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.
To track all the latest changes around the league, visit our MLB batting order changes and MLB playing time changes pages. For today's lineups, head to our MLB Daily Lineups page.
Atlanta Braves
– Marcell Ozuna started at designated hitter Sunday, but that was his only start over the last five games. The 34-year-old has collected just a .562 OPS since June 1, and manager Brian Snitker has indicated that it will be Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin splitting reps between catcher and DH most days moving forward. Ozuna, of course, is a trade candidate and seems likelier now than ever to be dealt.
– Nacho Alvarez has started at third base and batted seventh in each of the team's six contests since Austin Riley (abdomen) went down. While Alvarez has been impressive defensively at the hot corner, he's shown next to nothing in terms of offensive output. Riley is expected back from the 10-day injured list Friday.
Miami Marlins
– Connor Norby fractured his left hamate bone and will be sidelined until at least late August. It's been a strict platoon at third base for the Marlins since Norby was hurt, with the left-handed-hitting Graham Pauley starting there in all four games
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.
To track all the latest changes around the league, visit our MLB batting order changes and MLB playing time changes pages. For today's lineups, head to our MLB Daily Lineups page.
Atlanta Braves
– Marcell Ozuna started at designated hitter Sunday, but that was his only start over the last five games. The 34-year-old has collected just a .562 OPS since June 1, and manager Brian Snitker has indicated that it will be Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin splitting reps between catcher and DH most days moving forward. Ozuna, of course, is a trade candidate and seems likelier now than ever to be dealt.
– Nacho Alvarez has started at third base and batted seventh in each of the team's six contests since Austin Riley (abdomen) went down. While Alvarez has been impressive defensively at the hot corner, he's shown next to nothing in terms of offensive output. Riley is expected back from the 10-day injured list Friday.
Miami Marlins
– Connor Norby fractured his left hamate bone and will be sidelined until at least late August. It's been a strict platoon at third base for the Marlins since Norby was hurt, with the left-handed-hitting Graham Pauley starting there in all four games versus righties and the right-handed-swinging Javier Sanoja holding down the spot in two contests against lefties. Pauley has batted eighth three times and ninth once, and the 24-year-old has struggled to find his offensive footing so far at the big-league level.
– The Marlins continue to bounce Agustin Ramirez back and forth between catcher and DH, as he has made nine starts at catcher and eight starts at DH so far in July. While it's questionable as to whether Ramirez is a catcher over the long haul, fantasy managers are happy with the current setup since it allows Ramirez to be in the lineup every day. The 23-year-old has started every game since June 24 and has had only two days off since May 18. Ramirez has not batted lower than cleanup during that span.
New York Mets
– After a successful month-long stint at Triple-A Syracuse, Francisco Alvarez rejoined the Mets' lineup in the No. 8 spot Monday and reached base three times. Alvarez has regressed both from an offensive and defensive standpoint this season, while Luis Torrens has ranked well in defensive metrics. However, Alvarez is likely to get another opportunity to be the team's primary catcher for the remainder of the season, and his hard-hit rate (50.6 percent) and average exit velocity (92.9 mph) suggest better days could be ahead.
– Among Jeff McNeil's last 18 starts, nine have come in center field, six have come at second base and one apiece have come in left field, right field and DH. McNeil is a 33-year-old who had started all of two games in center field in his career prior to this season, but he has handled the position capably. Tyrone Taylor is still playing quite a bit even with McNeil seeing more action in center, having started 13 of 22 contests over the aforementioned stretch.
Philadelphia Phillies
– In each of their three games since Alec Bohm landed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left rib, the Phillies have gone with Otto Kemp at third base. Edmundo Sosa and Weston Wilson could also get some reps at the hot corner while Bohm is shelved, but Kemp is getting the first crack at it and has responded with a home run and a double among three hits in the last three contests. The 26-year-old has a 29:6 K:BB in his first 110 big-league plate appearances, but the quality of contact (45.7 percent hard-hit rate, 11.4 percent barrel rate) has been good.
– Max Kepler has hit higher in the batting order than fellow left-handed swinger Brandon Marsh virtually all season. That changed recently, however, with Marsh hitting sixth twice and fifth once and Kepler batting eighth twice and seventh once the last three times the Phillies have faced a righty. Both players are having down seasons offensively on the whole, but Kepler has a lowly .616 OPS since May 1, while Marsh's OPS over that time is a solid .743.
