Dickerson loose didn't come as surprises, but their demotion of Luis Garcia did (at least to this writer). Jake Alu is in line for a long look following the moves, as he's made two starts at second base and one at third over the team's last five games. The 26-year-old is worth your attention in deeper leagues, as he's already stolen three bases in limited action and has a little bit of pop, as well.

-- Another guy who is at least worth monitoring in deeper formats is Blake Rutherford. Rutherford is a former first-round pick who didn't live up to his prospect hype, but he batted .345/.395/.583 with 11 home runs and seven stolen bases in 62 games between the Double- and Triple-A levels before the Nats called him up. The left-handed batter started in left field each of the two times the Nationals faced a righty over the weekend, although he went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts.

Chicago Cubs

-- Seiya Suzuki has fallen into a short-side platoon in right field with Mike Tauchman lately. Coming into play Monday, Suzuki was on the bench each of the last four times the Cubs faced a right-hander (he started twice against lefties over that span). The 28-year-old has not had significant splits this season, but he's put up a meager .591 OPS since the beginning of June. Meanwhile, Tauchman has an .891 OPS since the start of July and has remained the club's leadoff hitter versus right-handed pitching since late June.

-- The Cubs picked up old friend Jeimer Candelario at the trade deadline and have used him at first base in four games versus righties and at third base in two games against lefties. Nick Madrigal handled the hot corner in the contests against right-handers and Patrick Wisdom covered first base versus southpaws. With Candelario seeing most of his action at first base and Tauchman positioned in right field, Cody Bellinger has seen all of his action over the last week in center field.

Cincinnati Reds

-- Injuries to Jonathan India (foot) and Jake Fraley (toe) has resulted in some shifting around for the Reds. Matt McLain has mostly handled second base since India went down, with Elly De La Cruz settling in at shortstop. That's opened up third base, which has been occupied by three different players (Spencer Steer, Nick Senzel and Kevin Newman) over the last five games. Steer has also seen plenty of action in the outfield lately. India hopes to be back Friday, while Fraley will need some more time.

-- After starting in the cleanup spot for each of his first 33 major-league games, De La Cruz has hit leadoff for each of his last 19 starts. For what it's worth, the talented rookie is batting just .205 and is only 1-for-3 on stolen base attempts since being moved to the top of the batting order, although he has clubbed five home runs. He's hit .297 with four homers and 16 steals from the cleanup spot.

Milwaukee Brewers

-- The Brewers picked up Carlos Santana ahead of the trade deadline and immediately inserted him into the third spot in their lineup, as he's made 10 straight starts there. Rowdy Tellez (finger/forearm) is slated to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday but figures to see most of his starts at DH upon his return, as Santana is the vastly superior defensive first baseman. Santana has also been more productive this season.

-- Mark Canha was another trade deadline acquisition and has garnered six starts in seven contests since joining his new club. Four of those six starts have been at DH, with the other two coming in left field when Christian Yelich was given a DH day. Canha is off to a slow start with the Brew Crew, though, and could see a significant drop in playing time when Tellez returns.

Pittsburgh Pirates

-- The Pirates also traded Ji-Man Choi in addition to Carlos Santana, getting Alfonso Rivas back from the Padres as part of the Choi deal. Rivas has started four of six games at first base since the trade, with Connor Joe handling the position the other two contests. He's batted leadoff once, third once and fifth twice. Rivas' power is lacking (although he did homer in his second game with the Bucs), but it looks like he'll play enough to carve out some NL-only value.

-- Jack Suwinski was the Pirates' regular leadoff hitter versus right-handers for a while, but seems to have lost his grip on that role as he goes through one of his patented slumps. Suwinski entered play Monday having gone hitless so far in August and posting just a .513 OPS in the second half. Josh Palacios was in the leadoff spot for three straight tilts before getting a day off Monday.

St. Louis Cardinals

-- Brendan Donovan was limited to DH duty for a month due to a flexor strain before he and the Cardinals finally decided last week that season-ending surgery was the best course of action. The Cards have rotated the DH spot since Donovan went on the IL, although Alec Burleson has started there in two of the last three contests and has been in the lineup four of the last five times versus righties. He's put up a 1.013 OPS with three home runs so far in the second half. The absence of Donovan has also meant Lars Nootbaar returning to the leadoff spot against right-handers.

