Lineup Takeaways - Week 8 Lineup Trends

Mike Kurland takes a deep look at Week 8's fantasy baseball risers and fallers based on recent lineup trends, highlighting strong and weak platoons, and players who may benefit from lineup slot.

Week eight of the MLB season is in the books. There are new injuries, players landing on the COVID injured list, and many more developments that are causing lineups to alter. Let’s try to figure out what is noise and what really matters.

Just a reminder, I have added a 'Fantasy Fallout' section to the team breakdowns. This is meant to highlight lesser-rostered players who may have fantasy relevance. As we get more tangible info and stats, the notes will evolve with it.

All roster percentages are based on Yahoo! formats.

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National League

NL East

Atlanta Braves

• Austin Riley and Dansby Swanson have swapped places in the batting order with Swanson now batting sixth and Riley fifth.
• Guillermo Heredia has become the everyday centerfielder and bats eighth in the process.

Fantasy Fallout

• Both Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley have been great over the last two weeks.

• Although you should ride the wave, both are striking out over 30% over this span so the hot stretch could fall off at any moment given the swing-and-miss both have exhibited over their runs.
• Guillermo Heredia has hit .333 with four runs and two RBI over the last week. He has NL-Only appeal.

Miami Marlins

• With Jazz Chisholm returning from the IL, Miguel Rojas shifts to the two-spot.
• Garrett Cooper is in this fourth outfielder/weak side platoon role. He gets playing time in bunches given he fills in for Aguilar at first base as well as plays the outfield for others to get games off as well. He has started in each of the last three games.
• Corey Dickerson has batted third in four of the last six games. He seems to shift around the middle of the order though.

Fantasy Fallout

• If Garrett Cooper continues to hit this well, he will continue to force their hands and get playing time. He has deep mixed-league appeal.

• Corey Dickerson has not done much of late or overall this year and I wonder if Cooper could outright take the spot from him if things continue to trend how they have been.

New York Mets

• They are just a mess. This team has too many injuries and very little consistency right now. I guess there are a few “notable” trends.
• Jonathan Villar has led off three straight games.
• Cameron Maybin has batted third in two straight games.
• Jose Peraza has batted sixth for four straight games.

Fantasy Fallout

• Typically we have a hard time finding relevant players for Only formats, but the Mets have introduced a ton of relevant players for NL-Only formats given all the at-bats vacated due to injury.

Philadelphia Phillies

• The lineup is as solid as any in the league right now. Little fluctuation at all.
• It appears Nick Maton and Ronald Torreyes are in a platoon at shortstop with Maton having the strong side.

Fantasy Fallout

• I would only roster Nick Maton in the deepest of NL-Only leagues if you need at-bats.

Washington Nationals

• Kyle Schwarber has now hit cleanup in nine straight games and 10 of the last 11 overall.
• Josh Bell has moved up to third in the lineup over the last five games, hitting there four times over that span.
• Juan Soto has bumped up to second with Josh Harrison falling to the six-spot.
• With Victor Robles dealing with a right ankle injury, Andrew Stevenson has started for him and batted ninth to this point.

Fantasy Fallout

• Andrew Stevenson might have some short-term appeal, thought he's more of a DFS play.
• Kyle Schwarber has returned to form. Since the calendar turned to May, he has been the Schwarber we hoped he'd bounce back to be.

NL Central

Chicago Cubs

• Willson Contreras and Joc Pederson have entered a leadoff platoon. Pederson leads off against RHP and Contreras against LHP.
• Joc Pederson also has been sitting against most LHP lately, having sat against two of the last three they faced.
• Ian Happ, since returning to the lineup, has jumped around it a bit. He has not settled in at a spot regularly yet. Although, he typically bats towards the middle of the order against an RHP and toward the bottom against an LHP.
• With Jason Heyward on the IL, this has opened up a spot in the lineup. David Bote has started the last four games and starts at third base.

Fantasy Fallout

• Both Joc Pederson and Ian Happ have been a lot better since returning from the IL and both should be rostered in most leagues and started until they cool off.

Cincinnati Reds

• With Nick Senzel hitting the IL, Eugenio Suarez returns to everyday third base duties.
• This opens up a spot for Tyler Stephenson (who has started three straight between catcher and first base) to shift over to first base as Kyle Farmer moves back to shortstop.
• Kyle Farmer has started 14 straight games between shortstop and first base. He typically hits between the six and eighth spots in the order.

