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

– The Orioles have a new leadoff man in Colton Cowser, who has occupied the spot each of the last nine times Baltimore has faced a right-hander. Cowser's production in his first full major-league season has been a bit up-and-down, but he's been scorching hot of late, carrying a 17-game hitting streak into play Tuesday during which he's slashed .391/.452/.625 with four homers and two steals. Trade deadline acquisition Austin Slater hit leadoff against the lone lefty the Orioles faced during the aforementioned eight-game stretch. Meanwhile, former leadoff man Gunnar Henderson has moved down into more of an RBI spot in the three hole.

– Jackson Holliday is back as the starting second baseman and Coby Mayo has taken over at third base for the O's. Unfortunately, their arrivals came about in large part due to injuries to Jordan Westburg (hand) and Jorge Mateo (elbow). Holliday — who has batted ninth four times and eighth twice — looks more comfortable at the big-league level this time around, going 7-for-18 with a couple dingers. Mayo went hitless in his first three contests and got a day off in favor of Ramon Urias on Tuesday.

Boston Red Sox

– Over the last nine contests against right-handers, Wilyer Abreu has batted second six times, third once and sixth twice. He's collected a 1.239 OPS with four home runs and 12 RBI across 10 games during that span. David Hamilton had been seeing most of the action in the two hole versus righties, but he's been down in the eight or nine spot after posting just a .526 OPS over his last 12 tilts.

– Masataka Yoshida has also elevated his standing of late. The designated hitter has been in the second or third spot each of the last eight times the Red Sox have gone up against a right-hander. Covering his previous 12 tilts, Yoshida is slashing .348/.448/.500 with one homer and 10 RBI.

New York Yankees

– The Yankees traded for Jazz Chisholm ahead of the deadline and have stuck him at… third base? Chisholm's first start came in center field, but he's been cemented in at the hot corner in the six games since then, which is a position he had never previously played in pro ball. The 26-year-old has hit the ground running in pinstripes with four bombs and a 1.064 OPS. Jazz has hit either fifth or sixth in each of his seven tilts thus far.

– The Bronx Bombers are still trying to find a leadoff hitter. Over the last 10 games, it's been either Alex Verdugo (seven, all versus righties) or Gleyber Torres (three, two against lefties) occupying the spot. Verdugo went 9-for-22 in his first five tries from the spot but in the last two contests has gone 0-for-10. Torres is 4-for-15 with a homer in his three recent games at the top of the batting order.

Tampa Bay Rays

– Out are Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes and Amed Rosario. In are Christopher Morel and Dylan Carlson. In his first five starts with the Rays, Morel has played second base three times and has been the DH the other two times. He's batted third four times and hit cleanup once and cracked a solo homer in each of his first two contests. Playing third base during that stretch has been Jose Caballero (four times) and Curtis Mead (twice).

– Richie Palacios earned the first three starts in left field versus righties after Arozarena was traded, but he then went down with a knee injury that will keep him sidelined for at least a month. In the four games since then, Jonny DeLuca has occupied left three times, Carlson played there twice and Kameron Misner has started one game.

Toronto Blue Jays

– The Blue Jays picked up Joey Loperfido from the Astros at the trade deadline and have thrown him right into the mix with five straight starts in the two hole, with one of them even coming against a lefty for the left-handed batter. He's started in left field four times, as Daulton Varsho is pegged for full-time center field duty with Kevin Kiermaier now on the Dodgers. Former two-hole hitter Spencer Horwitz has moved into the cleanup spot vacated by Justin Turner, who was flipped to the Mariners.

– Alejandro Kirk is now the unquestioned top catcher in Toronto following the trade of Danny Jansen. He did miss two games recently after being hit on the left elbow by a pitch, but Kirk has started seven of eight contests otherwise and has nine hits and five RBI over that span. He's mostly batted sixth lately but did hit fourth once and fifth twice.

Chicago White Sox

– The White Sox picked up a potential long-term regular at the trade deadline with the acquisition of Miguel Vargas. Vargas batted second in his first two contests for the White Sox and has been the club's leadoff hitter for each of the previous five tilts. It also looks like he'll settle in third base, having played there in four of his last five starts. Vargas is off to just a 3-for-24 start and the team context is obviously terrible, but the 24-year-old still has some mixed-league appeal with everyday playing time and a good spot in the lineup.

– With Eloy Jimenez and Tommy Pham out of the picture, the White Sox have more at-bats available at DH and in right field. Dominic Fletcher started the first four games after those trades but has since been out of the lineup for each of the last three contests (two versus left-handers). Nick Senzel also could be more of an outfielder again moving forward with Vargas handling the hot corner.

Cleveland Guardians

– The Guardians picked up Lane Thomas via trade from the Nationals at the deadline and have made him their everyday right fielder, optioning former starting right fielder Will Brennan to Triple-A Columbus to clear space on the roster. Thomas has batted second six times and fifth once since joining Cleveland.

– Angel Martinez has lost his spot as the two-hole hitter with Thomas aboard and his grip on the center field job could be slipping, as well. Thomas made his second start in center Tuesday and Tyler Freeman started each of the previous two contests there, with Freeman also getting a start at shortstop Tuesday. Martinez got off to an excellent start with the Guardians but over his last 10 contests has managed just a .537 OPS and 10:1 K:BB.

Detroit Tigers

– Bligh Madris has established himself as the Tigers' regular first baseman against right-handed pitching, having made 10 straight starts in such situations. The 28-year-old is slashing a ridiculous .464/.500/.643 with one long ball over that stretch and has batted fifth in Detroit's lineup for each of his last seven starts.

