There’s an easy, yet time-consuming, way to stay one step ahead of your fantasy baseball league mates: checking real-life lineups.
If you can stay on top of lineup trends across the league and recognize which players are seeing their playing time shift up and down, you’ll be able to more quickly make pick-up and drop decisions to change your roster accordingly. Of course, staying on top of 30 lineups every single day is quite the chore, so that’s what we’re doing here — covering all fantasy-relevant roster and lineup changes for all 30 MLB teams. Let’s dive into this week’s notable playing time changes.
Geraldo Perdomo’s move down the lineup was short-lived. He’s back in the two-hole, having hit there in eight straight games.
The Diamondbacks’ outfield crunch didn’t last long. Jordan Lawlar is back on the IL, this time with a right hamstring strain. Lawlar’s absence will keep both Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Tommy Troy in the lineup consistently with fewer off days. Tim Tawa was recalled as the corresponding move to Lawlar’s placement on the IL.
Zack Gelof has hit leadoff in two straight contests, shifting Nick Kurtz down to the second slot in manager Mark Kotsay’s lineup. Both games that Gelof hit leadoff were against a lefty, so it’s unclear if he’ll hold that spot against righties, too.
The A’s called up Joey Meneses from Triple-A, and he’s been the starting DH in two straight games against left-handers. It’s unlikely he gets much playing time outside of at-bats versus southpaws.
The Braves traded for Joey Bart over the weekend, but his fantasy value is minimal with Drake Baldwin starting behind the plate most days.
Samuel Basallo will get full-time starting catcher opportunities while Adley Rutschman is sidelined with a concussion.
It’s too early to put much stock in it, but Colton Cowser got a rare start against a left-handed pitcher on Monday. He’ll get a small boost to his fantasy stock if that holds moving forward. The Orioles are lined up to face two lefties this weekend, so that should shed some light on whether Cowser will get an opportunity to face lefties moving forward.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was placed on the IL with left forearm inflammation. In the corresponding move, Boston recalled second baseman Anthony Seigler from Triple-A, and he’s started four straight games for the big league club. He even hit leadoff in two of those contests.
Matt Shaw has been getting a stable run of playing time since Moisés Ballesteros was sent down on Friday. Shaw has now started six straight games in right field, with Seiya Suzuki moving to DH duties. With regular at-bats, Shaw could be a very valuable fantasy piece, and is worth a pick-up if he’s on your league’s waiver wire. He’s hitting .254/.313/.434 with four homers and three steals through 135 plate appearances.
The White Sox activated Kyle Teel on Monday to make his long-awaited 2026 MLB debut. He’ll get the bulk of starts behind the plate moving forward. Edgar Quero was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte to make room for Teel on the roster, leaving Drew Romo to continue his backup catcher duties.
Miguel Vargas looks like Chicago’s new leadoff hitter against lefties. He’s hit at the top of the order against two straight southpaws, supplanting Chase Meidroth from the role.
Elly De La Cruz returned from injury on Tuesday night. With De La Cruz at shortstop, the Reds opted to start Edwin Arroyo at second base and keep Matt McLain on the bench. If you’re still rostering McLain, it’s probably time to look elsewhere, as it looks like he’s lost his grip on his starting gig for the Reds despite his poor performance (.656 OPS) outpacing Arroyo’s (.552 OPS).
Kyle Manzardo is putting together a solid June (.263/.368/.526) and has moved up to hitting second against righties.
With three lineup regulars on the IL (José Ramírez, Chase DeLauter, and Angel Martínez), Rhys Hoskins has seen an increase in playing time. He’s started 12 of the Guardians’ last 13 games, and has primarily been hitting cleanup.
All the aforementioned injuries have opened playing time in the outfield for both Kahlil Watson and Petey Halpin. Watson has started five of seven games in right field since being called up last Wednesday, while Halpin has started five of eight games in center field.
Troy Johnston has seen his playing time plummet recently, despite posting solid production at the plate (.311/.375/.440 with three home runs and four steals). He’s started just two of the last seven games. It’s time to move on from Johnston in NL-only leagues.
Mickey Moniak returned from his IL stint on Monday and is back to hitting second against right-handed starters.
Gleyber Torres reaggravated his oblique injury and is back on the IL. In his absence, Hao-Yu Lee has been getting a good run of plate appearances. He was recalled from Triple-A on June 13 and has started seven of 10 games at second or third base.
Wenceel Pérez also hit the IL over the weekend. He had only started four of the previous 12 games he was available for, so his placement on the IL doesn’t free up much time in the starting nine. Ben Malgeri was called up to make his MLB debut on Tuesday, so he may see some of those limited plate appearances.
Maikel Garcia hit the IL on Tuesday with a strained left hand muscle. That will open the door for Nick Loftin to get a short-term starting workload. Despite a career 84 wRC+, Loftin has actually been very productive off the bench this year, slashing .264/.358/.448 with three home runs and one steal through 149 plate appearances. He’s worth a temporary add in AL-only leagues to see if he can keep up his performance.
