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

– Ozzie Albies is back following a lengthy absence and has returned to his familiar No. 2 hole. The switch hitter is only able to bat from the right side for now because of lingering discomfort in his fractured left hand when he swings from the left side, but he's going to stick in the two spot regardless of the handedness of the opposing pitcher. Jorge Soler has moved from the two spot down to the five hole.

– Ramon Laureano has become the Braves' everyday left fielder down the stretch, making seven straight starts there, with all but one of those coming versus right-handed pitching. Laureano has earned everyday reps thanks to an .899 OPS with seven home runs since the beginning of August. With Laureano's emergence, Jarred Kelenic hasn't started in more than a week and has garnered just two starts over the last 12 contests.

Miami Marlins

– Kyle Stowers has a lot more experience in the outfield corners than in center field. He didn't play an inning in center during his time with the Orioles. However, the Marlins want to see if he's a legitimate option in center field moving forward and have started him there for each of his last five starts and a total of eight times this month. He's finally started to show something at the plate, too, with a .935 OPS over his last seven tilts.

– Making Stowers the regular in center field has allowed the Marlins to keep both Jesus Sanchez and Griffin Conine (at least against righties) in the lineup in the corners. Sanchez has underperformed relative to his batted-ball data all season but has been quite productive dating back to the start of July with an .806 OPS, 11 homers and eight steals.

New York Mets

– With Francisco Lindor (back) banged up, the Mets have turned to Ronald Acuna's younger brother, Luisangel Acuna, as their regular shortstop for each of the last six games. Acuna didn't have a great season at Triple-A Syracuse, but he hasn't shied away from the bright lights thus far in homering three times and collecting a 1.228 OPS in his first 30 major-league plate appearances.

– Acuna has been in the No. 9 spot in the lineup, but it's been Jose Iglesias elevated to the leadoff role with Lindor out, making seven straight starts there. The veteran infielder has put together a 16-game hitting streak and is slashing a ridiculous .419/.446/.532 over that span. He has multiple hits in all but one of his starts out of the leadoff spot.

Philadelphia Phillies

– Even while Austin Hays was sidelined again with a kidney infection, Brandon Marsh has not been in the lineup against a traditional left-handed starter since Aug. 6. Marsh was nearly a league-average hitter against lefties last season, but he's slashed just .200/.279/.293 against them in 2024. It's been Weston Wilson in left field and Johan Rojas in center against southpaws.

– Manager Rob Thomson has also been employing a pretty strict platoon at second base, where Bryson Stott has made just one start against a traditional lefty starter since Aug. 16. That one start came while Edmundo Sosa was on the injured list, but Sosa is back now and has handled the keystone each of the last two times the Phillies have faced a southpaw.

Washington Nationals

– The Nationals pulled a stunner in optioning CJ Abrams to Triple-A Rochester over the weekend. The move was punitive after Abrams was reportedly spotted in the wee hours of the morning at a Chicago casino before a day game at Wrigley Field. Nasim Nunez has garnered both starts at shortstop since the move and has batted ninth, while Dylan Crews moved up to the leadoff spot. Nunez was a prolific base stealer in the minors and the Nationals are as aggressive as any team in the running game, but I'm not sure the 24-year-old is able to get on base enough in the final week to make him worthy even of a deep-league steals flier.

– Joey Gallo has been in the lineup for all but one game against right-handed pitching since he returned from the IL in late August. Fourteen of those starts have come at first base, while five have been in right field, including each of the last two while Crews shifted to center to fill in for a banged-up Jacob Young (shoulder). Gallo has popped three homers over his last seven contests.

Chicago Cubs

– Dansby Swanson has been elevated to the second spot in the Cubs' batting order for each of his last 14 starts. It's come after he primarily batted seventh for the last couple months and hit as low as eighth a handful of times. Swanson has seven homers and 11 steals since the beginning of August and has put up a .313/.367/.494 batting line so far this month.

– Seiya Suzuki hasn't made a start in the field in a month, as the Cubs have cemented him at DH while Cody Bellinger handles right field and Pete Crow-Armstrong patrols center. The Cubs probably don't want to make him a full-time DH at 30 with a couple years left on his contract, but he has consistently ranked as a poor outfield defender. Whether Bellinger exercises his opt-out clause or remains with the Cubs could play into Suzuki's future position (or lack thereof).

Cincinnati Reds

– Santiago Espinal has been in the Reds' lineup for all but one contest since Sept. 2. Eleven of those starts have come at third base, with four being at DH and three at second base. Noelvi Marte initially was the guy losing playing time to Espinal at the start of that stretch, but Marte has been back in the lineup for eight of the last nine tilts. The player losing at-bats now is Amed Rosario, who went from starting 10 of 11 in late August/early September to starting just one of the last 11 games.

– Will Benson has manned left field for each of the club's last three games, which was preceded by a span where he started just two contests during a 16-game span. He was unavailable for some of the latter stretch due to a finger injury, but a lack of production no doubt was the primary factor. Among 231 players with at least 350 plate appearances, Benson ranks 193rd with a .655 OPS and dead last with a 40 percent strikeout rate.

