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.

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.

Atlanta Braves

– The Braves summoned Alex Verdugo from the minors this past weekend after he knocked some rust off and immediately inserted him into the leadoff spot and in left field for four straight games. All four of those contests were against right-handers, so it's not clear whether Verdugo will remain at the top of the batting order or even be in the lineup versus southpaws. However, it's clear he'll be relied upon heavily against righties, at least until Ronald Acuna (knee) is back and likely until Jurickson Profar (suspension) returns.

– Atlanta elected to keep Drake Baldwin on the major-league roster after Sean Murphy returned from the injured list April 8, and he remains with the big club. After Baldwin started just one of the first seven contests after Murphy was activated, the rookie has been in the lineup three times in the last six games (once in the designated hitter slot). Baldwin has heated up at the plate and the batted-ball metrics have been excellent. It's possible he sticks around as an active second catcher, similarly to how Murphy and Travis d'Arnaud were used in previous seasons.

Miami Marlins

– Jesus Sanchez returned from the IL last week and has started all four games versus righties and one of three against lefties. He's been in the two hole against right-handers and was down in the No. 7 spot versus the southpaw. Three of his five starts have been in center field, although that could have been in part due to Derek Hill's wrist injury that eventually landed him on the IL. Sanchez's usage against southpaws is worth watching.

– Eric Wagaman has been in the lineup for nine of the past 10 tilts and hasn't batted lower than fourth in his last seven starts. The 27-year-old has split his time between first base (nine starts) and DH (six starts) this season, doing some mixing and matching with Matt Mervis.

New York Mets

– The Mets have faced just three lefties so far and Jesse Winker also missed a few days due to the flu, so it's tough to get a good gauge on the pecking order at DH. It's been a virtually even split so far, though, with the left-handed-hitting Winker making 12 starts compared to 10 starts for the right-handed-batting Starling Marte. Neither player has done much offensively to this point.

– Brett Baty has finally started to hit lately, resulting in five straight starts against righties, although Mark Vientos (groin) being banged up has been a factor, as three of Baty's starts during this stretch have been at third base. Naturally, Jeff McNeil (oblique) is due back this week and is slated to receive the lion's share of playing time at second base, which could mean a ticket back to Triple-A Syracuse for Baty as long as Vientos is OK.

Philadelphia Phillies

– Bryson Stott has become the Phillies' leadoff man versus right-handed pitching, occupying the top spot in the batting order each of the last nine contests in such situations. It's a big development for Stott's fantasy prospects if the move sticks, as he had mostly been batting eighth. With Stott taking over at leadoff against righties, Kyle Schwarber has been dropped to the cleanup spot and inched up to third versus southpaws.

– After not batting lower than cleanup in his first 10 starts of the season, Alec Bohm has exited the bottom third of the lineup just twice over his last 12 starts (and he hit only sixth in those contests). Perhaps Bohm has received the message, as he's finally starting to hit a bit lately, so perhaps he can earn a move back up in the batting order.

Washington Nationals

– Jacob Young is back to receiving essentially everyday reps in center field, starting eight of the last 10 contests. That was after he went through a stretch of only two starts in a seven-game span. The domino effect has been Dylan Crews shifting back to right field and Alex Call moving to the bench for four of the last six tilts, including all three versus righties. Crews has been in the fifth or sixth spot in the last four games after being planted toward the bottom of the batting order for much of the year.

– Luis Garcia was absent from the lineup each of the first three times the Nationals faced a left-hander this season, but he's started three of the last four times versus southpaws. However, CJ Abrams (hip) and Paul DeJong (nose) have been sidelined for some of those contests, so the Nats' infield options have been limited. The left-handed-hitting Garcia has just one hit against lefties so far this season, and manager Dave Martinez's track record suggests he'll put Garcia back on the bench versus southpaws once he has all options at his disposal.

