Lineup Lowdown: American 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.

Baltimore Orioles

-- Cedric Mullins made a triumphant return from the injured list over the weekend, batting fifth once and second once before coming off the bench Sunday to hit a go-ahead homer in extra innings. Mullins has hit leadoff more than anywhere else this season and could return to that spot eventually especially after looking sharp upon his return. The leadoff spot of late has gone to Adley Rutschman, though, with the catcher coming into action Monday having started 15 straight games at the top of the batting order.

-- Ryan Mountcastle was playing only every other day for the first week or so upon his activation from the IL in mid-July. The Orioles haven't been able to keep his red-hot bat out of the lineup lately, though, as he enters play Monday having started all but one of the last 19 contests. Mountcastle is hitting an absurd .433/.507/.700 with four home runs and 13 RBI over that span. Most of his starts versus righties during that time have come from the No. 5 spot in the lineup, and he's moved up to the two-hole against lefties. Ryan O'Hearn is still seeing regular starts versus right-handers, with six of those last eight starts coming in the outfield. That might not last, though, as he's finally cooled off with just a .438 OPS in August.

Boston Red Sox

-- Trevor Story was activated for his season debut last week and the Red Sox threw him right into the fire, batting him third three times and fifth twice as he started five of his team's first six games upon his return. A couple of those starts did come at designated hitter, with Pablo Reyes playing shortstop those days. Reyes entered play Monday having started eight straight games, including two of the last three at second base where he might be the preferred option to Luis Urias right now. Urias has started eight of 10 games since being acquired and recalled, but he's been on the bench twice since Story was activated.

-- Triston Casas is no longer in a platoon. The owner of a blistering .349/.442/.758 batting line and 10 home runs since the All-Star break, Casas has started 13 straight contests, with four of the last seven of those coming against left-handed pitchers (one of those was an opener). While his overall numbers against southpaws still leave something to be desired, the left-handed-hitting Casas' last homer came off lefty Tarik Skubal, which was the first time he's taken a left-hander deep since April.

New York Yankees

-- Jake Bauers has batted leadoff each of the last seven times the Yankees have gone up against a right-hander. While he had heated up to force that move, Bauers' bat has since gone ice-cold. He's just 3-for-28 with 16 strikeouts over his last seven games, which includes an 0-for-5, five-strikeout game Sunday. Bauers has also been the team's regular first baseman since Anthony Rizzo (concussion) went down, but Rizzo is doing better and it's possible he's not far off from a return.

-- Perhaps the Yankees will give Rizzo a run in the leadoff spot when he's ready. He has some experience there, including a couple games last month. Another option would be to give DJ LeMahieu another shot at the top of the batting order. LeMahieu has missed the last five contests with a calf issue, but had batted .364/.440/.455 in his first six August games before getting hurt.

Tampa Bay Rays

-- Wander Franco was out of the lineup Sunday and subsequently placed on the restricted list as Major League Baseball pens up an investigation regarding social media posts made about the shortstop. Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena each slid up a spot in the batting order Sunday to second (Franco's normal spot) and third, respectively. At shortstop, Osleivis Basabe made his major-league debut there Sunday and appears poised to pick up most of the starts at the position in the near term while Franco is away.

-- Top prospect Curtis Mead was called up on Aug. 4, but heading into play Monday had started just four of nine games (two against lefties and two against righties). All four starts have come at third base, although he's capable of filling in at second, too. Mead is a polished hitter, but he doesn't necessarily offer a standout tool for fantasy at this juncture, and with the lack of playing time he can't be counted on in redrafts.

Toronto Blue Jays

-- The Blue Jays moved George Springer down to the fifth spot in the batting order in late July, marking the first time in two years he batted anywhere other than leadoff. He's since inched up to cleanup against right-handers after Bo Bichette (knee) went down while batting second versus lefties. Spring has hit a tad better since the move, but his season line of .259/.327/.396 remains quite the disappointment. Taking Springer's spot atop Toronto's order has been Whit Merrifield, who has hit .333/.355/.556 since the start of July.

-- Paul DeJong made eight straight starts at shortstop after joining the team via trade following Bichette's injury, but he and Santiago Espinal have rotated starts at short over the last four contests. DeJong has been brutal so far at the plate for Toronto, going 3-for-39 with a 14:0 K:BB. Bichette is improving but there remains no timetable for his return.

