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 are in scramble mode in their outfield following the PED suspension of Jurickson Profar, which, of course, is added onto Ronald Acuna's (knee) continued absence. Profar had batted leadoff in each of the first four games before the suspension, but since then those duties fell to Michael Harris against righties (four times) and Ozzie Albies versus lefties (once). It's a nice boost for Harris' outlook, as he'd been hitting sixth but should now be the primary leadoff guy for the next month or so until Acuna is ready. Meanwhile, Albies has also moved up to the No. 2 spot against righties in the last two games, with the struggling Austin Riley shifting down to the five hole.

– The shortstop position has turned into a timeshare, if not a full-on change in terms of who is viewed as the starter. Orlando Arcia started four of the first five games of the season, but it was Nick Allen at shortstop for each of the last four tilts (Arcia had been slated to start Sunday before that game was rained out). Allen is the more trusted glove of the two, and Arcia is off to a poor start offensively in 2025 after struggling at the plate in 2024.

Miami Marlins

– Kyle Stowers has occupied the second spot in the Marlins' lineup for all six games versus right-handed pitching. The 27-year-old has major swing-and-miss issues, but he draws walks and so far this season has been hitting the ball extremely hard. The left-handed hitting Stowers has been absent from the lineup in two of three contests against lefties and was down in the No. 7 spot for the other. He and fellow lefty bat Griffin Conine should continue to platoon in the corner outfield spots, with Javier Sanoja and Dane Myers filling in against southpaws.

– Otto Lopez hit fifth for Miami in its first two games of the season, but he moved up to the No. 2 spot in its three contests versus lefties and has hit third or fourth in three of the last four tilts against righties. The 26-year-old has been a standout defender at second base since joining the Marlins, and while he has limited power, he has the potential to be an asset in the average and stolen base departments.

New York Mets

– Tyrone Taylor occupied center field for the Mets in their first two games of the season, but since then it's been Jose Siri patrolling center in all but two contests. Siri offers an elite glove in center, and while he has some power and speed, he's so wildly inconsistent and strikeout-prone offensively that it's difficult to have any trust in him for fantasy purposes.

– With a big spring, Brett Baty won the right to serve as the Mets' primary second baseman while Jeff McNeil (oblique) was sidelined. However, Baty's hot Grapefruit League bat hasn't carried over into the regular season, and after starting each of the first three games against right-handed pitching, he and Luisangel Acuna have had an even split over the last six tilts.

Philadelphia Phillies

– Left-handed hitters Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler have both started two of three contests against left-handed pitching. Manager Rob Thomson had hinted that he didn't plan to use a strict platoon with either player, so it doesn't come as a big surprise. Still, it's heartening for Marsh's and Kepler's fantasy managers to see it play out that way, at least for now. Johan Rojas has made two starts and has come in on defense in a couple additional games. Weston Wilson (oblique) will be an option in the outfield versus southpaws once he's ready.

– Similarly, lefty swinger Bryson Stott has also started two of three tilts versus southpaws thus far. Unlike Marsh and Kepler, Stott has not had notable splits during his career, but he was on the bench more often than not against left-handed pitching during the second half of last season in favor of Edmundo Sosa.

Washington Nationals

– The big surprise in the early going here has been Dylan Crews batting in the lower third of the Nationals' batting order consistently. He hit second against a lefty in the Nats' second contest of the season, but outside of that, his other eight starts have been out of the seventh, eighth or ninth spots. With as badly as the 23-year-old has struggled at the plate in the early going, he figures to remain stuck toward the bottom of the order until he can right the ship. Crews has been the club's center fielder of late, with Alex Call emerging as the right fielder and Jacob Young heading to the bench. The hot-hitting Call was up in the two hole for Washington on Monday.

– Keibert Ruiz spent most of a disappointing 2024 campaign batting fifth or sixth and hit seventh for the Nationals in the first two games this season. However, across his last seven starts he has not hit lower than cleanup. The switch-hitting catcher has been arguably the club's best hitter in the early going. Meanwhile, James Wood hit second or third in six of the first seven tilts but had been in the five hole for two straight games before being elevated to leadoff Monday with CJ Abrams (thigh) banged up.

