Lineup Lowdown: National 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.

Atlanta Braves

-- Travis d'Arnaud re-entered the mix for Atlanta last week following a month-long stay on the injured list with a concussion. He has started three of six games since returning, with two of them coming at catcher and the other at designated hitter. Sean Murphy was the DH for one of the games d'Arnaud caught and Marcell Ozuna was at DH for the other two. Ozuna has started four of the last six contests, but hasn't started a game in the outfield since April 2, so it looks like the team views him as DH-only at this point. It hurts his playing time outlook with d'Arnaud back in the fold, although Ozuna might have saved his roster spot with six homers so far in May.

-- With Ozuna no longer being used in the outfield and Michael Harris back from the IL, the left field job has turned into a pretty strict platoon of Eddie Rosario and Kevin Pillar. Rosario, of course, is on the strong side of that platoon and he's rebounded after a painfully slow start, sporting a .923 OPS with two homers and 10 RBI over his last 16 tilts. Each of Rosario's last seven starts have come from the five spot in the lineup.

Miami Marlins

-- Jesus Sanchez's right hamstring injury couldn't have come at a worse time. The 25-year-old put up a .385/.400/.795 batting line with three homers, seven doubles and 10 RBI during a 40-plate appearance stretch before getting hurt last week in Arizona. He then re-injured the hamstring in his first inning back over the weekend and went on the IL. With Avisail Garcia (back) also out, Sanchez had been seeing regular starts versus righties in right field. Those starts are now going to Peyton Burdick, who has been in the lineup three of the last four contests. Burdick hit 10 homers in 25 games with Triple-A Jacksonville before being recalled but also struck out at a 39 percent clip.

-- Joey Wendle has resumed his role as the Marlins' primary shortstop since returning from the IL last weekend, garnering starts there in five of seven games. Jon Berti started the other two games at short and also picked up a couple starts at third base for the struggling Jean Segura during that span. Berti won't play as much with Wendle back in the fold, though. Losing even more playing time has been Garrett Hampson. He made 11 starts in a 13-game stretch but since then has started just two of the last eight tilts. What could give Hampson (and Berti) a reprieve is a potential IL stint for Jazz Chisholm (toe).

New York Mets

-- Manager Buck Showalter made a big move recently in an attempt to jump-start a struggling offense when he shifted Starling Marte from the second spot down to sixth, where he's batted for each of his last seven starts. Marte has performed better since the switch in going 10-for-28 at the plate with a couple stolen bases, although all 10 of those base knocks have been singles. Francisco Lindor has slid up one spot to Marte's old second slot, with Jeff McNeil mostly the biggest beneficiary by moving to the top-third of the order. McNeil, though, has struggled this month and was back down at seventh Monday.

-- Francisco Alvarez's playing time was already trending up before Tomas Nido went on the injured list with a vision issue, but he's now started 10 of the last 12 contests behind the plate. He's hit well this month, too, but unfortunately remains stuck at the bottom of the lineup. Alvarez has not yet been used in the DH spot.

-- Each of Brett Baty's last six starts have come in the No. 5 spot in the Mets' lineup. He's just 3-for-24 over that stretch, though, and has been benched in two straight and three of the last four times his club has gone up against a left-hander. Baty is still hitting the ball very hard, though, and isn't striking out much. His expected stats via Baseball Savant say he's been unlucky.

Philadelphia Phillies

-- In the first four games after Bryce Harper made his triumphant return from the injured list, manager Rob Thomson had Kyle Schwarber up in the leadoff spot and Bryson Stott moved down to the five hole (save for one game when Stott had a day off versus a lefty). Since then, though, Thomson has switched them, with each of Schwarber's last seven starts coming in the five hole. This is after he spent the first 30 Harper-less games batting second or third. Schwarber has clubbed nine homers, so he hasn't been a total dud. His OPS has dropped south of .700, though, thanks to a 4-for-41 stretch since Harper returned.

-- Meanwhile, Stott himself no longer looks worthy of a spot at the top of the batting order. He managed a couple two-hit games at Coors Field over the weekend, but the second baseman entered play Monday with an OPS barely north of .400 in his last 14 contests and then went 1-for-5 in a loss to the Giants. J.T. Realmuto has caught fire over the same stretch but remains stuck batting sixth. That seems likely to change soon.

Washington Nationals

-- After giving Alex Call a long run at the leadoff spot, manager Davey Martinez has reversed course, putting Opening Day leadoff man Lane Thomas back at the top of the order for each of his club's last nine contests. Thomas has earned it back by batting .327 with four home runs and two stolen bases so far this month.

-- Martinez never dropped Joey Meneses below the cleanup spot even amidst his slow start, and he's been rewarded with a .354 average and 18 RBI over his designated hitter's last 23 contests. We're still waiting for a little more thump, though. Meneses did have three doubles Monday, so perhaps it's coming. That nearly doubled his extra-base hit output over his previous 22 games.