Fantasy Fallout

• Nick Senzel is tough to stash in shallower leagues, but deserves to be held in deeper formats. Especially considering he could gain multiple positions of eligibility.

• Kyle Farmer is another shorter-term player as Mike Moustakas, Joey Votto and Nick Senzel could be back by the end of May or early June. He has NL-Only relevance.

Milwaukee Brewers

• Christian Yelich returned to the lineup, but in two of the three games, there was a DH. In the one game with no DH, it was Avisail Garcia who sat in favor of Jackie Bradley Jr. This is simply a situation to watch, but I expect a lot of rotation out there to give everyone days off.
• We have seen Travis Shaw slip to the bottom third of the order in two of the last three games.
• Omar Narvaez has hit in the top four of the order in all but one start since returning to the lineup.

Fantasy Fallout

• JBJ and Travis Shaw have not done much as a whole this year and both should remain on the waiver wire for the most part.

Pittsburgh Pirates 

• More of the same this week.

St. Louis Cardinals 

• Justin Williams has started each of the last three games with Tyler O’Neill out dealing with a finger injury.
• Edmundo Sosa has started four straight at shortstop and batted eighth in the process. This has allowed Tommy Edman to remain at second base and Matt Carpenter remains a bench player.

Fantasy Fallout

• Edmundo Sosa has hit .615 with six runs and a stolen base over these four games. This is interesting because the Cardinals always find these players out of nowhere. He is not someone to add yet, but keep an eye on him.

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks

• Ketel Marte returned to the lineup and played centerfield.
• Pavin Smith remained at the top of the order even with Marte leading off. Smith hit second.
• Ketel Marte’s return pushed Josh Rojas down to fifth in the order.
• Daulton Varsho has fallen into a secondary catcher role. He has only started two of the last six games. Both were at the catcher position.

Fantasy Fallout

• With Ketel Marte returning, both Pavin Smith and Josh Rojas remain in and should be viewed the same until playing time is affected.

Colorado Rockies

• Raimel Tapia and Garrett Hampson are in a leadoff platoon. Tapia occupies the strong side of it. Hampson bats seventh typically against RHP and Tapia sits against LHP.
• C.J. Cron returned from the IL and returned to first base and hit third. This sent Connor Joe to the bench.
• Brendon Rogers made his season debut at second base and batted sixth. This moves Ryan McMahon to third base and sends Josh Fuentes back to the bench.

Fantasy Fallout

• Brendan Rogers is relevant in most formats. In shallower leagues, he might be better served on your watch list, but any signs of life, try to make room.
• We need to monitor playing time situations with Rogers being activated.

Los Angeles Dodgers

• Max Muncy has moved to the two-spot in the order of late and started three of the last four of his starts at second base.
• With all the injuries the Dodgers have had, Yoshi Tsutsugo and Albert Pujols have been brought in. Tsutsugo has started three of four in left field and typically batting in the bottom third of the order.
• Pujols has started the last four of five games while batting either fourth or sixth.
• Chris Taylor has been shifting around the field but playing every day.
• Gavin Lux has started six straight at shortstop and seven total games at shortstop. He should get eligibility sooner than later.
• Cody Bellinger is playing in rehab games and should return to the lineup by the end of the month.
• Zach McKinstry is also on a rehab assignment. He could throw a wrench into some playing time for others upon his return.

Fantasy Fallout

• Yoshi Tsutsugo and Albert Pujols have not done much since joining the Dodgers, but I would give Pujols a look first of the two.

San Diego Padres

• Jurickson Profar got a few starts at first base of late. He is still more of the fourth outfielder, especially now with everyone starting to return. Although, Trent Grisham is DTD with an injury and this opens up that playing time yet again for Profar.
• As players return, Ha-Seong Kim could be relegated back to a reserve role. Has been playing shortstop with Tatis out (who is back) and giving Machado the occasional day off.
• Before the last two games, Tommy Pham was batting cleanup consistently. The move toward the bottom third of the order appears to be a product of Eric Hosmer and Fernando Tatis Jr. returning to the lineup.