Chicago White Sox

-- Jake Burger had been seeing regular action at second base before the White Sox traded him to the Marlins at the deadline. Since then, the club has used Elvis Andrus six times and Zach Remillard five times at the keystone. Andrus has also received an additional three starts at shortstop over that stretch with Tim Anderson nursing a bruised forearm and also getting a regular day off. Andrus has an .872 OPS so far this month, so perhaps he'll get hot again as he did for the Pale Hose down the stretch last season. He would presumably handle shortstop once Anderson's suspension appeal is heard, which could be any day now.

-- Oscar Colas missed two games with a sore leg last week, but outside of that he's started 18 straight games. Three of those have come against left-handers, as manager Pedro Grifol's pledge when Colas was recalled to use the outfielder most every day has come to fruition. And while Colas remains stuck in the bottom-third of the batting order, the production has finally started to tick up a bit lately with a .787 OPS and a couple homers in his last eight tilts.

Cleveland Guardians

-- The Guardians' first base depth has really been hit hard, partly due to injury (Josh Naylor) and partly due to a trade (Josh Bell). First it was David Fry seeing regular starts at the position, but he went down with an injury himself when he strained a hamstring. Handling first base over the last five games has been Kole Calhoun, and he's even been hitting in the middle of the lineup, occupying the cleanup spot in three of the past four contests. Prior to this stretch, Calhoun had four career starts at first base and those came in 2013. He also has a .612 OPS over the previous two seasons.

-- Cleveland took a flier on Ramon Laureano after the Athletics designated him for assignment and have started him each of the last six games. Four of those starts have come in right field and two of them have been in center, as Will Brennan and Myles Straw have both seen their playing time dip. Oscar Gonzalez has eaten into Brennan's starts, as well, although Gonzalez has mostly been used at DH, with each of his last five starts coming there.

Detroit Tigers

-- Akil Baddoo has been getting ample run in the leadoff spot, starting there five of the last six times the Tigers have gone up against a right-hander. Baddoo does have an .809 OPS so far in August, but he's got a sub-.300 on-base percentage and on the year is hitting only .218/.305/.359. Zach McKinstry had been the team's regular leadoff man prior to Baddoo, but he hasn't batted higher than sixth since Baddoo's ascension.

-- Matt Vierling is another guy who has been pushed up in the batting order. The 26-year-old has often been in the leadoff spot against lefties this season, but lately he's hit high in the order versus both lefties and righties. Vierling has started nine of the last 10 games for Detroit and hasn't hit lower than third in any of them. Also, after not starting a single game at third base this season prior to August, Vierling has started at the hot corner five times already this month.

Kansas City Royals

-- Heading into action Monday, Michael Massey occupied the third spot in the batting order for each of the last six games, including twice versus left-handers. Previously, he had batted that high in the order just three times all season. Consistency has not been Massey's forte this season. He had a huge May with a .940 OPS, but in the two months surrounding it his OPS didn't even crack .400. Since then, he's settled into roughly a league-average hitter.

-- MJ Melendez has finally started turning his impressive quality-of-contact numbers into actual production this month, as he carried a 1.028 OPS with four long balls in August into action Monday. Naturally, much of that boom in production has come after he was moved down to the five spot in the batting order a week ago after he hit third or fourth regularly for the previous month. I do still like buying low on Melendez if you can, although it should be noted that he's been a full-time outfielder since the start of May so it looks like he probably won't carry catcher eligibility into 2024 if you use the 20-game threshold.

Minnesota Twins

-- Matt Wallner has started all but three game since July 18, even starting four of six tilts versus left-handers over that stretch. He has begun to cool off a bit, following an 11-game stretch which saw him post a 1.095 OPS with six home runs with a 2-for-18 mini-slump (though he did hit another dinger). Neither Byron Buxton (hamstring) nor Alex Kirilloff (shoulder) appear very close to returning, so Wallner should continue to get plenty of run at least in the short term.

-- Twins manager Rocco Baldelli had alternating starts at catcher between Christian Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers for a while almost like clockwork, but lately Jeffers has been forcing his way into the lineup more often. The 26-year-old has started eight of the last nine tilts, even being used at DH on three occasions during that span. Jeffers hit pretty well – particularly for a catcher – in the first half, but in the second half he's been scorching hot with a 1.059 OPS, five bombs and 14 RBI in 19 contests.

