Spring Training Lineup Takeaways - Week 3 Lineup Trends

March 21, 2021

Mike Kurland takes a deep look at early fantasy baseball risers and fallers based on Spring Training lineup trends, highlighting strong and weak platoons, and players who may benefit from lineup slot.

We are entering week four of Spring Training and week three gave us a lot to watch down the stretch. But of course, you can catch up by talking a look at week one and week two recaps.

Just a reminder, in my Lineup Takeaways series we are focusing 100% on lineups, news and quotes - strictly about lineups and notable trends worth discussing - for everyone to follow along and watch for with me.

Before week four of Spring Training action starts, let's dive into week three and what we may have found out.

Word On The Street

This is where I put any quotes and relevant news I find in regards to lineups. This will vary from article to article and if you want to see more notable quotes, check out last week's article here.

Chicago Cubs

In regards to Wilson Contreras batting second:

"I'm just trying to see that, what it looks like on a daily basis," Ross said. "I'd definitely consider it. That's why he's in there."

He continues on but this time includes a couple other players in his thoughts:

"I've moved him around," said the manager. "I think he's just one of the valuable pieces, a real pesky at-bat, a real right-handed [bat] in-between maybe a guy like Happer leading off -- for the most part from the left side -- and Rizzo maybe in the three or four hole."

"It's just somebody that brings one of the most quality at-bats we have on the team," Ross said of Contreras. "I value that in the two spot. And I think you start to put your good players in that hole, and he's one of those guys. I was just impressed in looking at some of the deeper-dive things that I value. And his name kept jumping off the page."

St. Louis Cardinals

This should surprise no one.

Toronto Blue Jays 

Montoya is in fact committed to changing up the lineup often. 

“The one thing about our lineup is that you could do different lineups, but I know for sure Springer’s comfortable leading off and Semien had hit second in the past, but it could change any day, I’m not going to say that’s going to be our lineup all the time,” said Montoya.

Boston Red Sox

Christian Vasquez is going to bat eighth.

"It's a good lineup. A deep lineup. When you have Christian Vasquez hitting eighth, that means we have a deep lineup. Somebody has to hit eighth, somebody has to hit ninth," Cora said.

Chicago White Sox

La Russa has talked up almost every player batting second for this team. From Luis Robert and Adam Eaton to Yasmani Grandal. It really seems to be a fluid situation.

However, he did essentially confirm expectations with Tim Anderson leading off and Jose Abreu batting third.

“If Tim (Anderson) hits first, that’s really good for us,” La Russa said. “If José (Abreu) hits third, that’s going to be good for us.”

In regards to Yoan Moncada batting cleanup:

“I think he has the ability to rise to the occasion, and that’s what you look for a lot in the middle of the lineup, especially a fourth-place hitter who’s hitting behind a guy that’s such a good hitter as Abreu where they won’t pitch around him if they respect the guy behind him,” La Russa said. “I think he likes a challenge, now not to say he may not go back to that second spot because you know how much I like second hitters that can create some concern on the other side.”

La Russa said he likes having a switch-hitter in the 4-hole, and Moncada “has the ability to rise to the occasion, and that’s what you look for a lot in the middle of the lineup.”

Seattle Mariners

Manager Scott Servais made mention of liking J.P. Crawford at the top of the lineup but also noted there's room for growth.

"I like having him at the top of the lineup, but he's still got room for growth," said Mariners Manager Scott Servais. "He has put in a ton of work this offseason. I'm curious to see how it plays out for him. I'm looking for the ball to jump off his bat different than what we've seen in the past."

New York Mets

At least at the moment, Rojas is leaning toward batting Lindor second.

“You can probably say the 1-2 at least is something that you can think of for Opening Day that might be there, Nimmo and Lindor,” he said of Thursday’s lineup.

But the potential for Lindor to hit in the middle is there as well.

“Having a guy like Francisco in the middle there definitely does a lot for us and protects a lot of lefties that he can have around (him),” Rojas said. “It pushes our other righties, like J.D. (Davis) and Pete or even McCann, to some strategic points further down in the lineup. You can make it even deeper.”

New York Yankees

They’re driving home the point they’ve made about Aaron Hicks: 

“With our lineup being obviously right-handed — especially at the top — I feel like it’s a good place for Hicks as a lefty switch hitter, but as a lefty to break up those guys,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. “In the three-hole, you’re talking about a spot in the order that’s going to come up with a runner on first probably more than anyone, so it’s it’s really a spot in the order that you want a guy that doesn’t put the ball on the ground a lot or and or doesn’t hit a hit into a double play.”