Washington Nationals
– Josh Bell is swinging a hot bat in July (.360/.448/.520) and as a result has hit either third or fourth in each of his last nine starts. However, the veteran switch hitter batted sixth the last time the Nationals faced a traditional left-handed starter and was out of the lineup each of the last four times before that against a southpaw. Bell hasn't traditionally had drastic splits, but he's hitting an ugly .117/.221/.217 against lefties in 2025.
– With Keibert Ruiz having landed back on the 7-day concussion injured list, Riley Adams has started nine of the last 11 games at catcher for the Nationals. Adams has popped a couple home runs over that stretch and boasts a 49.2 percent hard-hit rate on the season. However, he also has an obscene 42.3 percent strikeout rate, which is the highest in baseball among players that have accrued at least 100 plate appearances.
Chicago Cubs
– Every one of Ian Happ's starts through July 10 had come from the leadoff spot. Since then, though, he has batted fifth, sixth and seventh two times apiece. It's been an odd season for Happ. He hit nine home runs in June but has clubbed a total of just four in the other three months. Happ's average has also gone down each month and he's batting only .164 in July. With Happ demoted, Michael Busch has been elevated to the leadoff spot against righties, while Nico Hoerner has sat atop the batting order versus lefties.
– Matt Shaw might be losing his grip on the third-base job, having started just four of the last nine contests. Jon Berti held down the hot corner three times and Vidal Brujan played there twice over that span. Neither of those guys would seem to be a real threat to unseat Shaw on a permanent basis, but Shaw's playing time slippage further indicates that the Cubs will be in the market for a third baseman at the trade deadline. After going 1-for-27 in his first 10 games this month, Shaw has gone 6-for-11 with a couple homers in his last four contests, so perhaps he's getting the message.
To keep up with all the latest trade deadline news, check out RotoWire's MLB Trade Deadline Tracker.
Cincinnati Reds
– Manager Terry Francona has had a set top four in the batting order since Austin Hays came off the IL in late June. Other than one day off for Hays and one day off for TJ Friedl during that stretch, it's been Friedl-Matt McLain-Elly De La Cruz-Hays in the top four slots. Hays has had trouble staying healthy this season but has been very productive when on the field, sporting an .870 OPS with 10 homers and 40 RBI across 51 games. He and Gavin Lux have been flipping back-and-forth between left field and DH duties.
– Noelvi Marte has made 11 straight starts and made his first-ever professional start in the outfield (in right field) this past weekend. Francona noted that Marte is not ready to handle the outfield on an everyday basis, but he plans to use him there against certain left-handers. Infield defense is not Marte's strong suit, so it's possible the outfield will be in his future home if he takes to it.
Milwaukee Brewers
– With Sal Frelick going down with a strained hamstring, Brice Turang has been elevated back to the leadoff spot each of the last three times the Brewers have faced a right-hander. Turang has hit the ball much harder this season, upping his hard-hit rate from 29.7 percent all the way up to 45 percent, and he will be trying to avoid another second-half collapse like he had in 2024. The 25-year-old has been a relative disappointment from a fantasy perspective, as he's really regressed as a base stealer and that was the main thing he was drafted for.
– Jake Bauers (shoulder) was the first to fill in for Frelick in the outfield, but then he went down with an injury of his own. Since then, Blake Perkins has drawn three straight starts in center field, with Jackson Chourio shifting over to right. Perkins offers enough as a base stealer to be worth rostering in deep leagues while he's playing regularly, but it doesn't seem as though Frelick will be out long.
For all the latest injury updates, check out RotoWire's MLB Injury News page.
Pittsburgh Pirates
– Jack Suwinski has drawn two straight starts in left field and been in the lineup five times across the Pirates' last eight contests versus right-handed pitching. He is 1-for-17 with 10 strikeouts over the latter stretch and has an ugly 44.1 percent strikeout rate on the season. With Suwinski's re-emergence, Tommy Pham has sat out two straight tilts and three of the last six contests.
– Following a span earlier this month where he sat out three straight games, Joey Bart has since alternated starts with Henry Davis over the last eight contests. Neither catcher is doing anything offensively, making them unrosterable in fantasy leagues while they're splitting reps behind the plate.
St. Louis Cardinals
– Ivan Herrera returned from the IL for the final game of the first half and has started at designated hitter in all five Cardinals games since then. The plan is to limit his reps at catcher the rest of the season, if not get rid of them entirely. That means Pedro Pages will remain the club's primary backstop, as he has garnered four starts behind the dish since Herrera was activated. Herrera has been up in the No. 2 spot in the St. Louis lineup for all five games, with previous two-hole hitter Masyn Winn being dropped to sixth.