Fantasy Fallout

• Tommy Pham has four steals on the year. If you do not need the steals, he is expendable right now. He is still worth holding onto in 15-team mixed leagues and deeper.
• Jurickson Profar always does just enough to remain fantasy relevant. He finds playing time and over the last week he has been posting solid production.

San Francisco Giants

• Brandon Crawford has hit his way up the order. He has been batting fifth over the last two games and this was after moving up to fifth for a few games prior.
• Buster Posey has hit second in his last three starts.
• Alex Dickerson remains in a strong side platoon and bats in the bottom half of the order.
• Mike Yastrzemski has now led off two straight games and may have taken over the role against RHP. Mike Tauchman has hit eighth lately.
• Mauricio Dubon has been playing more consistently. He has started in four of the last six bouncing between shortstop and second base. He hits sixth or lower in the order. However, given how well Crawford has played and the return of Donovan Solano, this could be short-lived.
• Donovan Solano is back and batting sixth and seventh in his two starts since returning to the team.

Fantasy Fallout

• Brandon Crawford has been on absolute fire over the last two weeks, hitting .319 with four home runs, 11 runs and 12 RBI. Ride the hot hand or sell high if possible.
• If you can do without the batting average, Donovan Solano can be left on the waiver wire.
• Mauricio Dubon could continue to grab some playing time as long as he sustains the offensive production.

American League 

AL East

Baltimore Orioles

• DJ Stewart has sat four straight games and is the odd man out with Anthony Santander back.
• Anthony Santander is back and slotted in the middle of the order.
• Ryan Mountcastle has settled into the seven-spot.

Fantasy Fallout

• We have our answer as to who the odd man out is in this lineup when everyone is back. DJ Stewart becomes droppable in most formats. I have looked for news and found nothing.

Boston Red Sox

• Danny Santana made his season debut and led off one game and then shifted to the five-spot in the next game. This could be the beginning of playing time. He could eat into Marwin Gonzalez’s playing time or get into the outfield mix as well. It could be a headache.
• Enrique Hernandez returned to the lineup and he jumped right back into the leadoff role.

Fantasy Fallout

• As long as Alex Verdugo is out with his hamstring issue, Danny Santana could be relevant. We have seen him be relevant in the past and he continues to hit inside the top half of the lineup as well. He is a flyer.

New York Yankees

• Brett Gardner plays regularly and against RHP he has been batting second.
• Since his return, Rougned Odor has started at second every game while batting in the middle of the order.
• Since Giancarlo Stanton hit the IL, Miguel Andujar continues to start in left field while hitting in the bottom third of the lineup.

Tampa Bay Rays

• Ji-Man Choi returned to the lineup and has batted third most of the time. He typically sits against LHP.
• Joey Wendle has shifted over to shortstop with Willy Adames no longer on the team.
• This has opened up a regular spot for Mike Brosseau.

Fantasy Fallout

• Joey Wendle continues to do Joey Wendle things.
• Ji-Man Choi has the power upside. Add in the playing time and solid lineup spot and he's worth a look in your deeper leagues.
• Mike Brosseau is hit and miss. He can be used as an injury replacement in deeper formats, but I would not start him beyond that.

Toronto Blue jays

• Daniel Espino is taking over at third base with Cavan Biggio on the IL.
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. got his first start at first base this season. This is worth monitoring as he could fall into first base eligibility.
• This move has helped get Johnathan Davis in the lineup and playing centerfield.

AL Central

Chicago White Sox

• Nick Madrigal has earned his way back up against LHP. He bats second against them.
• Adam Eaton continues to bat second against RHP.

Cleveland

• With Andres Gimenez optioned to Triple-A, Amed Rosario has returned to the full-time shortstop and has been batting at the bottom of the order.
• Jake Bauers continues to start against RHP and bat around seventh.
• Harold Ramirez has found regular playing time with Rosario shifting to shortstop. He is on the strong side of a platoon with Jordan Luplow.
• Franmil Reyes is headed to the IL and Owen Miller is getting the call to replace him.

Fantasy Fallout

• Owen Miller could be worth giving a look in deeper mixed leagues and AL-Only formats. He is not quite 12-team relevant yet but he should be on your watch list.
• Outside of AL-Only formats or unless I am desperate for at-bats, I would leave both Harold Ramirez and Jake Bauers on the waiver wire.

