We’re back for another edition of the MLB lineup report. Over a month into the season, several teams have settled into remarkable consistency, while others keep mixing and matching with no regard for platoons. Catching these shifts early is what gives you a leg up on league mates.
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Very consistent lineups of late, with Adrian Del Castillo batting fourth against righties at DH and Ildemaro Vargas behind him at first base. Carlos Santana and Tyler Locklear are both on rehab assignments, so it’s worth monitoring how the playing time shakes out at these two positions going forward.
Athletics
Carlos Cortes hits fifth vs. right-handers but sits in favor of Colby Thomas against southpaws. Zack Gelof plays against some righties but not all, and takes over center field for Lawrence Butler against lefties.
Ronald Acuña Jr. (hamstring) is on the IL. In the four games since, Drake Baldwin was pushed up to leadoff against righties and Mauricio Dubón got the role against a lefty. Dubón could shift from primarily shortstop to mostly outfield once Ha-Seong Kim (finger) returns from his rehab assignment.
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Adley Rutschman primarily hits third when he plays and Samuel Basallo fifth. Dylan Beavers moves up to the three-hole when Rutschman sits. He sits against lefties. Colton Cowser and Tyler O’Neill have very sporadic playing time.
Jarren Duran will be in the outfield every day with Roman Anthony (wrist) on the IL, and Masataka Yoshida has taken over at DH. Wilyer Abreu is hitting third with Anthony sidelined. Marcelo Mayer platoons with Isiah Kiner-Falefa but did start against his first left-hander of the year on Monday.
Moisés Ballesteros is officially the two-hole hitter against righties, but he has only started once at catcher. Michael Busch is not in a platoon. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit cleanup against righties to open the year but now typically hits eighth or ninth.
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Sam Antonacci has displaced Andrew Benintendi as the leadoff hitter vs. RHP. Chase Meidroth still has the role against southpaws. Luisangel Acuña is bleeding center field playing time to Tristan Peters. Randal Grichuk was brought in to bat against lefties. Jarred Kelenic is starting against righties with Austin Hays and Everson Pereira both sidelined.
JJ Bleday is now batting second against right-handers with Matt McLain dropping to the bottom of the order. TJ Friedl and Dane Myers are platooning in CF and at leadoff. Sal Stewart has five starts at second base and three at the hot corner.
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Cleveland Guardians
Chase DeLauter has held the two-hole spot against righties. Travis Bazzana has started against one of two lefties since debuting. He’s batting 5-7. Daniel Schneemann is playing second, third, short, and center while hitting all over the lineup. Kyle Manzardo bats cleanup against most righties but will occasionally sit versus them as well.
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Edouard Julien has held the leadoff role against righties while Jordan Beck gets that lineup slot against lefties. TJ Rumfield has hit 3-6 in all of his starts this year. Ezequiel Tovar began the year as the cleanup hitter but has hit eighth in nine straight starts.
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Gleyber Torres (oblique) goes on the IL as Zach McKinstry returns. Colt Keith and Kerry Carpenter are platooning with Hao-Yu Lee and Jahmai Jones.
Carlos Correa (ankle) is out for the year, which solves the Astros’ playing time dilemma that dominated offseason discussion. The leadoff role is seemingly also up for grabs once Jeremy Peña (hamstring) returns. Yordan Alvarez hasn’t missed a game this year.
Tons of consistency as usual. The only real takeaway is that Jac Caglianone remains in a very strict platoon with Starling Marte.
Zach Neto and Jo Adell have started every game. Nolan Schanuel has started against nine of the past 10 lefties the Halos have faced. Josh Lowe is in a platoon with Bryce Teodosio. Yoán Moncada and Oswald Peraza are sharing third base while Vaughn Grissom and Adam Frazier split 2B.
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Shohei Ohtani hasn’t hit in three of his past four starts on the mound. Max Muncy has been in the lineup against five of eight southpaws in 2026. Hyeseong Kim has only started at SS since Mookie Betts went on the IL. Same for Alex Freeland at 2B.