Milwaukee Brewers

– The playing time in center field against right-handed pitching has been tilting toward Garrett Mitchell lately, with Mitchell making five starts to Blake Perkins' three over the last eight games. Mitchell has remained in the lineup in those other three games, too, with a couple starts at DH and one in right field.

– Sal Frelick's playing time has also ticked back up. He's started each of the last nine contests and 12 of the last 13. That stretch was preceded by one which saw him garner only three starts in an eight-game span. Frelick is actually sporting just a .445 OPS so far in September, but he has an elite glove and manager Pat Murphy has prioritized his defense lately while crossing his fingers that Frelick can get going offensively.

Pittsburgh Pirates

– Nick Yorke was called up last week and has been handed six starts in seven games. He's been at second base four times and third base and left field once apiece while batting either seventh or eighth in each contest. Even with Yorke seeing the bulk of his time at second base, Nick Gonzales has still started all but one game over that span, as he's started at shortstop on three occasions.

– Also getting regular run following a promotion has been Billy Cook, who has started seven of the last nine tilts and 10 of 14 overall. Cook has been used in all three outfield spots as well as at first base. He's cranked a couple home runs and stolen one base in the early going but also has a 15:0 K:BB.

St. Louis Cardinals

– Lars Nootbaar has started in center field each of the last two times the Cardinals have gone up against a right-handed pitcher. That was preceded by a stretch during which Michael Siani started 15 of 16 in center field since he came off the IL. Prior to getting hurt, Siani's bat had been trending toward acceptable (when paired with his slick glove, anyway), but since he was activated he's slashed a pathetic .137/.228/.157.

– After being recalled following Willson Contreras' season-ending finger injury, Ivan Herrera started five of the first eight games. Since then, he's been in the lineup just six times across a 19-game span. Those other 13 starts have gone to Pedro Pages, who is more trusted defensively than Herrera at this point.

Arizona Diamondbacks

 – Even with Lourdes Gurriel back from the IL this past Friday, the hot-hitting Pavin Smith has remained in the lineup for all four contests. Smith played right field twice and left field twice over that stretch, with Gurriel receiving two days off and Corbin Carroll and Jake McCarthy getting one day off apiece. Smith has started 11 games in a row and 13 of the last 14 tilts, sporting a 1.102 OPS over that span. The strikeouts have started piling up of late, though, with nine across his last four tilts.

– Gabriel Moreno returned from the IL last week to start five of eight games, batting eighth in four of those and seventh in the other. He then aggravated his adductor injury Sunday but is expected to avoid the IL this time. When healthy, Moreno has been excellent at the plate in the second half, putting up a .910 OPS.

Colorado Rockies

– Hunter Goodman has been in the lineup on 10 occasions over the Rockies' last 13 games, with eight of those starts coming at catcher. I don't know if he's a legitimate catching option at the major-league level moving forward, but he's already locked up eligibility there next year by crossing the 20-game threshold. Goodman has homered five times during the aforementioned 13-game stretch.

– Even with Brenton Doyle (knee) banged up, Jordan Beck did not start either of the final two games of the weekend series against the Dodgers. That was after he was in the lineup for seven of the previous eight contests. Meanwhile, Jake Cave has started three games in a row in right field.

Los Angeles Dodgers

– Mookie Betts made one token appearance at second base last week, which was the first time he's started anywhere other than right field since he came off the IL in mid-August. He finished that lone middle-infield start back in right field as well. Gavin Lux has really cooled off this month (.522 OPS), so perhaps Betts could be used at second base in the playoffs versus lefties.

– Tommy Edman has made 20 starts in center field and nine at shortstop since joining the Dodgers. It has been a little more even lately, though, with four starts in center field and three at shortstop across the last seven tilts. It was Andy Pages in center field each of the last three times Edman played short.

San Diego Padres

– With Ha-Seong Kim's (shoulder) progress still slow, Xander Bogaerts has moved back to his old shortstop position for each of his last 11 starts. The domino effect has been Jake Cronenworth sliding over to second base and Donovan Solano now earning regular reps at first base, where he's started eight times over those 11 contests (he also started an additional game at third base during that time).

– I wondered aloud a few weeks ago in this space whether manager Mike Shildt might consider flipping the positions of Jackson Merrill and Cronenworth in the lineup. That has happened of late, with Merrill moving up to the five spot and Cronenworth downshifting to the seven spot (and the eight spot once) over the last eight contests. 

San Francisco Giants

– It looked for a brief stretch like Jerar Encarnacion might be gaining a foothold on the DH spot for the Giants when he made five straight starts (four at DH, one in right field) earlier this month. However, since then he's started just three of seven tilts, with Michael Conforto settling back in as the club's primary DH against right-handed pitching.

– Grant McCray has handled center field in all but four games since Aug. 14, with the left-handed batter even starting four of five versus southpaws (granted, the Giants have somehow faced just two lefties since Aug. 23). He's also inched up in the batting order lately with seven of his last 10 starts coming from the seven spot. McCray is striking out at a 40.4 percent clip but does have five homers and five steals in 33 games.