Lineup Lowdown: American League

The goal with Lineup Lowdown is simple: we're looking for trends which could help identify players who 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.

Baltimore Orioles

-- Colton Cowser arrived in the majors last week and started each of the Orioles' first four games before beginning on the bench Sunday (he came off the bench to record a hit and two runs scored). He's been used at all three outfield spots, getting two starts in left field, although those starts in left came while Austin Hays was banged up. Cowser is surely going to play most every day, especially versus righties, but the O's have some congestion in the outfield so it's going to be interesting to see how it shakes out. Anthony Santander has shown he can handle first base, but Ryan O'Hearn has been surprisingly productive and Ryan Mountcastle just returned from the injured list. Most likely, Cowser will continue to rotate around all three outfield spots, giving spot days off to the other regulars.

-- Getting back to the first base situation, O'Hearn has started nine of the last 11 contests there while making one additional start at designated hitter over that span. He's batted cleanup in nine of those 10 starts and hit third for the other one. Even after Mountcastle was activated prior to Sunday's game, it was O'Hearn drawing the start at first. The track record certainly suggests a cooldown period is coming, but O'Hearn is crushing righties and has the batted-ball data to back it up with a massive 59 percent hard-hit rate. He and Mountcastle could both conceivably play every day against righties between first base and DH, but that creates less flexibility with the aforementioned outfield logjam. Manager Brandon Hyde has also been resistant to locking onto one player at DH.

Boston Red Sox

-- The worry from Jarren Duran's fantasy managers was that he would lose a large chunk of playing time when Adam Duvall returned from the injured list. The worry proved valid initially, but with Duvall struggling Duran has returned to being the preferred option in center field against right-handed pitching. He's started five of the last six versus righties and made an additional start over that stretch against a left-handed opener. All of those starts for Duran have come from the leadoff spot, as that's where he's regularly been over the last month when in the lineup.

-- Yu Chang returned from the IL last weekend and started two of three games at shortstop against the Athletics. The plan is to use him regularly at short for now, at least until Trevor Story (elbow) is ready, which could be around the beginning of August. With shortstop now spoken for, Enrique Hernandez has played a little more second base in starting three of the last seven tilts there, with Christian Arroyo playing the other four times. The Red Sox are mulling the idea of using Justin Turner some at the keystone, though, a position he hasn't started at since 2015.

New York Yankees

-- The Yankees' offense has floundered since Aaron Judge (toe) went down, which led to a hitting coach change and also Anthony Volpe getting another shot in the leadoff spot. However, after going hitless in three games from the top of the batting order, Volpe was moved back down to the eighth spot Sunday (and homered). Whether the rookie shortstop will get another opportunity to lead off after the break isn't clear. He had earned another shot by posting a 1.017 OPS in the 20 contests prior to his three-game hitless streak.

-- Seven of Giancarlo Stanton's last 10 starts have come in the outfield (six in right field, one in left field). That's been due in part to Josh Donaldson being banged up lately and needing to be the DH more and also due to Jake Bauers landing on the IL with a shoulder injury. Stanton has now made 13 appearances in the outfield in total this season, so he stands a good chance of reaching the 20-game threshold to secure outfield eligibility in fantasy leagues heading into 2024.

Tampa Bay Rays

-- Jose Siri's fantasy managers have watched him virtually split reps in center field lately with Manuel Margot, starting six of the last 10 games there. After closing out June with four home runs in his last six contests, Siri is just 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts to kick off July. It remains a volatile profile and we can't bank on everyday playing time, but if you were told as a Siri manager that the outfielder would head into the break with 16 home runs and seven stolen bases, you'd probably take it.

-- Since Brandon Lowe returned from the IL on July 4, he, Isaac Paredes and Taylor Walls have all started four of six games. Lowe has been at second base for all four, Paredes has been at third base for all four and Walls has split his duties between the two spots when the other two have days off. Lowe is surely going to play against most every right-hander, while Paredes and Walls will likely continue seeing more days off than their fantasy managers would like. Paredes entered the break with 16 dingers after hitting three in his first five July tilts.

Toronto Blue Jays

-- Brandon Belt has been in the lineup for 13 of 16 games since his activation from the IL and batted third in 12 of those contests and second in another. While the home run pop hasn't totally come around yet, he boasts a healthy .279/.411/.478 batting line since the beginning of May. Belt's 37.3 percent strikeout rate this season is unusually high and he rarely plays versus lefties, but occupying the third spot behind George Springer and Bo Bichette and ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. offers plenty of potential.

