Platoons, playing time, lineup analysis, and more: Tracking MLB’s latest trends

Baseball is a rapidly changing landscape. Managers change lineups daily — platooning players, moving them around based on performance and more. In this column, we dive into 10 players and/or situations to have top of mind right now. This is where I do the work (monitoring playing time, lineups, and production trends) so you don’t have to.

All stats, trends, etc. are as of the morning of 4/18

1. The Atlanta Braves

As good as the Braves are, a lot is going on here and it is worth looking at them as a whole. 

• Michael Harris II is out but should be back sooner than later.
  • Sam Hilliard has – and should – continue running with the playing time. At least on the strong side of a platoon with Eli White getting the weak side. 
• Ozzie Albies just is not doing much.
  • He does have three home runs but overall the line is rather underwhelming. His struggles go back to the beginning of 2022. Since then, Albies is hitting .248/.290/.406 (.696 OPS) with a .302 wOBA and 89 wRC+ in 341 PA. 
• Sean Murphy’s slow start in usage was simply a mirage. 
  • Will it continue when Travis d’Arnaud returns? There is no reason it won’t. He should play plenty of DH and catch as often as he can. Marcell Ozuna has not been able to get going and should not be a threat to steal time from the DH spot. If he does, it would be against LHP at best right now.
    • Marcell Ozuna so far in 2023: .091/.200/.250 line with a 21 (Yes JUST 21) wRC+
• Eddie Rosario has been hitting better of late. Over the last seven days, he has a .833 OPS and still gets the playing time against RHP. Streamer potential in the right matchups as long as he is hitting. 

2. Bryan De La Cruz’s playing time is back to where it belongs… for now. 

• De La Cruz’s playing time has trended up with the ongoing injuries in the outfield. This is with Avisaíl García dealing with multiple injuries over the last week or so. De La Cruz has been effective as a starter so his playing time should be secure for the moment. 

• Just need to keep in mind the Marlins have options and a cold spell could lead to others (like Jesús Sánchez) beginning to factor in more. But, until then, Bryan De La Cruz is your guy. 

3. The Cardinals’ outfield situation

• Since Lars Nootbaar has returned to the order, Tyler O’Neil has started just one of three games. In the one start, he did not even play CF over Nootbaar. This, to me, sends a clear message about their feelings toward him right now. Nootbaar has secure playing time against RHP and O’Neill started with Burleson getting a start at DH so it is not even clear if he will start against many – if any – RHP right now. O’Neil very well could be in a weak side platoon. We are watching this situation very closely. 
• Speaking of Burleson, he was starting and batting second for Lars Nootbaar while he was out with that thumb issue. So far this season, Burleson has two home runs while hitting .277/.320/.532 with a 126 wRC+. He is not striking out much (13.7%) and has stuck in the 2-spot. As long as he produces, it appears it is now his spot to lose against RHP.
• Nootbaar has secured playing time (now in CF) against RHP but has re-entered the lineup in the 7-spot. Just know if Nootbaar hits well and Burleson cools off then there is a good chance that the lineup spots for them could flip. 

4. Corey Seager is down for some time. The next man up is…

Josh H. Smith has slotted into the starting SS spot for this team but he does platoon with Ezequiel Duran.

Smith, however, has the strong side of this platoon and was initially batting 2nd but underperformance early led him to fall to 7th in the lineup. Again, he is platooning but will gain SS eligibility and should play against every RHP. In deeper leagues, he has value given the playing time. Smith is not much for power but in the past has shown the ability to hit for average and steal bases. 

5. Will Brennan is running with his opportunity

So far, Will Brennan has been awarded the starting OF job over Oscar Gonzalez. At least against RHP. He has started against six straight RHPs and eight of 10 overall. Oscar Gonzalez has started just one of the last four games against an RHP and just three of 10 overall on the year. This is a platoon situation but no one saw this one coming considering how good Gonzalez was last season. He hit better against RHP than LHP

This year, Gonzalez has just been flat-out bad. Brennan has not been amazing or anything but he has been a serviceable fantasy contributor for deeper formats

6. Brent Rooker is a thing right now

Brent Rooker has been at the top of the order and hitting everything out of the park. He has started seven straight games while batting third or fourth in each. During this run of starts, he is hitting:

• .393/.438/.857
• 4 HR/ 11 RBI
• .527 wOBA
• 253 wRC+

However, we should temper expectations. He is only striking out 15.6% of the time during this hot streak. That is fantastic but we are talking about a player who has a career 29.8% K%. Rooker also has a worse-than-league-average SwStr% (15.9%). This comes with below-average contact rates across the board. The ability to barrel the ball well and hit the ball hard has always been a skill of his. It is the swing-and-miss and lack of contact that is an issue and likely to be exploited over the long term. Seth Brown is out for a while so Rooker should get plenty of leash in the meantime. 

7. Chas McCormick is leading off 

Well, McCormick was leading off. He has been dealing with an eye issue over these last few days. Before the injury, it was his job and he looked good in the small sample. While he has been out, Mauricio Dubón has picked up the slack; but when McCormick returns I anticipate he will return to leading off. 

This year, McCormick has flashed power (2 HR), speed (4 SB), and good on-base skills (.383 OBP). This skill set can continue and having a spot at the top of the order will allow it to flourish as long as he can sustain it. He can run with it until Jose Altuve returns and that length of time alone at the leadoff spot could far outproduce the acquisition cost — not to mention what he might just do in general in a full season if any of what we have seen so far is legitimate.  

