Fantasy Baseball Lineup Notes: Batting Order, Platoons and Playing Time Changes - Week 3

Analyzing MLB starting lineup trends and emerging fantasy baseball sleepers for Week 3 (2024). Kevin reviews batting order changes, playing time, and platoons.

We're in Week 3 in the fantasy baseball season and trends are starting to develop. The sooner you can get in front of them, the better your fantasy baseball teams will perform.

In this article, we'll go over some of the trends we're seeing with platoon hitters, notable playing time changes, and batting order notes. We'll focus on a few players for each section and provide some added depth and insight to help you build your lineup.

If there are players that you'd like to see covered or discussed that fit any of the criteria below, feel free to hit me up! With six months of baseball ahead of us, there will be plenty of players to discuss. So, let's get at it!

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Platoon Player Updates for Fantasy Baseball

Jack Suwinski - OF, Pittsburgh Pirates

Suwinski has had a slow start to the 2024 campaign. After a breakout season in 2023 in which he put up a .793 OPS with 26 HRs, the lefty has just a .557 OPS and one HR in 48 PA. He currently finds himself in a bit of a platoon role, starting solely against right-handers. This hasn't worked well as he's hitting just .100 in 36 PA against righties. Ironically, he's hitting much better vs. lefties and hit his only homer of the season against a lefty.

What LHP?

JACK SUWINSKI JUST LAUNCHED A NUKE

109.1 MPH exit velocity, 402 feet, HR in 30/30 ballparks pic.twitter.com/NjNz4dxcXU

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) April 4, 2024

Suwinski won't have a chance to get things turned around until Saturday. The Pirates are slated to face off against Philadelphia Phillies starters Spencer Turnbull on Saturday and Zack Wheeler on Sunday. The only lefty the Pirates will see over the next week is Jose Quintana, so the 25-year-old should have plenty of opportunities to capture his 2023 magic.

Joc Pederson - DH, Arizona Diamondbacks

Pederson was brought into Arizona to do one thing really, really well and that's to get on base against righties. Safe to say he's accomplishing that with ease. The well-traveled 31-year-old has been a machine against righties to start his season in Arizona, slashing .368/.520/.421 for an OPS of .941 in 26 PAs.

The lefty's opportunities over the next week will be a bit scattered. Expect him in the lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday (Kyle Gibson) and Sunday (Miles Mikolas). He'll have at least one start in Chicago when the Cubs start Kyle Hendricks on Tuesday and just one start in San Francisco when the Giants start Logan Webb on Thursday.

Playing Time Updates for Fantasy Baseball

David Hamilton - SS, Boston Red Sox

With Trevor Story's season ending on April 5, a giant hole in Boston's infield opened up. It was expected that Romy Gonzalez and David Hamilton would be splitting time at shortstop and platooning while Pablo Reyes and Enmanuel Valdez would be splitting time at second base. For the most part, David Hamilton has taken the majority of the reps with the Red Sox facing mostly righties since Story went down on April 5. He's only recorded 11 PAs since then and has three hits with one of them being a long ball vs. the Angels.

DAVID HAMILTON FIRST BIG LEAGUE HOMER THAT’S MY SHORTSTOP I THINK!! pic.twitter.com/dl4zfRWo6q

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) April 7, 2024

It's likely too early to project how Hamilton will perform going forward, but not much should be expected out of the 26-year-old. ATC projects Hamilton for a .220/.295/.319 slash line, so approach with caution.

Batting Order Changes for Fantasy Baseball

Jose Abreu - 1B, Houston Astros

It's been a horrific start to the 2024 season for the former AL MVP. After hitting for a putrid .081 BA in 41 PAs, Abreu has gradually slipped from the five hole to the eight hole in his most recent start on Wednesday. It's awkwardly similar to his start in Houston last season where he hit for a .536 OPS in March/April and a .533 OPS in May.

Unfortunately for the 37-year-old, things may not look to turn around for him anytime soon. His expected stats have him in the bottom 1% of the league in xBA, xSLG, xwOBA, and xwOBACON. Simply put, the expected stats don't suggest he's getting unlucky to any degree and that his results are true. Abreu will have to really work to turn it around, but fantasy managers likely won't be patient enough to keep him on any rosters anytime soon.

Oneil Cruz and Connor Joe - SS and OF/1B, Pittsburgh Pirates

These two not only check the box for batting order changes but also can check our box for platoon coverage as well. A trend that started last season before Cruz's season-ending ankle injury has continued into 2024. If a lefty is starting, the Pirates will be putting Joe in the leadoff spot with Cruz hitting sixth or seventh. When a righty is on the mound, then Cruz bounces to the leadoff spot and Joe drops to fifth.

This is a Connor Joe appreciation post. pic.twitter.com/bjRtcTnIIH

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 9, 2024

This likely doesn't do much to Cruz's value, who already had a top-100 ADP. But for Joe, it provides a sneaky option for those in deeper leagues. Joe's hitting for a .917 OPS on the season and, though he's generally better vs. lefties, he's hitting for a 1.098 OPS against righties so far. Cruz will continue to carry value in all formats but Joe may have his best value in DFS formats or as an option for those in deeper leagues.

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