-- Belt and fellow left-handed swinger Daulton Varsho have essentially swapped spots in the lineup. After regularly batting cleanup and rarely lower than fifth for the first seven weeks of the season, Varsho has batted higher than sixth just once since June 21 (and that was fifth). He has just a .341 OPS over that span to drop his OPS on the season to .645. Varsho is still on pace for a 20-20 season, but he's been wildly inconsistent and oddly unproductive at home. The 27-year-old has somehow driven in just five runs all season at Rogers Centre.

Chicago White Sox

-- Zach Remillard occupied a spot in the White Sox' lineup for each of the last 11 games heading into the All-Star break, even sliding up to leadoff for the final two contests as Andrew Benintendi rested a nagging wrist issue. While he has started games at four different positions, 12 of those 16 starts have come at second base, where Remillard has emerged as the preferred option to Elvis Andrus. Remillard doesn't have much power, but he's fast and draws walks. It's a profile interesting enough to warrant deep-league attention, particularly if Benintendi's wrist issue – which has apparently bothered him all season – lingers and Remillard continues seeing regular action at leadoff.

-- Oscar Colas got red-hot at Triple-A Charlotte to earn another promotion to the big leagues last week. He's started five of six contests since being recalled, including two against left-handers. The one time he sat came versus a lefty and he still got two at-bats off the bench in that one. It seems as though the White Sox are more committed to playing Colas every day this time around as the harsh reality of their postseason chances sets in. Colas hasn't capitalized on the opportunity yet and remains stuck in the bottom third of the batting order, but the talent is still there and he needs to be rostered in five-outfielder formats.

Cleveland Guardians

-- After starting nine of the first 13 games after his recall, Bo Naylor finished out the first half splitting time behind the plate with Cam Gallagher evenly as each guy was in the lineup four times in the Guardians' final eight contests. With just a .489 OPS and 36 percent strikeout rate so far at the major-league level, Naylor isn't exactly forcing the issue. Of course, that's just over 64 plate appearances and Gallagher's production at the plate in 2023 has been even worse. Still, it seems like manager Terry Francona might trust Gallagher's defense more. Naylor's offensive upside at catcher remains tantalizing, but he probably can't be rostered in redrafts right now.

-- The disappointing Josh Bell has been inching down the batting order. Three of his last six starts have come out of the six spot after he hadn't batted that low since mid-April. After closing out June on a solid run at the plate, Bell has collected just a .609 OPS across nine July tilts. Meanwhile, Andres Gimenez has inched up in the order and already has seven stolen bases this month to go along with two home runs and a .986 OPS.

Detroit Tigers

-- Kerry Carpenter returned from the IL a month ago and has started 22 of 29 games since then, including all but one contest versus right-handers (the left-handed batter has also started a couple times against southpaws over that span). He's hit fifth twice during that time but otherwise has been in the third or fourth spot, having occupied cleanup for his last six starts. Carpenter is sporting a .298/.348/.500 batting line since his return. I'm not sure how much he'll ultimately play against lefties, but Carpenter's power is legitimate.

-- The Tigers had given Jonathan Schoop a little more playing time at third base after they sent down Nick Maton, but this past weekend they pulled the ripcord on the veteran infielder. Since then it's been Zach McKinstry with three straight starts at the hot corner and also three straight starts in the leadoff spot. McKinstry has made starts at six different positions this season, but has been the club's regular leadoff man against right-handed pitching since late April. A .695 OPS isn't pretty to look at, but the 28-year-old has swiped 11 bags while being caught just once and hasn't been a zero in the power department.

Kansas City Royals

-- Maikel Garcia has grabbed ahold of the Royals' leadoff spot, making nine straight starts at the top of the batting order heading into the break. The rookie infielder had already proven to be a nice fantasy contributor prior to his ascension to the top of the order even while he was rarely batting higher than fifth. Garcia is 14-for-16 on stolen base attempts and is sporting a healthy .284 average. The power production hasn't been there in part due to his ground ball tendencies, but a hard-hit rate in the 87th percentile suggests there could be more in the tank there.

-- Nick Pratto had been batting leadoff for Kansas City prior to Garcia, but since then he's been floating between the third and fifth spots in the lineup. That might still be a tad high given how he's swung the bat lately. Pratto headed into the All-Star break with a .533 OPS and 42.5 percent strikeout rate over his last 27 contests. The 24-year-old has also shown zero flashes of the stolen base ability he had in the minors, having attempted just two steals (being successful once) in his first 114 big-league games.

Minnesota Twins

-- Willi Castro had gone through a stretch of starting seven of eight contests before he was on the bench for the final two games of the first half. The utility player's playing time tends to come in waves, although he's been in the lineup more often than not dating back to mid-May. While still a flawed player, Castro's unexpected speed and multi-position eligibility has made him handy to have in deeper formats.