Not that it’s a huge secret but this suggests a couple of names that should hit behind him (as we could’ve guessed):

“It’s still an on-base position in the order in my mind,” Boone said. “Especially when you’re going in front of then Giancarlo, Voit, Gleyber.”

My question is does Gleyber Torres bat fifth ahead of Luke Voit?

Lineup Trends to Monitor

The idea here is to go through the lineups through the week and take away notable lineup and playing time trends and discuss what is not only obvious but worth making note of and monitoring as we move into week four of lineups. Not every team has something to discuss so if a team is skipped, just know it was purposefully.

NL East

Miami Marlins

• I think there is something to watch in terms of who will be the starting right fielder. I know Duvall has played there more but Garrett Cooper has been out-hitting Duvall and right field is one of the spots we can see Cooper play. A platoon situation could be possible.

• We are still watching to see who runs with the second base job. It appears to be between Jazz Chisholm and Isan Diaz with an outside shot from Jon Berti, although Berti is the one who has hit the best of the three so far in Spring Training for whatever that is worth. I do believe it to be Chisholm with the inside track. It is still a situation to monitor.

Washington Nationals

• Victor Robles appears to be fine but if there is an injury in that outfield, it is a reminder that Andrew Stevenson will have relevance.

Philadelphia Phillies

• Still no word on who is winning the centerfield job. It is still between Scott Kingery, Odubel Herrera and Roman Quinn with Herrera rumored to be the front runner. Regardless, the winner of this spot will likely slot towards the bottom of the order.
• All three have had reps at centerfield over the last week as well with no one truly being a stand out.

NL Central

St. Louis Cardinals

• Dylan Carlson has yet to be given much of a chance to hit at the top or middle of the lineup. Any lineup with starters in, he hits sixth or seventh. Even Tyler O'Neill appears to have jumped him in the order. At least in the lineups we have seen of late. With that said, Carlson has been coming around and there is still time for correction and even though we may see him start off lower in the lineup, I would expect him to move up sooner rather than later as long he continues to perform. If i were to guess, I would say this is the expected lineup come Opening Day.

Chicago Cubs

• In every lineup with all the typical starters, we see Javier Baez bat sixth and at this point you should expect it. In the last three lineups he has started, they have featured the main players and he has hit sixth in them all and two of those lineups have featured this starting lineup and it appears very realistic.

• Nico Hoerner, David Bote and Eric Sogard all appear to be fighting for the starting second base job with Hoerner appearing to take the lead. He has been in the lineups with the starters of late as well. He has performed well in Spring Training as well and has some prospect pedigree.

Milwaukee Brewers

• This is a simple situation to Monitor. Where will Lorenzo Cain hit and how will Avisail Garcia get his at-bats? I believe between off days to keep Christian Yelich and Cain healthy as well as the occasional day off for Jackie Bradley Jr., we will see plenty of Garcia.
• Luis Urias has been getting a lot of run of late but the manager said that was the plan so it is tough to say if there is much here. However, Travis Shaw has not exactly done much to suggest he is deserving of starting over Luis Urias. I believe Shaw is the starter, but Urias could push to change that.

Cincinnati Reds

• They are going through with playing Eugenio Suarez at shortstop and Mike Moustakas at third base. This opens up the second base spot for Jonathan India to try and run with. He has been talked up from the coaches and such. India has deep league appeal and he comes with good reviews from the alt site as well as prospect pedigree and a successful college resume. This is a situation to monitor in case India for some reason does not get the job. Dee Strange-Gordon and Kyle Farmer could be fallback options.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers

• Chris Taylor might be back in the driver seat for the starting second base job.

• Reports of Will Smith only playing 90 games makes things difficult in terms of expectations. Could lead to deep league or NL-Only league relevance for Austin Barnes.

Colorado Rockies

• With Brenden Rodgers having a setback in his recovery, we will need to monitor how the Rockies fill in for him at second base.
• We have seen Ryan McMahon move to second in two games since the injury while having Josh Fuentes grab reps at third base.
• We could also see Garrett Hampson play second base. It is all TBD and is something to monitor entering this final week.

San Diego Padres

• Since Trent Grisham has gone down, it has been Jurickson Profar consistently playing in the outfield whereas Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth have stuck to the infield.
• Speaking of Jake Cronenworth, he seems likely to be the starting second baseman as Kim bounces around the infield while Cronenworth sticks almost exclusively second base all Spring Training long.

Arizona Diamondbacks

• Josh Rojas and Tim Locastro continue to see frequent reps this week. Rojas has stopped leading off and has had his playing time come at second base and shortstop but that was while Nick Ahmed was out. With Ahmed back, we could, or should, see Rojas get most the work over at second base moving forward. But a spot in the bottom third of the lineup is likely.
• Tim Locastro could be the favorite to land the right field job until Kole Calhoun returns but upon the return of Calhoun, this could leave Locastro as the fourth outfielder.