Chicago Cubs

– Matt Shaw batted fifth in each of the Cubs' two games in Tokyo against the Dodgers, but since his team has returned to the states he's been cemented into the No. 8 spot in the lineup. Dansby Swanson has been used in the five hole, while Nico Hoerner — who didn't play in Tokyo as he continued his recovery from flexor tendon surgery — has batted sixth.

– It's been virtually an even split at catcher, with Miguel Amaya garnering seven starts to Carson Kelly's six. Perhaps that wasn't the initial plan, but the Cubs haven't been able to keep Kelly's red-hot bat out of the lineup. Four of Kelly's six starts have come over his club's last seven contests.

Cincinnati Reds

– With Austin Hays (calf) landing on the IL just before the start of the season, the Reds have turned to Gavin Lux as their primary left fielder and also their cleanup man against right-handed pitching. The lefty-swinging Lux has even started two of three contests versus left-handers, moving down to the No. 7 spot in the lineup these days. Unfortunately, Lux has gotten off to a slow start at the plate, which leaves him vulnerable to lose play time once Hays returns and Spencer Steer (shoulder) is able to play the field.

– With Steer limited to DH duties, both Jeimer Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have been everyday players at the corner infield spots for the Reds, with the only game missed between the two of them being one where Encarnacion-Strand was dealing with a sore hand. Candelario has batted fifth in all but one game, while Encarnacion-Strand has hit sixth versus righties in all but one of his starts and batted cleanup in three games versus lefties. Both players have struggled in the early going, but so has virtually the entire Reds offense.

Milwaukee Brewers

– Brice Turang really struggled during the second half last season and even at his best isn't a great on-base guy, but he's maintained his spot as the Brewers' leadoff man against right-handed pitching and also has made one start at least versus a lefty, although it was against reverse-splits southpaw Cole Ragans. The 25-year-old has moved down to ninth versus all non-Ragans lefties (Jackson Chourio has hit leadoff those days), but his defense is so good that he'll remain an everyday guy. Turang has been among the club's better hitters in the early going.

– It's been a strict platoon at third base for the Brew Crew, with Oliver Dunn starting all five games against right-handers and Vinny Capra getting the call in the other five contests versus southpaws. Dunn hasn't batted higher than seventh and Capra hasn't hit higher than sixth. Both players have done very little at the plate, so it might only be a matter of time before we see Caleb Durbin.

Pittsburgh Pirates

– Bryan Reynolds' inability to play the field for more than a week due to a triceps issue has thrown a bit of a wrench into things here. Reynolds remained in the lineup for every game until a day off Monday, but because he's had six straight starts at DH, that has led to Andrew McCutchen starting only three of the last seven contests, with two of them being rare appearances in right field. Reynolds is expected to begin a throwing program later this week.

– The early-season injury to Spencer Horwitz (wrist) has meant Endy Rodriguez essentially being an regular so far, as he's made five starts at first base and another three at catcher. Unfortunately, he has yet to get going offensively, and his playing time could dry up once Horwitz returns.

St. Louis Cardinals

– Each of his final 95 starts last season came from the leadoff spot, but Masyn Winn began the 2025 campaign as the Cardinals' No. 9 hitter and that's where he's remained for the first 10 contests. Winn has started to heat up after a slow start and could inch his way back up the batting order, but it probably won't be all the way to leadoff, as Lars Nootbaar has started every game there against both righties and lefties and has been an on-base machine.

– Brendan Donovan isn't your typical three-hole hitter, but that's where he's resided in all seven tilts versus righties, as manager Oliver Marmol has been alternating lefty and righty bats for the first six spots in the lineup. Donovan has started two of three games versus southpaws, too, moving down to the six hole for those contests. It's certainly a boost to Donovan's RBI outlooks if he sticks in the three spot, and he has driven in nine runs already in the first 10 games.