-- Jose Miranda started the first three games at third base after taking Royce Lewis' (oblique) spot on the roster, but he then was on the bench for three of the next four, including each of the final two games of the first half. The 25-year-old is hitless in his four starts since being recalled, and that's after he put up just a .686 OPS at Triple-A St. Paul. While it's far too soon to give up on Miranda, I certainly wouldn't be counting on any redraft viability in 2023.

Houston Astros

-- Corey Julks started just six of the first 10 games after Yordan Alvarez (oblique) went down, but since then he's been in the lineup for 15 of the last 18 contests. The rookie outfielder is sporting a .396/.458/.472 batting line while going 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts during the latter stretch. Yainer Diaz has been the Astros' primary DH since Alvarez was hurt and has been solid with a .777 OPS and seven homers in 26 games. Julks and Diaz could be fighting for at-bats when Alvarez returns, which shouldn't be long into the second half.

-- After the Astros' center field job tilted in Jake Meyers' favor for a while, it's now tilted back toward Chas McCormick. Meyers has an anemic .417 OPS over his last 51 plate appearances, while McCormick has an .874 OPS over that stretch. McCormick also sees action in left field, although that might not happen much anymore when Alvarez is activated. It could lead to Meyers' playing time continuing to dwindle.

Los Angeles Angels

-- The Angels continue to be one of the unluckiest teams in baseball when it comes to injuries. They lost Mike Trout to hamate bone surgery last week, an injury which is going to cost him a month, at minimum. Jo Adell took Trout's spot on the roster and started the final three games of the first half, but had to leave Saturday's contest with an oblique injury. While it's unclear whether an IL stint will be required, it seems likely. Two of Adell's starts came in left field in part because Taylor Ward is also banged up with a groin issue. Mickey Moniak has started every game since Trout was hurt and is going to continue to play regularly. He had been batting leadoff, but in the final two games before the break hit third, with Shohei Ohtani getting a test run at the top of the order.

-- Mike Moustakas didn't start against a lefty in his first game after being acquired by the Angels, but since then he's been in the lineup for 10 of the last 12 contests (including two times versus a southpaw). All but one of those starts has been at first base, with the other coming at third. It's mostly out of necessity, as Brandon Drury (shoulder) is on the IL and Anthony Rendon (leg) missed the final three games of the first half. Rendon should be ready for the start of the second half, with Drury not too far behind.

Oakland Athletics

-- Jordan Diaz returned to the big leagues on June 30 and has been thrown right back into the mix, starting seven of nine tilts. He's been in the two spot in the Athletics' lineup for five of those games and has split time between second base (three starts) and DH (four starts). Diaz is 22 and is one of the few players on Oakland's roster with any semblance of upside, so hopefully he continues to receive regular looks.

-- JJ Bleday has been in center field for Oakland each of the last four contests since Esteury Ruiz sadly went down with a shoulder injury. Bleday had already been playing fairly regularly in left field, but now has an even clearer path to at-bats, as the left-handed batter has even been in there each of the last three times the A's have faced a lefty. Unfortunately, Bleday continues to show very little offensively, which has been the case for much of his pro career since the Marlins made him the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 Draft.

Seattle Mariners

-- Following a stretch of eight straight games on the bench, Kolten Wong has started at second base in 13 of the last 20 contests for the Mariners. He's still not hitting at all with just a .552 OPS over that span (although he did finally hit his first home run of the season), but Jose Caballero (.589 OPS) has also been bad. The Mariners closed out the first half on a strong note and are in the hunt for a Wild Card spot, so you've got to believe aggressive President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto will be in the market for a second baseman in the coming weeks.

-- Mike Ford has taken over as the Mariners' regular DH against right-handed pitching, having made 12 straight starts in such situations. The 31-year-old has been fantastic over that stretch, too, putting up a .395/.458/.767 batting line with four homers across 48 plate appearances. Ford remains stuck mostly in the eight spot in Seattle's lineup, although he did bat cleanup once and fifth another time earlier this month when Ty France was banged up.

Texas Rangers

-- Ezequiel Duran started in left field in the final game of the first half, but that was just his second start there over the previous 11 contests as the Rangers have used him mainly as a full-time DH in recent weeks. That has opened up more playing time in left field for Travis Jankowski and Robbie Grossman. Jankowski has been in the lineup nine of the last 10 times the Rangers have faced a right-hander. The 32-year-old is hitting a ridiculous .407/.484/.556 with three stolen bases over that stretch and even hit a rare home run.

-- The counting stats still look awfully good in part because he plays literally every day, but Marcus Semien is batting just .236/.297/.369 since the start of June and he finished off the first half in a 2-for-29 slide at the dish. The All-Star break comes at a good time, as it's clear manager Bruce Bochy has no intention of resting his star second baseman. Semien has started every game this season for Texas and hasn't even had any DH days mixed in, with all 91 starts coming at the keystone.