AL East

Boston Red Sox

• Since the return of Xander Bogaerts, we have still seen Enrique Hernandez leading off. Hernadez has gained the confidence of Cora and will likely get the chance to leadoff at least entering the season.
• Early trends suggest Rafael Devers could be batting fifth. He has hit fifth in every lineup featuring the big names.

Baltimore Orioles

• Maikel Franco enters the picture and Rio Ruiz is already the odd man out. The DH is figured to be heavily utilized to keep Trey Mancini healthy while getting his bat in the lineup and with Austin Hays needing a spot in the outfield, Ryan Mountcastle should shift to first. A lot of moving parts but it should all fall into place.
• Speaking of Ryan Mountcastle, he has yet to even play first base this Spring Training. That would, or could, suggest their intent is to keep him in the outfield or at DH most often that way they can keep Hays both in the lineup as well as keep his glove in the field.

AL Central

Minnesota Twins

• This could be the Opening Day lineup.

• This infers Alex Kirilloff is on the outside looking in. Kirillof has also struggled at the plate this Spring Training hitting just .143/.172/.286 with eight strikeouts in 29 plate appearances. Not exactly forcing their hand and they can use that as an excuse to get the extra year of service time. However, I would still anticipate an early season call-up.

Detroit Tigers

• As players begin to come back and get into game shape, we are seeing this lineup fall into place.
• It seems Nomar Mazara and Victor Reyes could be in a platoon.
• The last two games against LHP, we have seen Robbie Grossman bat ninth and JaCoby Jones lead off. This is typically the opposite. This could mean both are in-line for everyday playing time but could swap lineup spots given handedness of the opposing pitcher.
• Willi Castro and Jonathan Schoop have been and should continue hitting in the three-to-five range.

Cleveland 

• Another team that has shown their hand.

• Amed Rosario has found himself playing centerfield and that could be his route to playing time if he can work out the kinks in the defense and get comfortable.

Chicago White Sox

• Pair the trends and the quotes and we know Tim Anderson is leading off and we will likely see Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez setup shop in the three-through-five spots.
• We are still monitoring who will bat second and it could simply be a revolving door but for now it is TBD.

Kansas City Royals

• Adalberto Mondesi is past the point of just getting reps to catch up and appears in-line to be hitting third for this team. In every start this Spring Training, Mondesi has hit either second or third and always bats third when the starters are in around him.
• This has pushed down Jorge Soler to sixth. Not ideal but this team is better than many realize.

NL West

Oakland Athletics

• Still monitoring the top of the lineup but Makr Canha has been leading off regularly. In his last five starts, he has led off.
• We still see Jed Lowrie sit at the two-spot. I still don't buy it.
• We see Elvis Andrus sneak up towards that very same two-spot from time-to-time. He is very much in the mix for a top-of-the-order spot. However, we have not had Ramon Laureano in and that could answer the question as well as to who is going to hit at the top. This is still something tom monitor.

Seattle Mariners

• Mitch Haniger could actually lead off. The manager has said he could get the shot and we have seen him get the chance here over the last week.

• Unfortunately, it has come at the cost of losing J.P. Crawford at the top it seems. Although, we could see Crawford move back up and put Haniger second where he has always hit in the past.

Texas Rangers

• Leody Taveras seems to be on his way to a bottom-of-the-order slot instead of leading off. The manager said he needs to earn it and he has not yet. Hitting just .250 with an OBP of just .276 it is less than ideal for a leadoff hitter. It is not out of the question he works his way up sooner than later but as of now he will likely be at the bottom.
• David Dahl has hit second in the last couple of games and with Taveras moving down, that spot is open for the taking.
• Nick Solak continues to move up and down the lineup depending if it is a LHP or RHP on the mound but never hits below sixth.
• Rougned Odor appears in-line to play everyday at third base.

Houston Astros

• Dusty Baker made mention of Jose Altuve leading off or getting the opportunity to and that is what we have seen since the mention of it. Altuve has led off in each of his last five starts now.
• This has pushed Myles Straw to eighth in four of those very same starts and seventh in the other. If he isn't first, he's last.

To see the full Spring Training Lineup Tracker to follow along and keep track of the lineups and my notes, simply click here.

This will redirect you to the chart and you can bookmark it if you'd like to follow along with my notes daily. We have added sortable spring training stats as tabs as well. Be sure to be on the look out for the weekly article getting more in depth as well.

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