Houston Astros

-- Jose Abreu landed on the injured list over the weekend with a back issue, which has apparently been nagging at him for a while (though he was quick to say it wasn't the reason for his struggles). Abreu's absence has led to the unlikely re-emergence of Jon Singleton, who was with Houston back in 2014-15 before getting suspended and ultimately spending a few years out of baseball. Now 31, Singleton had a two-homer game for the Astros last week and has walked more than he's struck out. Manager Dusty Baker has indicated that Abreu will get his job back when he's ready, but perhaps Singleton could make things interesting.

-- Yainer Diaz has seen his playing time cut a bit since Yordan Alvarez returned from the injured list to soak up many of the at-bats at DH. It's unfortunate, as the 24-year-old entered play Monday with a 1.021 OPS with four home runs since Alvarez returned, but he's started just nine of 17 contests over that span. Whether right or wrong, Baker just isn't willing to turn away from Martin Maldonado as his primary catcher.

Los Angeles Angels

-- With a second straight start there Monday, Mickey Moniak looks to be re-emerging as Angels manager Phil Nevin's preferred leadoff hitter after being relegated to the sixth spot in the lineup for a while. He's flipped spots with Luis Rengifo, who had been perched at the top of the order for the previous 15 contests. Moniak's contact issues have finally been exposed in August, as he entered play Monday with just a .483 OPS this month. Still, while his .298 OBP as a leadoff hitter is far from ideal, he has an .848 OPS while batting first. The Angels certainly aren't teeming with options with how hard they've been hit by injuries.

-- Mike Moustakas has also been an everyday player mostly by necessity since being acquired in late June. "Moose" entered play Monday having started in the cleanup spot for the Halos in nine of the last 10 games. While he was hitless in the final three of those contests, he's still posted an .868 OPS with two homers, four doubles and 11 RBI overall during the span.

Oakland Athletics

-- He batted sixth or seventh in three of his first six starts upon his promotion, but Zack Gelof hasn't batted lower than third since July 21 and has started every game over that stretch. The rookie second baseman has been a fantasy godsend. Coming into play Monday, he's sporting a .301/.370/.699 batting line since that July 21 date, popping eight home runs and stealing four bags. He had his first career two-homer game for Oakland over the weekend as part of a four-hit effort.

-- Fellow rookie Tyler Soderstrom – who was promoted to the big leagues the same day as Gelof – has found the big-league waters a bit choppier, having come into play Monday with just a .477 OPS and 31 percent strikeout rate in his first 21 games. It has not affected his playing time, as he's started eight of the last nine tilts and 11 of the last 13. Soderstrom has often found himself lower in the batting order, though. He was up in the five spot for five of his first six starts, but has hit that high just twice since then, even batting ninth a couple times.

Seattle Mariners

-- Growing tired of their lack of production at second base, the Mariners cut Kolten Wong loose and went out and acquired… Josh Rojas, a guy who fell out of favor with the Diamondbacks due to his lack of production. Rojas has started seven of nine games versus right-handers since landing in Seattle, although he came into action having gone just 3-for-19 with his new club. Jose Caballero and Dylan Moore have handled the keystone against lefties, although Moore has been needed at shortstop of late with J.P. Crawford suffering a concussion.

-- Dominic Canzone came over with Rojas in the Paul Sewald trade and the left-handed batter has also found himself in the lineup regularly against righties, starting eight of nine contests in said situations. He's made five starts in right field, two in left and one at DH. Unfortunately, like Rojas, Canzone has also gotten off to a slow start with his new team.

Texas Rangers

-- The Rangers went with Ezequiel Duran at third base for the first two games after Josh Jung suffered a fractured thumb before turning to Josh Smith for the next four contests while Duran bounced around between shortstop, left field and DH. It was then Duran back at the hot corner for Monday's tilt. Duran's production took a nosedive in July, but it has crept back up a bit in August.

-- Mitch Garver started 10 of 12 games while Jonah Heim was out with a wrist injury and during that time put up a robust .348/.400/.609 batting line with three home runs and 10 RBI. Heim made a quicker-than-expected return as he was activated and started Sunday, although Garver was back behind the dish Monday. The Rangers are still carrying three catchers with Austin Hedges remaining on the roster, which could allow Garver to still play plenty at DH when he's not catching. He should certainly still be rostered in two-catcher formats.