Detroit Tigers

• Harold Castro bats second against RHP and Jonathan Schoop bats second against LHP.
• Nomar Mazara continues to sit against LHP.
• Eric Haase has played regularly of late. He has started in six of the last seven with four of those starts at catcher.

Fantasy Fallout

• Harold Castro is someone worth looking at in 15-team mixed leagues or deeper. He has no home runs or stolen bases, but he is hitting .351 and has value in deep enough leagues. If you need help in batting average, this is someone to look at.
• Eric Haase could be someone to target in two-catcher leagues. In his seven games so far, he has two home runs and has hit .333 as well. Will it sustain? Probably not. But with injuries piling up and playing time being there as a second catcher, he could bring value to your roster.

Kansas City Royals

• Andrew Benintendi has been batting third against RHP and moves down against LHP.
• We are getting closer to an Adalberto Mondesi return as he rehabs in the upper minors.
• Kelvin Gutierrez is holding down the third base spot with Hunter Dozier out. Dozier is due back soon, and when he returns, Gutierrez will likely return to a bench role.

Fantasy Fallout

• Andrew Benintendi is on another solid run. Over the last two weeks, he has a stolen base while hitting .350/.400/.350. The power has not shown up, but he is striking out just 15.6% of the time in this run.

Minnesota Twins

• Nelson Cruz is dealing with a wrist issue. This has allowed Max Kepler to move up to third in the order over the last three games.
• Alex Kirilloff returned to the lineup and has been inserted back into the middle of the order while playing right field.
• Miguel Sano has hit his way up the lineup. He is batting fifth consistently.
• Trevor Larnach has stuck in the lineup even with the return of Kirilloff. He bats sixth or seventh. He has yet to start against a LHP.
• Jorge Polanco is dealing with right ankle discomfort that has caused him to miss time. His ankle issues are chronic and well documented, so this could linger.

Fantasy Fallout

• If Alex Kirilloff was dropped at all while he was out, try to make room for him on your team.
• Trevor Larnach is only starting against RHP and is struggling. He is an AL-Only type of profile right now. Don't drop him in any dynasty format.
• Miguel Sano is heating up. When he is on, you ride the wave. When he slows down, park him back on the bench.

AL West

Houston Astros

• More of the same here.

Los Angeles Angels

• Jose Iglesias has led off in four of the last five.
• David Fletcher has been relegated to the bottom of the lineup.
• Justin Upton and Taylor Ward have hit towards the middle of the order.
• Juan Lagares has started in centerfield and hit seventh in the last four games.
• Shohei Ohtani has moved into the two-spot with Mike Trout on the IL.

Fantasy Fallout

• David Fletcher continue to struggle and it led to his fall in the order. He is droppable in shallower formats.
• Juan Lagares has AL-Only appeal while he starts. I would not roster him outside of those formats.

Oakland Athletics

• Matt Chapman moved to the two-spot over the last two games.
• Chad Pinder is an everyday player now and has hit his way to the five-spot over the last two starts and has hit fifth or sixth in his last three starts.
• Jed Lowrie has moved down to sixth in the order.
• Seth Brown has sat three of the last four games. This is in part due to all the LHP they have faced and Brown sits against LHP.

Fantasy Fallout

• Chad Pinder has been great since returning to the lineup and is relevant in 12-team leagues and deeper.

• Seth Brown has trended the opposite direction and has hit .121/.216/.333 over the last two weeks. Although he has hit two home runs, the playing time and prime position in the lineup have since gone away
• Jed Lowrie has also cooled down tremendously as he has hit under .200 over the same span and that has caused him to drop in the order. However, the playing time is still there and he remains relevant in 15-team mixed leagues and beyond.

Seattle Mariners 

• Jarred Kelenic continues to lead off. He has done so for nine straight games.
• Jacob Nottingham has played first base the last two games and with Evan White on the IL. It could be a revolving door until someone runs with it.

Fantasy Fallout

• I would not look at Nottingham in anything other than two-catcher leagues if you need help at catcher in or AL-Only formats.
• In regards to Jarred Kelenic, just remain patient.

Texas Rangers

• Nothing new this week in terms of the trends.

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