-- Tyler O'Neill has started 14 of 17 tilts since returning from the injured list and is batting .283/.387/.528 with three long balls over that span. He batted cleanup in his team's most recent game. The Cards have pretty well settled on O'Neill in left field, Nootbaar in center and Jordan Walker in right field against righties since O'Neill returned, with Dylan Carlson handling center versus lefties and drawing the occasional start against right-handers.

Arizona Diamondbacks

-- The Diamondbacks picked up Tommy Pham at the trade deadline and, after giving him a moment to get acclimated, have thrown him into the lineup for each of their last four contests. Three of the four starts have been at DH, and Pham batted third twice versus lefties and fifth twice against righties. Pham has collected just one hit in his first 14 at-bats in Arizona but did steal a couple bases in his last game.

-- The free-falling Diamondbacks have stuck with Geraldo Perdomo as their leadoff hitter against righties even as he's hitting just .225/.324/.292 since the beginning of July. Going back further, Perdomo is hitting only .237/.348/.335 since the start of May, as his still-solid overall numbers are being propped up by an absurdly productive (and flukey) April. Perdomo sees the occasional start at second base on days Nick Ahmed plays shortstop.

Colorado Rockies

-- Brendan Rodgers made his long-awaited return from shoulder surgery last week and has been in the lineup for six of seven games since his activation. Each of his last four starts have come from the cleanup spot, a slot that had often been occupied by C.J. Cron and sometimes Randal Grichuk before they were both traded to the Angels. Rodgers is off to a slow start in the early going and didn't hit much on his rehab assignment, so it might be best to keep expectations fairly limited for 2023 as he comes back from major surgery.

-- Elehuris Montero has started seven straight games – with six of them coming at first base – since Cron was shipped out of town. Unfortunately, he's just 5-for-27 with 12 strikeouts over that span. Montero doesn't turn 25 until later this month and has crushed Triple-A pitching, but there hasn't been much to get excited about regarding his performance at the major-league level to this point.

Los Angeles Dodgers

-- One of the most surprising/weird moves at the trade deadline was the deal that sent Amed Rosario to the Dodgers and Noah Syndergaard to the Guardians. Perhaps even more surprising is that five of Rosario's seven starts for the Dodgers have come at second base, a position he had never previously played in pro ball. All but one of his starts have come against left-handers. Even when Mookie Betts missed a couple games versus a righty with a minor injury, Rosario remained on the bench. Miguel Rojas and his superior glove has remained the Dodgers' primary shortstop.

-- The Dodgers' lefty-heavy schedule of late has also meant plenty of action for Enrique Hernandez. He's also drawn three straight starts against righties, too, though, and is off to a nice start in his old stomping grounds. Hernandez has already started at four different positions in his 11 games with the Dodgers.

San Diego Padres

-- The Padres have struggled to get anything out of the DH spot this season and have now turned to Ji-Man Choi at least against righties after picking him up via trade (he's actually started the last two at first base, as Manny Machado has been the DH while he nurses a tight hamstring). Choi is an unexciting option, but he's always had decent on-base skills and came into action Monday with a career .807 OPS against right-handed pitching.

-- Luis Campusano went through a stretch where he started 11 of 15 games before being on the bench for four of six tilts prior to returning to the lineup Monday and going 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs. Gary Sanchez has heated back up at the plate in the second half, so it's hard to see Campusano wrestling the catching job away from him anytime soon. They could both play against lefties, though.

San Francisco Giants

-- With Thairo Estrada back from the injured list, the Giants elected to send Casey Schmitt back to the minors. Schmitt started off with a bang for San Francisco in May, but he had managed a dreadful .120/.212/.162 batting line since the beginning of June. Estrada has batted second in each of his three games since being activated, starting at second base the two times the Giants have faced a righty and once at shortstop when they squared off against a southpaw.

-- Wilmer Flores is known as a lefty killer, but the handedness of the opposing pitcher hasn't mattered much to him since he returned from a foot injury in late June. Flores entered play Monday batting an utterly ridiculous .374/.417/.667 with seven home runs over 28 games during that span. As a result, he's started 12 of the last 14 contests, with seven of them coming against right-handers. Flores has hit lower than third just once over those 14 games, and that one time he hit fifth.