-- Corey Dickerson returned from the IL Monday, and while he didn't start that game versus a lefty, he seems likely to go back to seeing regular starts in left field against right-handers. Stone Garrett has mashed against lefties but has looked overexposed versus righties. The aforementioned Call, meanwhile, has played great defense but is batting .210 since April 11.

Chicago Cubs

-- Manager David Ross said when the team promoted Christopher Morel that he wasn't sure whether he would have regular at-bats for the super utility player. Morel has started six straight, though, following a hamstring injury which forced Nico Hoerner to the injured list. He's started at three different positions – not including DH – and has batted leadoff in three of the last four contests. Hoerner is expected back later this week when first eligible, but Morel should continue seeing regular at-bats while rotating around a multitude of positions. His swing-and-miss tendencies will likely overexpose him over the long haul, but Morel has a very roto-friendly skill set.

-- Matt Mervis has started at first base and batted seventh each of the eight times the Cubs have faced a righty since his promotion. He's been on the bench both times they've gone up against a lefty. Mervis' numbers at Triple-A Iowa this season were better versus left-handers and while they were much better against righties in 2022, he still had an .869 OPS versus southpaws in 2022. I do think he'll get his chances against lefties eventually, but a slow start isn't helping his case.

Cincinnati Reds

-- Nick Senzel has started 18 of the last 19 games for the Reds and each of his last 11 starts have been at third base. It's been so long that I'll forgive you if you don't recall, but that was his primary position in the minors when he was a top prospect. He's batted second each of the last two times they've faced a lefty but has mostly hit sixth against righties.

-- Matt McLain got the call from the Reds prior to Monday's game in Colorado and was immediately thrown into the No. 2 spot in the batting order. It's not the most fearsome lineup to be a part of, sure, but batting second when you play half your games at Great American Ball Park is awfully nice, and the Reds have some other top prospects who could provide an offensive boost sooner rather than later.

-- Jake Fraley had been pushed down mostly to the five spot in the batting order against righties for a while but has hit no lower than fourth in his last five games and either second or third in his last three contests. He's been scorching hot at the plate over the last three weeks, batting .378 with four homers, 19 RBI and a stolen base in his last 16 contests. Fraley has made just one start all season against southpaws.

Milwaukee Brewers

-- Tyrone Taylor has started 11 of 13 games in right field since being activated from the IL, with Brian Anderson shifting from third base to right in those other two games. He's somehow managed to steal four bases in four attempts, but Taylor has provided nothing offensively otherwise. Sal Frelick probably would've gotten a look by now if he were healthy, but he's out until around midseason following thumb surgery.

-- It was hard to get a clear gauge on how often Rowdy Tellez would play against lefties early on in the season because the Brewers hardly faced any. They've now faced 12 on the year and Tellez has started five of those games, although four of those have come in their last seven tilts versus left-handers. Luke Voit (neck) went on the IL Monday, but that won't necessarily result in more at-bats versus lefties for Tellez because Darin Ruf was immediately signed to fill Voit's void.

Pittsburgh Pirates

-- The Pirates' offense has completely cratered since the calendar flipped to May. It hasn't resulted in a ton of change in the top-half of the lineup, at least until their last game when Andrew McCutchen moved up from third to leadoff and former leadoff man Ke'Bryan Hayes was dropped to fifth. Hayes has been one of the unluckiest hitters in baseball in terms of his xwOBA (.338) vs. wOBA (.285), so we probably shouldn't be giving up on him. Still, I find it difficult to summon much energy to argue on his behalf at this point.

-- Rodolfo Castro was the club's everyday shortstop for about a month after Oneil Cruz (ankle) went down, but his playing time has completely evaporated of late. As in, he literally hasn't started a game in more than a week. Castro's bat has been well above average, but his defense is hard to stomach and the Pirates no longer seem willing to put up with it. Tucupita Marcano has been the team's primary shortstop this month and has even been used at leadoff a couple times. Marcano struggled mightily in the big leagues from 2021-22, but has crushed the ball at Triple-A Indianapolis and held his own in the majors this season. It doesn't look to be a very roto-friendly skill set, but he's just 23 so perhaps there could still be some growth there.

St. Louis Cardinals

-- Willson Contreras was "demoted" from catcher to designated hitter earlier this month while the Cards worked with him on some defensive and game-calling aspects. It resulted in nine straight starts at catcher for Andrew Knizner, whose bat suddenly woke up with the elevated role as he posted an .875 OPS with a couple dingers in those nine games. Contreras returned to catching Monday and it seems as though the plan is for him to be the club's primary catcher again moving forward.