Chicago Cubs

– The Cubs' leash on Matt Shaw, as it turns out, wasn't very long, as he was optioned back to Triple-A Iowa last week following a slow start. Shaw had started 16 of the first 19 contests of the season at third base. Since then, it's been Jon Berti at third base three times and Gage Workman and Vidal Brujan there once apiece, with all five of those tilts coming against right-handed pitching. Absent from the third-base mix since Shaw was optioned has been Justin Turner, although he did get one start at the hot corner while Shaw was still around. Berti has stolen six bases already in limited chances, and his speed makes him a viable deep-league option while he's seeing playing time.

– The hot-hitting Carson Kelly has drawn starts at catcher in three of the last four games. He started only twice across six contests prior to that, although he was dealing with a sore hand for some of that stretch. Kelly should play more than Miguel Amaya until he cools off, but once that inevitably happens, this will revert back to the virtually even timeshare that was anticipated.

Cincinnati Reds

– Austin Hays has started all seven contests since coming off the IL (including six against right-handers), batting fifth in his first game and cleanup in each of the next six tilts. He's split time between left field (four starts) and DH (three starts). Hays should ultimately settle in as the regular left fielder, although Spencer Steer has played first base in the last two games, marking his first two starts in the field this season. Steer isn't ready to play the outfield yet, however.

– With Steer handling first base in the last two contests and Noelvi Marte occupying third base, Jeimer Candelario has been relegated to the bench. He was also down in the No. 8 spot in the lineup in his last start, the lowest he has batted this season. The slumping switch hitter could see his playing time further squeezed once Christian Encarnacion-Strand (back) returns.

Milwaukee Brewers

– The Brewers finally bailed on Oliver Dunn this past weekend, giving Caleb Durbin the call. Durbin has started four straight at third base and occupied the No. 9 spot in the lineup in each of those contests. Durbin could work his way up in the batting order if his minor-league on-base skills translate, and his speed upside makes him a viable fantasy option even if he's stuck at the bottom of the batting order.

– Joey Ortiz is off to a woeful start offensively, but manager Pat Murphy has stuck with the slick-fielding infielder at shortstop for all 23 games thus far. Ortiz's contact rate has been borderline elite thus far, but his quality of contact has been exceedingly poor and he's also significantly upped his launch angle, which isn't going to work unless he starts hitting the ball harder and/or pulling it more.

Pittsburgh Pirates

– The Pirates have been giving Oneil Cruz a shot in the leadoff spot against right-handed pitching lately, sticking him there for five straight games in such situations. Cruz has not typically been a very good one-base guy, but his walk rate sits at a nifty 15.9 percent this season as I type this. Ke'Bryan Hayes has been handling the leadoff spot against left-handed pitching over the aforementioned span.

– Enmanuel Valdez has been the Pirates' primary first baseman lately, starting six of the last seven games at the position since Endy Rodriguez (finger) was hurt and making starts in nine of the last 10 contests overall (the other three came at second base). Valdez is one of the few Pirates that's hit a little bit, but Rodriguez should be back soon and Spencer Horwitz (wrist) is progressing. It's possible Valdez displaces Adam Frazier at second base, but manager Derek Shelton seems to like Frazier's glove at the keystone.

St. Louis Cardinals

– Nolan Gorman has started seven of 10 games since returning from a hamstring injury, even making one start against a left-hander. Unfortunately, the hot start he was off to at the plate before the injury has not stuck since he returned, and with Masyn Winn (back) returning to action, Gorman's playing time is likely to suffer.

– Gorman's chief competition for starts at DH, Alec Burleson, is off to a slow start, but he's started every game this season against righties, as the Cardinals are understandably given him more leeway after last year's mini-breakout. Burleson hasn't really budged in the batting order, either, hitting no lower than fifth. He has yet to make a start versus a lefty, as Luken Baker has been occupying the DH slot those days.