8. The Washington Nationals

This is another team where a lot is going on right now.

• Victor Robles has been hot to begin the year. He is hitting well, playing every day, and stealing bases. He might never be what the prospect pedigree suggested but maybe he can still be serviceable. 
• Luis García has moved up to 5th in the order the last three games. There has been growth in his profile (so far). Again, it is early.
  • Hitting .256 with just a .229 BABIP
  • Big dip in chasing pitches (just 29.6% O-swing%) while also cutting down SwStr% (just 3.7%)
  • A 98.1% Z-Contact% – which is elite
  • He is doing this while remaining as aggressive as last year. What this means is he is making good decisions when it comes to choosing what to swing at. 
  • Swinging at more first pitches than ever before – 47.6% while getting a lot of first-pitch strikes (F-Strike%: 
• Alex Call took over the playing time that opened up in the OF after Corey Dickerson went down with an injury. He even worked his way up to the leadoff spot. He led off eight straight before getting a game off yesterday but has not taken advantage of it.

• Since coming up, Stone Garrett has not played much and has mostly been relegated to Alex Call’s former role of 4th OF/weak side platoon bat. However, the tools are electric so if he can earn a larger role he becomes a deep league target for fantasy teams. Power and speed potential but the swing and miss is there, so the floor might be lower than many are comfortable with. 

9. Injuries and playing time fillers

The goal here is to outline some playing time situations that are occurring via injury or set to change with players returning.

• Adam Duvall is out for a while and they just called up Jarren Duran. He should get a chance to run with the job for now. Rob Refsnyder is also playing more but this was with Masataka Yoshida dealing with a minor injury. Refsnyder started five straight while batting third. This run of playing time could be done now with Yoshida back.
• Oneil Cruz is out for several months. Ji Hwan Bae and Rodolfo Castro have filled in, with Castro getting six of the eight starts. Bae only has two starts at SS but plays other positions as well.
• Tim Anderson is out and Lenyn Sosa was called up. He should score plenty of runs while Anderson is out.
• The Twins called up Edouard Julien. This situation is tricky. Jorge Polanco, Joey Gallo, and Alex Kirilloff are all due back. They still have Nick Gordon hanging around. This is about to be a crowded situation.
• Randall Grichuk is due back soon. This is taking playing time from Yonathan Daza and Harold Castro
• Jake Cave is a regular against RHP. Has started all 11 games vs RHP to this point and has sat vs LHP. If/when Bryce Harper returns he would be the odd man out. But until then, he has a clear path to playing time.

10. Platoon situations

• Strong-side platoon means they play most of the time and start against all RHP
• Weak-side platoon references facing only LHP

Detroit Tigers

• Strong-side platoon: Kerry Carpenter, Nick Maton, Akil Baddoo, Zach McKinstry
• Weak side platoon: Jonathan Schoop, Miguel Cabrera

Tampa Bay Rays

• Strong-side platoon: Josh Lowe, Brandon Lowe, Luke Raley
• Weak side platoon: Manuel Margot, Vidal Brujan

Rays are always tough. Harold Ramirez was in a platoon but has since played himself out. When Jose Siri returns that could end. Siri plays every day. Taylor Walls and Isaac Paredes play often but lately, neither has a regular role. Paredes faces every LHP but starts against RHP are inconsistent right now. 

Arizona Diamondbacks 

• Strong-side platoon: Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, Pavin Smith, Geraldo Perdomo
• Weak side platoon: Evan Longoria, Nick Ahmed

Josh Rojas worked his way out of a platoon but could fall back into one (strong side) when Kyle Lewis returns. They seem to rotate different hitters out against LHP but all are potentially platooning at any given moment. 

Milwaukee Brewers 

• Strong-side platoon: Brice Turang, Jesse Winker, Rowdy Tellez (possibly)
• Weak side platoon: Owen Miller, Luke Voit, Mike Brosseau

Rowdy Tellez has found himself in and out against LHP in the past but has only started one of three to this point against LHP so it could be a thing. 

San Francisco Giants

• Strong-side platoon: Joc Pederson (on IL), Wade LaMonte Wade, Blake Sabol
• Weak side platoon: Darin Ruf, Wilmer Flores, Heliot Ramos

The Giants – like the Rays – tend to platoon heavily but run with a hitter when they are playing well. Right now J.D. Davis is not in a platoon but could fall back into one at any moment. 

---

Quick Hits

Just a few notable lineup movers.

• Esteury Ruiz has led off two straight. Both vs RHP. Was only leading off vs LHP prior.
• Nick Senzel since returning is hitting in bottom third of the order. Could gain 3B eligibility soon.
• Jon Berti is playing daily at SS and now leads off vs LHP. Two straight leadoff appearances against the last two LHP.
• Anthony Volpe has been leading off. Two straight and four of the last six games overall.
• Gunnar Henderson has fallen to the bottom third of the order over the last two games. Was already shifting down there against LHP but now it is also against RHP.
• As long as Chas McCormick is out, Mauricio Dubón has been – and continues to – lead off.
• Tucupita Marcano has started two of three since being recalled. Sat against the only LHP faced over this span.
• Since returning from IL, Max Kepler has not hit higher than seventh.

(Top photo: G Fiume/Getty Images)