Arizona Diamondbacks

– As expected, it's been a strict platoon at DH between Pavin Smith and Randal Grichuk (although, one of Smith's starts came at first base and one of Grichuk's starts came in right field). Smith batted fifth against the first right-hander the Diamondbacks faced, but he's hit third in each of the five contests since then. It's a great spot for the 29-year-old to be in, even as his counting stats will naturally be affected by the platoon.

– With Ketel Marte (hamstring) landing on the IL, Geraldo Perdomo has hit leadoff versus one lefty and second against two righties over the last three contests. Given that the bulk of his starts before that had come from the No. 9 spot in the batting order, it's a major upgrade for Perdomo's outlook while Marte is shelved. Handling second base in Marte's stead has been Tim Tawa for two games and Garrett Hampson for one. Tawa has hit ninth in those two starts, but he can hit and is worth considering in deep leagues while he's getting regular reps.

Colorado Rockies

– Back at the beginning of spring training, manager Bud Black indicated that Jacob Stallings would receive the bulk of the playing time at catcher for the Rockies. However, Colorado is nine games into its season and Hunter Goodman has started at catcher in six contests as well as adding an additional three starts at DH. Each of Goodman's last seven starts have come from the cleanup spot. The 25-year-old has slowed down at the dish the last few days after a scorching start, but few players have seen their fantasy stock rise as much as Goodman early on in the season.

– Jordan Beck had started just two of the last five contests before being sent down to the minors Monday. Taking his spot on the roster was Zac Veen, who is in line to get regular reps in the Rockies' outfield. Where Veen hits in the batting order is not yet clear, and it's also not known whether he the left-handed hitter will be in there regularly against left-handed pitching. Veen has seen his prospect stock take a hit in recent years, in large part due to injuries, but he has loads of fantasy potential, particularly as a base stealer.

Los Angeles Dodgers

– It started to become apparent as spring training rolled along that Hyeseong Kim would begin the year in the minors, Tommy Edman would be the primary second baseman and Andy Pages would be the primary center fielder. Sure enough, that's what's happened, as 10 of Edman's 12 starts have come at the keystone. The switch hitter has been much better versus lefties during his career and has hit lower than third against southpaws just once this season. However, he's actually been slugging versus righties so far in 2025 and has inched his way up in the lineup against them, hitting fifth the last time the Dodgers faced a right-hander.

– The Dodgers have faced a lot of left-handers early on the season (seven of them in 12 games, to be precise), which you would think would be a bad thing for Michael Conforto. Conforto has been held out of the lineup three times versus southpaws, but he's started against the other four, which is good news for fantasy managers that used a draft pick on him. The 32-year-old is off to a great start at the dish, although virtually all of his production has come off righties, so he'll probably need to pick it up versus southpaws in order to continue seeing opportunities against them.

San Diego Padres

– Gavin Sheets won a spot on the Padres' Opening Day roster with a big showing during spring training and he has started all seven games versus righties so far, with six of them coming at DH. The great spring has carried over into a nice start to the regular season, so it stands to reason that Sheets will continue seeing regular reps against right-handers. He batted seventh in his first six starts but moved up to the five spot Monday with Jackson Merrill (hamstring) out.

– Brandon Lockridge has been serving on the short side of a platoon in left field with Jason Heyward, but he drew the start in center field Monday against a righty in place of Merrill. There's no indication to this point that Merrill might require a trip to the IL, but if he does, Lockridge might play regularly. He has speed for days and is a threat for a stolen base any time he gets on. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old has not gotten on base much at all during his limited chances in the majors.

San Francisco Giants

– Jung Hoo Lee was the Giants' leadoff man last season before getting hurt, but he's been the club's No. 3 hitter for all of his starts this season. The left-handed batter has started once in two games versus southpaw pitching so far. LaMonte Wade has been the regular leadoff man against right-handed pitching, while Heliot Ramos has moved to the top of the batting order versus lefties.

– Wilmer Flores looks healthy after being dragged down by knee problems last season and has already homered four times and plated 12 runs in the Giants' first 10 contests. He's settled in as the team's everyday DH and could keep the gig even after Jerar Encarnacion (hand) returns if he continues with even close to the same power production. Flores is mostly batting seventh against righties but was up in the three hole the last time the team faced a lefty.