Miami Marlins
Jakob Marsee had hit leadoff in all of his starts up until Tuesday, when he was dropped to fifth. Xavier Edwards is atop the order now against righties. Kyle Stowers, Otto Lopez, and Liam Hicks also occupy a top part of the order. Joe Mack has hit seventh or eighth in his three starts since being recalled from Triple-A.
Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn returned to the lineup this week. We’ll see how that affects Garrett Mitchell, Jake Bauers, and Sal Frelick against lefties. Mitchell still hit leadoff against the first right-hander after Chourio and Vaughn returned. Brice Turang, noted power hitter, slid to the three-hole.
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Royce Lewis has only started two of the past five games, bleeding starts at the hot corner to Tristan Gray. Luke Keaschall remains an everyday player but is hitting 6/7 after opening the year in the three-hole. Matt Wallner isn’t even starting against every righty.
New York Mets
Juan Soto was moved to leadoff on Monday. MJ Melendez bats third against righties. Carson Benge and Brett Baty mostly sit vs. southpaws.
New York Yankees
Anthony Volpe will remain at Triple-A for now, extending José Caballero’s fantasy shelf life indefinitely. Jasson Domínguez had been a regular since being recalled from Triple-A, but Spencer Jones will now get his chance after The Martian went on the IL yesterday. Ryan McMahon is platooning with Amed Rosario.
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Bryson Stott is platooning with Edmundo Sosa. It’s essentially business as usual, though.
Konnor Griffin has hit sixth in two of the past three games, the highest he’s been since debuting. Oneil Cruz, Brandon Lowe, and Ryan O’Hearn all get a lot of starts against lefties.
Fernando Tatis Jr. is up to eight starts at second base. Jackson Merrill has taken the leadoff role from Ramon Laureano. Ty France is on the short side of a first base platoon with Gavin Sheets.
Bryce Eldridge has been the DH against three consecutive right-handers since being recalled from Triple-A. There’s now one extra body, so we’ll see who the odd man out becomes or if Tony Vitello rotates days off. Luis Arráez’s minor thumb issue has solved the problem in the meantime. Casey Schmitt has been the club’s best hitter this season with a surging barrel%, so sitting him isn’t easy. Willy Adames was dropped as low as seventh this week.
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A consistent 1-5 has developed of Crawford, Raleigh, J-Rod, Naylor, and Arozarena. Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone are strict platoon bats, while Rob Refsnyder, Connor Joe, and Mitch Garver mix in time against lefties. Cole Young has still played every game.
St. Louis Cardinals
So much consistency 1-9. Ivan Herrera has started every game and hit second.
Jonathan Aranda keeps starting vs. lefties, and Chandler Simpson is in the lineup against most of them too (while leading off vs. all righties). Jake Fraley, Cedric Mullins, and Richie Palacios are all strong-side platoon bats.
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Texas Rangers
Joc Pederson started in the outfield on Thursday for the first time since 2023. Alejandro Osuna is playing left field against right-handers while Wyatt Langford (forearm) remains out. Josh Jung has hit 2-4 in 10 straight. Evan Carter has started against three consecutive lefties after beginning the season 0-for-5 in starts vs. them. Ezequiel Duran has been in the two-hole in their past two games.
Kazuma Okamoto has hit 2-4 in 10 straight contests after spending much of April in the middle/lower part of the order. Andrés Giménez has started against two of the past six lefties, often with Ernie Clement shifting to shortstop and Lenyn Sosa playing second base. Yohendrick Pinango has taken over Nathan Lukes’ role atop the lineup against right-handers. He’s platooning with Davis Schneider. Note that Addison Barger (ankles) could return Friday, which might mean optioning Pinango.
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Washington Nationals
CJ Abrams is the cleanup hitter and entered Thursday tied for the MLB lead in RBI. Daylen Lile is playing regularly against southpaws. Nasim Nuñez continues to operate as the primary second baseman and is tied for the MLB lead in steals.
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