-- In a development that literally no one saw coming, Paul DeJong has become the Cardinals' everyday shortstop. He's started 16 of 21 games there since returning from the injured list, including nine of the last 10 contests. DeJong has earned the gig by batting .305/.369/.559 with four home runs, including two long balls over his last six games. Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan have both seen their playing time cut following DeJong's re-emergence, but Donovan has been hurt more in being benched seven of the last 17 contests (granted, six of those games were against lefties). Also, after being the team's primary leadoff hitter for the first three weeks of the season, Donovan has hit higher than sixth once in his last 13 starts (and that was fifth).

Arizona Diamondbacks

-- The Diamondbacks have been willing to put up with Lourdes Gurriel's defense in left field in hopes that his bat would come around. It has, as he entered May with a .699 OPS and one home run but is now currently sitting on a .311/.373/.541 line with six bombs. Gurriel will move up to the three spot in the lineup against left-handers but is mostly batting fifth or sixth versus righties.

-- Through May 6, Alek Thomas made all but three starts in center field, including 18 straight starts at the position. Since then, he's started just four of nine tilts and on three occasions during that span he was benched against a righty. The Statcast data says Thomas has been unlucky and he's done a solid job versus right-handers, but he's been unusable at the plate against lefties. The biggest beneficiary of Thomas' woes has been Dominic Fletcher, who has started 12 of the last 13 games. He hasn't batted higher than sixth yet but that could certainly change if he stays hot at the dish.

Colorado Rockies

-- Randal Grichuk has started 12 of 15 contests since coming back from the IL. They've been spread out across the outfield, with three starts coming in left field, another three in right, five in center and one more at DH. He's batted second three times but mostly has resided in the 5-7 range.

-- It had seemed like most of Grichuk's playing time would come in center field and that might still wind up being the case. However, Brenton Doyle has tried to stake claim to that gig. He's the club's best defensive outfielder and has showcased his plus speed (6-for-6 in stolen base attempts) and plus raw power (four homers, including his first two-homer game Monday). Doyle has started 14 of the last 19 contests in center field and has been in the nine spot in the lineup for each of the last seven of those starts.

-- A nice two-week hot stretch elevated Ezequiel Tovar from the nine spot in the lineup to mostly seventh and even up in the two-hole once. Unfortunately, he's fallen back into a deep funk over the past week, going 2-for-25 with 10 strikeouts, including a Golden Sombrero on Monday. Tovar won't be benched because his glove is so good, but it's difficult to justify rostering him in mixed formats at this point, let alone starting him.

Los Angeles Dodgers

-- Miguel Vargas was benched in four of the first 11 games of the season when the Dodgers utilized Mookie Betts at second base. He's been on the bench only four times since then, though, including just once over their last 16 contests. The power is starting to manifest, too, with three homers already this month.

-- Miguel Rojas didn't start two of his first three games back from the IL, but he's been at shortstop for eight of the last 10 tilts since then as the Dodgers prioritize defense at the position. Rojas has been even more feeble with the bat than normal, though, with a .483 OPS and just two extra-base hits – both doubles – in 24 games.

-- The Dodgers have stuck with David Peralta as their regular left fielder against righties, giving him 17 straight starts in those situations. He's started to show some signs of life this month, although they've faced a lot of lefties so far in May.

San Diego Padres

-- The Padres' offense has been surprisingly inept for the amount of firepower they possess. Manager Bob Melvin tried Jake Cronenworth again in the two spot Monday, the fifth time he's done that over the last seven games. Cronenworth has mostly batted fifth or sixth this season, but when he moves up everyone else just slides down a spot. That means the slumping Xander Bogaerts batting fifth those days. Bogaerts is batting just .178 with one homer over his last 20 games and doesn't have a single multi-hit effort over that span.

-- Matt Carpenter started Monday but had been on the bench each of the team's previous two games versus a right-hander. He had perked up with a nice mini-run at the end of April, but since the beginning of May, Carpenter is just 3-for-30 with zero extra-base hits and one RBI in 10 contests. Nelson Cruz has been even worse, though, and now has a 28:1 K:BB on the season.

San Francisco Giants

-- Casey Schmitt has made quite a first impression, going 13-for-28 with two home runs and three doubles in his first seven major-league games. He started the first five games after his promotion at shortstop, but after Brandon Crawford returned from the IL Schmitt has made one start at third base and one at second. He could continue bouncing around the infield, but if he winds up settling in at one position in 2023 it could be at third base, with J.D. Davis shifting to more of a DH role.

-- Brett Wisely basically became an everyday player over the last two-plus weeks while splitting time between second base and center field. However, with Thairo Estrada shifting back to second to accommodate Crawford and Mike Yastrzemski returning from the IL to occupy center, Wisely is headed to the bench and, perhaps eventually, back to the minors.

-- Blake Sabol has started just five of his team's last 12 tilts, getting benched on three occasions over that span against righties. The Rule 5 pick is hitting the ball very hard when he does make contact, but his strikeout rate is approaching 40 percent and he's not usable versus left-handed pitching.