– The Tigers summoned Dillon Dingler to take the roster spot vacated by Carson Kelly, who was traded to the Rangers. Dingler has received half of the starts at catcher since his promotion, deferring to Jake Rogers for the other half. Rogers is hitless over his last five games and has a .583 OPS on the season, so perhaps the tide will star turning Dingler's way as the Tigers look to see what they have for 2025.

Kansas City Royals

– Most of the Royals' additions were to their pitching staff, but they did supplement their offense with the addition of Paul DeJong. In seven games since the trade, DeJong has garnered four starts, with all of them coming at third base. One of those starts came against a left-handed starter, while the other three were either against righties or a lefty opener. Maikel Garcia slid over to second base in three of DeJong's four starts and had a day off in the other one.

– Michael Massey has started just four of seven contests since DeJong was brought into the fold. The DH spot is still available to Massey on days DeJong and Garcia are playing third base and second base, respectively, but the Royals also want to keep Freddy Fermin involved, either as a DH or as a catcher while Salvador Perez is the DH. Fermin started the first six games (four at DH, two at catcher) since DeJong was added before sitting Tuesday.

Minnesota Twins

– When Carlos Correa (heel) first went down, the Twins shifted Willi Castro over to shortstop and used Edouard Julien at second base and Brooks Lee at third base. While Correa is not back yet, Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda are, resulting in more jockeying around the infield as Castro moves back to second, Lee handles shortstop and Julien goes back to the minors. Four of Lewis' 10 starts and 11 of his last 26 starts if you go back to mid-June have been at DH, as the Twins want to get him off his feet when they can in hopes that it will help keep him healthy.

– Matt Wallner has started all but one game against right-handers since his recall in early July and has been in the lineup a couple times versus lefties. The 26-year-old has banged out five homers, posted a 1.280 OPS and 12.5 percent walk rate and also struck out at a 35.9 percent clip during this span, leaning fully into the three true outcomes.

Houston Astros

– The trade of Joey Loperfido and continued absence of Kyle Tucker (shin) should, theoretically, result in more chances for Chas McCormick. He has started five of seven games since Loperfido was dealt, although he's sat out two of five contests versus right-handed pitching. The Astros also called up Pedro Leon for his major-league debut over the weekend and handed him three straight starts in right field before sitting him Tuesday.

– Jon Singleton has started all but three games at first base since June 29 but simply isn't offering much at the plate, collecting a .699 OPS over that span. As such, the Astros have brought up Zach Dezenzo and could give him some run at first base, where he had seen most of his action of late with Triple-A Sugar Land. Dezenzo missed the first two months of the season with a wrist issue and didn't arrive at Sugar Land until late July, but he slashed .391/.472/.739 with four homers and three steals in 11 games there. He made his major-league debut Tuesday at DH, with Yordan Alvarez playing left field.

Los Angeles Angels

– It took, unfortunately, a season-ending wrist injury to Luis Rengifo, but Zach Neto has finally been moved up higher in the Angels' batting order, sliding into the second spot (which Rengifo had occupied) the last two times out. Neto boasts a .903 OPS so far in the second half. Rengifo had made five starts at third base, three at second and one at DH after coming off the IL. Anthony Rendon is back from the IL to take over at third base, leaving an opening at second. Michael Stefanic has occupied the keystone in four of the last five contests.

– Logan O'Hoppe has also been elevated in the Angels' batting order, flipping spots with Taylor Ward in going from fifth to third. O'Hoppe has been impressively consistent in his first full major-league season, with his OPS not dropping below .729 in any month and peaking at .971 in June.

Oakland Athletics

– Seth Brown was outrighted off the Athletics' 40-man roster back in June, but Tyler Soderstrom's wrist injury last month has afforded him another opportunity. Brown has started at first base for all 16 games against right-handed pitching since rejoining the big club, with Tyler Nevin serving on the short side of that platoon. The 32-year-old has a .957 OPS and five homers over that stretch.

– Lawrence Butler is slashing an incredible .347/.397/.764 since being moved into the leadoff spot last month, homering seven times and driving in 17 while adding three stolen bases. The left-handed swinger has even remained at the top of the batting order in three of four games versus southpaws during that span.

Seattle Mariners

– The Mariners added some much-needed thump to their lineup at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner. Will it be enough to pair with their elite pitching staff? That remains to be seen, but Arozarena going right into the two hole and Turner sliding in at cleanup shows you how badly they were needed. Victor Robles had been playing left field and batting second, but with Arozarena in the fold and Julio Rodriguez (ankle) still out, Robles has been playing center field and batting leadoff.

– Turner has made three starts at first base and two at DH since joining Seattle. His arrival means less playing time for Luke Raley (five starts over the last nine games) and especially Mitch Garver (six starts over the last 14 contests).

Texas Rangers

– It's odd to see someone other than Marcus Semien leading off for the Rangers, but manager Bruce Bochy has put Josh Smith there for eight straight contests in an effort to jolt a sagging offense, moving Semien down to the three spot behind Corey Seager. Smith has made three starts at DH, two starts at third base, two starts in left field and one at shortstop over that span.

– Bochy eased Josh Jung back into things in the seventh spot in the batting order for his first two games back and then put him sixth for three contests. However, in the last two games Jung — who entered play Tuesday having reached base five times across his last three tilts — has been in the cleanup spot. Wyatt Langford has inched down to fifth in the batting order, while Adolis Garcia hit seventh on Monday and then sixth Tuesday.