Jac Caglianone has been one of the best hitters in baseball this month (232 wRC+) and has moved up the lineup accordingly. He’s hit third in nine straight contests and has also taken over most of the first base reps with Vinnie Pasquantino on the IL.
As of this writing, Bobby Witt Jr.. has missed five straight games but is still expected to avoid the IL. If that were to change, Tyler Tolbert would slot into the Royals’ starting shortstop role while Witt is out.
A sore hamstring sent Mike Trout to his yearly IL stint last week. Jose Siri has taken over in center field, starting seven straight and hitting at the bottom of the lineup.
Jorge Soler returned from the IL on Monday, and he should take over most of the Angels’ DH plate appearances moving forward.
The Angels called up prospect Christian Moore last Thursday, and he’s started four of six games since joining the big league squad. Without a true defensive home, Moore will have to find playing time bouncing around the diamond. He has yet to impress at the plate at the game’s highest level, but he was slashing a strong .333/.468/.585 with Triple-A Salt Lake.
Despite manager Dave Roberts saying that Tommy Edman would be eased back into the lineup, he’s started five of seven games since he’s been activated. He’s appeared twice at third base, twice in left field, and once at second base.
A lower back injury halted Liam Hicks‘ breakout season. While Hicks is out, Joe Mack should see a few more starts behind the plate, with Brian Navarreto operating in a clear backup role. Hicks’ DH plate appearances have so far fallen to a group of hitters, not a single guy. Heriberto Hernández, Griffin Conine, and Owen Caissie have all seen at least one start as the DH since Hicks’ injury.
Xavier Edwards and Jakob Marsee have shared leadoff duties in Hicks’ absence.
Ryan Kreidler is swinging a hot bat (.282/.365/.506) and has seen four straight starts at shortstop, sending Tristan Gray to the bench. Kreidler has started against two lefties and two righties, so it seems like we’re seeing an actual shift towards Kreidler in Minnesota, although it’ll likely be short-lived if high-ranking prospect Kaelen Culpepper makes his debut soon, as expected.
Francisco Lindor returned from his lengthy IL stint on Wednesday evening. With their franchise shortstop back in tow, Bo Bichette should move back to third base, creating a bit of a roster jam between Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Jared Young at first base and designated hitter. It’s unclear how this will shake out long-term, but each of their fantasy values takes a hit given the major playing-time unknowns.
With Ryan McMahon on the IL, José Caballero should assume most of the starts at the hot corner in New York. Amed Rosario will likely get a sprinkling of starts, too, but not consistently enough to generate fantasy relevance.
Austin Wells made his return from the IL on Sunday, restoring fantasy intrigue to the Yankees’ catcher position. He’s started three of four since returning and should continue to get the bulk of the time moving forward.
Justin Crawford’s poor hitting (.243/.301/.339) has demoted him to a center field platoon alongside Derek Hill. Crawford’s starting against righties and Hill’s starting against lefties.
Konnor Griffin started a rehab assignment at Double-A on Tuesday. If you’re rostering Jared Triolo in NL-only leagues, start making contingency plans now.
Samad Taylor is swinging a hot bat (156 wRC+) recently and has been rewarded with a lineup promotion. He’s hit first or second in five of the last six games.
Freddy Fermin is back with the MLB team after healing from his concussion. He should return to getting the bulk of the starts behind the plate, but with a 47 wRC+ on the season, he’s only fantasy viable in the deepest of NL-only leagues.
Randy Arozarena made a quick return from the IL, rejoining the starting lineup on Tuesday. His regular lineup presence will move Victor Robles down the pecking order and back into a reserve outfield role.
Manager Oli Marmol has made changes to his lineup versus left-handers this week. Masyn Winn, Alec Burleson, and Nathan Church all sat out games against southpaws when they’ve historically remained in the lineup against lefties. This may just be a chance for some regulars to get a breather, but it’s worth monitoring moving forward if you’re rostering any of those three Cardinals.
Jonny DeLuca returned from a hamstring strain last Friday and has started five of six games since being activated. He’s a good under-the-radar pickup that can contribute across the board. Through 140 plate appearances, he’s hitting .271 with four home runs, 19 runs, 22 RBI, and seven steals.
Eleven of the next 13 starters the Rays are set to face are scheduled to be right-handed, so it could be a good time to stream Richie Palacios, especially if you need some stolen bases.
The Rangers optioned Josh Smith to Triple-A over the weekend. Without his presence in the middle infield, playing time should stay wide open for Nicky Lopez at second base until Corey Seager returns from the IL and Ezequiel Duran moves back to the keystone.
Daulton Varsho returned to the lineup on Saturday and has started all five games since. Varho’s presence in centerfield moves Myles Straw into a rotation with Nathan Lukes and Jesús Sánchez for time in the corner outfield spots, making it harder for all three of them to find playing time. The Blue Jays demoted Yohendrick Piñango to Triple-A when Varsho was activated.
