We’re over a week removed from MLB’s trade deadline, so we have a good idea of how managers will be deploying their new-look rosters for the stretch run. Let’s take a look at who’s moving up and down in playing time opportunities, and use that information to stay a step ahead of our fantasy baseball leaguemates.
Newly acquired Lars Nootbaar has found a home in the middle of Arizona’s lineup. He’s hit fifth in four of the six games he’s played for the Dbacks.
Nootbaar’s presence has cut into Max Kepler’s playing time. Kepler has started four of the seven games in which Nootbaar has been on the roster, compared to nine of 11 before the trade.
The Athletics finally got some good news on the injury front. Zack Gelof returned from the IL on Monday and was reinstated as the starting third baseman. He hit ninth in his first game back, a clear downward shift in the lineup compared to where he was batting pre-injury.
Manager Mark Kotsay has been making changes at the top of the lineup recently. Jeff McNeil hit leadoff against a righty on Monday. Lawrence Butler has also hit leadoff recently against righties. Henry Bolte had hit leadoff in four straight before that, all against left-handed starting pitchers.
After looking like a new everyday player for the Orioles, Christian Encarnacion-Strand has trended down in playing time. He’s started three of the last six games after having started 13 of the previous 16. I wouldn’t panic about this yet in the event they’re just giving him some extended rest, but keep an eye on his opportunities moving forward if you’re rolling him out there in a deep fantasy league.
Gunnar Henderson has moved back into the leadoff role. He’s hit at the top of the lineup in 5 straight games.
Jackson Holliday has also received a lineup promotion. He’s hit third in five straight games.
Tyler O’Neill has seen an uptick in playing time. He had been starting mainly against lefties, but has started five straight contests versus righties, one in right field and four at designated hitter, and has hit cleanup in each of them.
Tyrone Taylor has played more than expected in his new role with the Cubs. Since joining the Northsiders, he’s started four of seven games, three in center field and one in left. Taylor’s ability to play a solid center field has given the Cubs the luxury of giving Pete Crow-Armstrong a few days off his feet in the DH role.
The aforementioned center field and designated hitter shuffle has eaten into Pedro Ramírez’s playing time. The rookie infielder has started just once in the past six games.
Tyler Stephenson has moved up the lineup a few spots. He’s hit cleanup in his last eight starts.
The trade of Nathaniel Lowe at the deadline has opened up DH opportunities for Eugenio Suárez and therefore playing time at third base for Ke’Bryan Hayes. The light-hitting Hayes has started seven of the Reds’ last eight games.
The Gaurdians called up prospect Angel Genao last week when it appeared that José Ramírez would miss some time. Luckily for them, Ramírez avoided the IL and Genao has hit the ground running. The rookie infielder is slashing .368/.455/.526 through his first 22 plate appearances. It’s unclear where he’ll play, but if he keeps hitting, there’s no question that manager Stephen Vogt will have no choice but to keep penciling him into the starting nine. He’s started five of six games and is worth a pickup in all fantasy formats.
It appears that my fear that the Guardians would platoon newly acquired Jo Adell has been unfounded. He’s started six of seven games since joining Cleveland, including starting against three out of four righties.
The Rockies called up former top prospect Zac Veen to the big leagues on Tuesday. After being a first-round pick in the 2020 draft, Veen has fallen from the top ranks of prospects in recent years, but has had a nice bounce-back campaign in Triple-A Albuquerque, slashing .327/.402/.635 with 24 homers and 18 steals. Yes, those numbers are in the hitter-friendly PCL, but his 141 wRC+ ranks 3rd best among qualified hitters, so we can’t just hand-wave them away. Veen’s playing time outlook is dubious at best. With Jake McCarthy, Cole Carrigg, and Mickey Moniak in full-time outfield jobs, Veen’s role is uncertain, but some outfield and DH shuffling could get him enough plate appearances to become fantasy relevant.
Colorado also called up Connor Norby this week. With the recent DFA of Edouard Julien, Norby most likely steps into occasional starts at second base.
Riley Greene landed on the IL on Wednesday with a hamstring strain, and promoted Corey Julks in the corresponding move. Playing time in Detroit’s left field is now fully up in the air, but it’ll likely be some kind of timeshare between Julks, Ben Malgeri, and James Outman.
The outfield mix in Houston seems to be ever-changing. Taylor Trammell is currently in favor, starting 13 of the last 15 games, all against right-handers. The Astros just claimed Nelson Velázquez off waivers, so he should join the outfield platoon, sending Trammell to the bench versus southpaws.
A minor lineup move has shifted Isaac Collins up a few spots. Since trading away Lane Thomas at the deadline, Collins has hit fourth, fifth, or sixth against right-handers, as opposed to the bottom third of the order role he had been occupying previously.
The Angels have a new leadoff hitter versus right-handed starting pitchers: Wade Meckler. He’s hit leadoff in four straight starts against righties, and has started six straight contests. His .305/.369/.412 slash line makes him worth a look in AL-only and deep five outfielder leagues.
Kyle Stowers was placed on the IL on Tuesday with a hamstring strain, opening the door for Griffin Conine to get starts at first base. Conine’s move to first should give some DH opportunities to Owen Caissie and Agustín Ramírez.