– With Lars Nootbaar (ribs) shelved, Jordan Walker has received four consecutive starts in right field, with Alec Burleson shifting over to cover left for Nootbaar. Walker was working on a swing tweak during his rehab assignment for appendicitis, and he's taken baby steps forward in going 5-for-16 with a couple doubles. Walker's playing time had trended downward before his IL stint, but with the Cardinals now looking like sellers, perhaps he'll get an extended look.
Arizona Diamondbacks
– The left-handed-hitting Adrian Del Castillo has started at DH and batted sixth against all three righties the Diamondbacks have faced coming out of the All-Star break. Gabriel Moreno (finger) is not close to a return, so Del Castillo could be worked in at catcher soon. Even if that doesn't happen, there is a path to regular at-bats for him at DH, with currently-injured Pavin Smith (oblique) likely to move to first base if/when Josh Naylor is traded.
– Lourdes Gurriel has been up in the third spot in the lineup for each of his last three and five of his last six starts. That's in spite of the fact that he's put up a .600 OPS across his last 23 tilts. Geraldo Perdomo has been shifted all the way down to the No. 9 spot in two of those games when Gurriel hit third. Both of those contests came against lefties, even as the switch-hitting Perdomo is slashing .306/.386/.398 versus southpaws.
Colorado Rockies
– Ezequiel Tovar batted fifth and then sixth in his first two games off the IL. He then had a day off before being moved up to the No. 2 spot in the Rockies' last contest. That could be merely because Tyler Freeman (illness) was out, or it could be because Tovar went 3-for-4 with a homer in his second game back. Tovar primarily hit second during his breakout 2024 campaign and opened this season in the two hole, but he's battled numerous injuries in 2025 and his performance has slipped a bit.
– Mickey Moniak has started five straight contests (two in right field, two in center field, one at DH) and has batted either leadoff or second in all of those. He has not hit lower than third in any of his last nine starts and boasts a 1.178 OPS with nine home runs and four stolen bases across 29 tilts since the beginning of June. Unsurprisingly, most of Moniak's damage in 2025 has been done at Coors Field (.884 OPS) rather than the road (.669 OPS).
Los Angeles Dodgers
– The Dodgers have made a subtle tweak with the top two spots in their lineup, moving Mookie Betts to the top of the batting order and dropping Shohei Ohtani to the two hole. While Ohtani is having another phenomenal season for the Dodgers, Betts is slashing a disappointing .241/.312/.377. He has a lowly .520 OPS with only two home runs across his last 33 tilts.
– Esteury Ruiz has held down left field each of the last three times the Dodgers have gone up against a southpaw. The speedster has a homer and two steals in just 16 plate appearances but has also struck out six times. It's unlikely the Dodgers will ever trust Ruiz with a regular role, but he looks like the new platoon mate for Michael Conforto, whose season-long slump has continued.
San Diego Padres
– Jackson Merrill is sporting a .167/.276/.262 batting line across 23 contests since he returned from a concussion in late July. We can't necessarily blame any potential lingering concussion symptoms, though, as he had slashed only .216/.273/.315 in the 29 games prior to the concussion. After not batting lower than third in any of his starts from May 6 to July 7, Merrill has hit fifth or sixth in each of his last nine starts.
– Jose Iglesias has seen his name penciled into the Padres' lineup each of the last 15 times they've faced a left-hander dating back to June 15, and he drew an additional start against a righty Monday. He's started at second base seven times, shortstop six times, third base five times and DH once over that span, as he's given a variety of the Padres' regulars days off.
San Francisco Giants
– Rafael Devers made his first-ever professional start at first base Tuesday and his first start this season at any position. Whether he winds up becoming a regular at first base for the Giants remains to be seen, but fantasy managers will be rooting for it so he won't have utility-only eligibility heading into 2026. Wilmer Flores has seen his playing time cut drastically since Devers arrived and might see it slashed further if Devers takes to first base. The Giants could also just cut Dominic Smith out of the picture. Smith has played more than Flores against right-handed pitching since Devers was brought in, but Flores made a second straight start versus a righty Tuesday.
– Jung Hoo Lee has been elevated back to the leadoff spot for three straight games. This is after he spent a month bouncing between the fifth and seventh slots in the batting order. Mike Yastrzemski had been the Giants' primary leadoff man against right-handers while Lee was hitting lower in the order. Since Lee moved back up, Yastrzemski has hit fifth once and sixth once and was out of the lineup Tuesday.