Arizona Diamondbacks

– Alek Thomas has started five of the last six tilts in center field and has been in center field 14 times to Jake McCarthy's eight on the whole this season, with McCarthy making three additional starts in left field. McCarthy did deal with a sore hand recently, but his sub-.100 average was the primary reason for his lack of playing time and he has since been optioned to Triple-A Reno. Thomas has had a solid start to the season at the plate and has always been the superior defender of the two players. He'll continue to see the bulk of the reps in center.

– Geraldo Perdomo has batted second 12 times against righties and leadoff twice versus lefties in the 14 contests Ketel Marte (hamstring) has missed. Marte will obviously occupy a prime spot in the Diamondbacks' lineup upon his return, but Perdomo has been so good at getting on base this season that manager Torey Lovullo could be considering keeping him near the top of the batting order. That said, everyone in the top four in Arizona's lineup has been awesome, so there's no clear spot for Perdomo to slot in once Marte returns.

Colorado Rockies

– Mickey Moniak has taken advantage of the absence of Brenton Doyle (quad/bereavement), making 10 straight starts, including the last two in the leadoff spot. Doyle is due back imminently, but Moniak has probably leap-frogged Nick Martini in the pecking order. He and Zac Veen should flank Doyle in the outfield, at least against right-handed pitching.

– Hunter Goodman is still playing regularly, but each of his last five starts have been at DH. He could return to catch once the Rockies get healthier, although the team has three catchers on the roster now, so it has options. Goodman has been back up in the cleanup spot for the last three games after dropping to as low as eighth when he was going through a cold spell.

Los Angeles Dodgers

– Max Muncy is off to a brutal start offensively and, as a result, has been dropped to the No. 7 spot in the lineup for each of his last 12 starts and 14 of his last 15 starts. That's after he batted fifth in four of the first five contests, including two against left-handers. He's essentially flip-flopped with fellow lefty bat Michael Conforto, who has been better than Muncy but isn't off to a great start, either. Muncy's streakiness is well documented and he'll likely right the ship eventually, although he's 34 now and there have been times when he never quite got going (see 2022).

– In his first 16 games this season, slugger Tommy Edman started at second base 14 times and in center field twice. It's been a much more even split since then, with four starts coming at second base and three coming in center field. On a related note, Andy Pages has done very little at the plate, while Hyeseong Kim is off to a nice start offensively at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Kim has bounced around positionally at OKC, making seven starts in center field, six at second base and six at shortstop.

San Diego Padres

– The Padres are dealing with injuries in their outfield to Jackson Merrill (hamstring) and Jason Heyward (knee). Brandon Lockridge was the initial choice to fill in for Merrill in center field, but he then went down with a hamstring injury of his own. That's led to Tyler Wade covering center field in five of the last seven tilts. In left field, Oscar Gonzalez has drawn starts in six of the last eight contests. However, Tirso Ornelas was recalled to start Monday and could get some run there.

– The right side of San Diego's infield has been hit by injuries, too. Jose Iglesias has covered second base for 10 of 11 contests in place of Jake Cronenworth (rib), while Gavin Sheets was handed the first start at first base in place of Luis Arraez (concussion). Most of Sheets' playing time has been at DH, but if he's the primary first baseman against righties while Arraez is shelved, it could be Gonzalez at DH and Ornelas in left field for a while, as it was for Monday's game.

San Francisco Giants

– Mike Yastrzemski has taken over as the club's leadoff man versus right-handed pitching, making six straight starts in the spot in those situations. As a result, LaMonte Wade has been demoted to the sixth spot in the batting order. Heliot Ramos remains the leadoff guy against left-handers, dropping to the No. 5 spot versus righties.

– The overwhelming majority of Tyler Fitzgerald's starts this season have come from the No. 9 spot (16 of 20). However, the young second baseman has been swinging a red-hot bat and, as a result, has inched up in the batting order versus lefties a few times over the past week, peaking as high as sixth.