Without Stowers at the top of the lineup, Xavier Edwards moved to the leadoff role against a right-handed starter on Tuesday. Otto Lopez should continue leading off versus lefties.
Andrew Vaughn’s playing time has ticked up, and his .301/.389/.471 slash line makes him an interesting pickup in all but the shallowest fantasy leagues. Vaughn has started nine of the last 11 games and has even gotten some run at third base with Joey Ortiz banged up recently.
Luis Lara has quietly moved into an everyday right field role. He’s started seven of the last eight and 14 of the last 18.
The Twins hopped on the American League trend of calling up top infield prospects, bringing Kaelen Culpepper up to the big-league level. Culpepper was slashing .271/.367/.478 with 14 home runs and 17 steals in 74 Triple-A games this year, making him an interesting fantasy add, but there is some playing time concern. Culpepper has started four of six games since making his debut, facing all three lefties, but just one of three righties. It wouldn’t be crazy for the Twins to hold him back from everyday looks in the midst of a playoff push, but that would put a big damper on his fantasy outlook.
The Mets claimed Gabriel Arias off waivers from the Guardians. He made his team debut with a start at first base on Tuesday night and looks to be the new member of the first base platoon while Mark Vientos remains out. Arias should start versus lefties, with Jared Young getting the starts versus righties.
Interim manager Don Mattingly has made a change at the top of the lineup, flipping Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner’s batting order positions. Schwarber has hit first, and Turner has hit second in nine straight games.
Oneil Cruz began a rehab assignment on Friday, so if you’ve been relying on Jake Mangum, you may want to start making contingency plans. After the Pirates activate Cruz, Mangum will still factor into the outfield mix, but it’s unclear how. He could even still get a starter’s share of playing time if he bumps the struggling Esmerlyn Valdez or freshly promoted Ronny Simon out of the playing time picture, but until we see what manager Don Kelly has in store, this situation is a big unknown moving forward.
The Padres picked up veteran outfielder Austin Hays recently, and he’s started two straight games for his new ballclub. Most likely, Hays will just work out of a lefty-mashing role so Gavin Sheets doesn’t have to face southpaws.
Victor Bericoto returned from the IL on Tuesday and has started two straight games in left field. He’s hit fifth in both contests. Bericoto should see the bulk of the work in left field moving forward since Heliot Ramos was traded at the deadline, and Eddys Leonard was designated for assignment.
After hitting eighth in his first two games for his new team, Taylor Ward has moved all the way up to leadoff. He’s hit at the top of the lineup in five straight contests, against both left- and right-handed pitchers.
Ward’s lineup promotion has had a cascading effect on a few others. Cole Young has shifted out of the leadoff role to hit second versus right-handers and fifth versus lefties. Julio Rodríguez has moved from hitting second to the middle of the order (third, fourth, or fifth). The struggling Josh Naylor (6th) and Cal Raleigh (7th or 8th) have both taken another step down the lineup.
The Cardinals recalled Cesar Prieto from Triple-A. He’s only started four of eight games since being added to the MLB roster, but that’s been enough to seriously eat into Blaze Jordan’s time at third base, creating a timeshare at the hot corner in St. Louis.
Prieto’s presence in the infield has pushed José Fermín to the outfield grass. He’s started three straight games in left field, leaving Bryan Torres on the bench more often than not. He’s started just one of the team’s last five contests.
Everson Pereira was signed off waivers from the White Sox and has assumed the Cardinals’ fourth-outfielder duties with Nelson Velázquez no longer in the picture.
Ben Williamson landed on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain last Friday. The Rays called up Carson Williams to take Williamson’s roster spot as the primary backup infielder. Williams has started just two of six games since rejoining the big-league squad and will likely see scant opportunities moving forward.
In last week’s article, I hypothesized that the Blue Jays would take a future-first approach and not continue to start Myles Straw every day, but it appears they’re more than happy to do so. Straw has started eight of 10 games since the trade deadline.
While I was wrong about Straw, I was correct in assuming the Jays would promote a young outfielder to fill a full-time role, and they have. The Blue Jays acquired Brett Bateman from the Cubs in the Kevin Gausman trade and called him up to make his MLB debut last Friday. Bateman has started all six games in center field since, and has hit first or second in five of them. If you’re looking for stolen base help in an AL-only or deep five outfielder league, Bateman’s an intriguing pickup. Although he didn’t crack top prospect lists, he hit a solid .311/.429/.416 with 20 steals across 84 Triple-A games.
The Blue Jays also recalled Charles McAdoo, and he’s started three straight games at third base. He even hit leadoff twice against lefties. Like Bateman, he doesn’t bring much prospect pedigree to the table, but he’s been a well-rounded performer with a good eye at Triple-A, slashing .269/.366/.465 across 385 plate appearances.
Dylan Crews is the Nationals’ new leadoff hitter against lefties. Although his overall production is lackluster (85 wRC+), he has massive platoon splits and could be a good hitting streamer if you can catch him against a string of left-handed starters (.916 OPS vs. L, .538 OPS vs. R)
