Fantasy Baseball Lineup Analysis: AL Last Ride

For the final time this season, I bring you the American League lineup analysis. This article series is always enjoyable to write as it provides me with the privilege of keeping you all up to date as well as making sure I stay in the loop on what is happening around baseball. There will be one more NL lineup piece coming next week.

The five hottest hitters in the AL over the past two weeks have been Spencer Horwitz, Yandy Diaz, Taylor Ward, Victor Robles, and Cedric Mullins. I think this is the first time all season that neither Aaron Judge nor Juan Soto have been mentioned in this top five. Keep reading for the latest news and notes from all 15 American League teams.

Please note that this article was written the day before publication. I will do my best to update the article with any relevant information from the previous night’s games.

Fantasy Baseball Lineup Takeaways

AL East

New York Yankees

• Jasson Dominguez was finally promoted
  • Dominguez was probably in the Minor Leagues for too long but finally earned his promotion on Monday
  • He has been playing regularly in the lineup and batting seventh most games
  • Dominguez is incredibly talented and is worth adding anywhere he is available
  • With this promotion, Alex Verdugo has finally lost his grip on an everyday role. He should continue to rotate in regularly giving guys days off, but is not going to be an everyday player
• Giancarlo Stanton has been ice-cold at the plate
  • Stanton has just two home runs since August 26 and is batting under .150 during that time
  • As Stanton’s strikeouts spike, his batting average comes down and Stanton is striking out 37% of the time during this stretch
  • The bright side is that he continues to bat fifth in New York’s lineup and is dealing with a BABIP below .200 recently. He should rebound soon and continue to be a reliable fantasy asset

Boston Red Sox

• Trevor Story is back for Boston
  • Story missed over five months but returned to Boston’s lineup on September 7
  • He has been serving as the everyday shortstop batting seventh or eighth in most games
  • With an absence that long, rust is expected. To be fair though, Story has not been good for much of his Boston tenure and is not a player you need to add
  • Enmanuel Valdez has moved into a bench role with Ceddanne Rafaela playing all over the field including second base
• Connor Wong is picking up starts at first base
  • Wong has been the primary catcher for most of the season but is now staying in the lineup every day playing first base against lefties
  • Wong has quietly put together a very strong season for Boston and is up to 13 homers with a .286 batting average
  • Moving Wong to first base against lefties allows Danny Jansen to get into the lineup more regularly while Triston Casas is stuck in a platoon
• Tyler O’Neill is up to 30 home runs
  • O’Neill has had an excellent first season in Boston when he has been able to stay on the field
  • Injuries have limited O’Neill to just 102 games but right now he has the highest wRC+ of his career
  • Stolen bases do not appear to be a part of O’Neill’s game (just four this season) but fantasy managers should be encouraged by his success heading into next year

Tampa Bay Rays

• Jonathan Aranda is getting everyday playing time
  • Aranda has spent significant time in the Major Leagues over the past two seasons but has never been given an extended leash to prove he belongs
  • He has been getting everyday playing time this past week rotating between first base and second base
    Aranda is batting just .228 on the season but is hitting .269 since the start of September and is worth keeping your eye on in dynasty leagues
  • With Aranda playing more often, Dylan Carlson has remained in a fourth-outfielder role
• Christopher Morel is leading off
  • Morel has bounced around the Rays’ lineup since being acquired but has been batting first over the past week
  • Not much has changed in Morel’s profile since joining the Rays as he continues to post low batting averages while recording excellent batted ball data. He is a high-variance player who has tremendous upside but lacks a strong track record of production
  • With Morel moving up in the lineup, Yandy Diaz has slid back to fourth in the order
• Brandon Lowe has moved back into a platoon
  • The Rays clearly do not prefer Lowe’s bat against left-handed pitching as he continues to struggle to find playing time against lefties
  • On the season, Lowe has been productive for fantasy managers hitting 18 home runs in just 367 plate appearances
  • Despite batting .298 against lefties this season, the team prefers to get Taylor Walls or Dylan Carlson into the lineup over Lowe against lefties capping his fantasy value

Toronto Blue Jays

• Daulton Varsho has been on the bench against the last two lefties
  • Varsho has been batting second in the lineup against righties but could be moving into the strong side of a platoon
  • Varsho’s season has been inconsistent to say the least and he is batting .143 since August 28. The surprising part is that Varsho actually has better numbers against lefties this year
  • With Varsho’s playing time decreasing, Davis Schneider has been seeing more playing time batting in the back half of the lineup
• Ernie Clement is batting higher in the lineup
  • The Blue Jays have faced a lot of lefties this week which has pushed Clement up to the top half of the lineup as opposed to eighth
  • After not doing much in his first three seasons, Clement has been solid for Toronto and is now up to 11 homers and 11 stolen bases
  • He is locked into an everyday role rotating between shortstop and third base and is batting .342 since the start of September
• Bo Bichette should be returning soon
  • Bichette has been out for over a month with a strained calf but has been rehabbing in Triple-A
  • With Bichette’s return to the lineup imminent, Addison Barger or Ernie Clement are the most likely candidates to lose playing time
  • Bichette has been a disappointment this season but could be a nice boost for those in the Championship rounds of their fantasy baseball playoffs

Baltimore Orioles

• Cedric Mullins is moving up in the lineup
  • Mullins has been a disappointment for the majority of the season but has caught fire as of late
  • Since August 30, Mullins is batting .359 with four home runs and three stolen bases. He is also walking more than he is striking out during that time
  • The team has rewarded this hot stretch by moving Mullins up in the lineup to second and lowering Adley Rutschman to fifth
• Third base is a complete timeshare
  • There are too many cooks in the kitchen at third base preventing any player from achieving reliable fantasy asset
  • Coby Mayo is the most attractive option, but he has been in the lineup just twice in the past week
  • Emmanuel Rivera and Nick Maton are also seeing playing time at third but neither one of those players is worth rostering
• Designated Hitter is another timeshare
  • The biggest name of the bunch is Eloy Jimenez but like Mayo, he has been in the lineup just twice in the past week
  • The Orioles are shifting the DH around giving James McCann and Austin Slater some additional at-bats
  • With inconsistent playing time and an 84 wRC+ since joining Baltimore, Jimenez is not worth rostering in fantasy leagues

AL West

Houston Astros

• Kyle Tucker is back from the IL
  • One of the strangest injury sagas of the 2024 season finally came to an end when Tucker was activated off the IL last Friday
  • He has been serving as the DH since returning but should return to the field at some point soon
  • Tucker has been batting third or fourth in the lineup since returning shifting Jeremy Pena down a bit
• Chas McCormick is on the IL
  • With Tucker back, the outfield had gotten a bit crowded in Houston. This helps
  • McCormick had been getting a lot of playing time in center field lately, but this will allow Jake Meyers to keep an everyday lineup spot
  • This also helps Ben Gamel’s playing time outlook although he has been losing time to both Mauricio Dubon and Jason Heyward lately

Los Angeles Angels

• Anthony Rendon is on the IL
  • Shocker, another trip to the IL for Rendon who will likely miss the remainder of the season
  • With Rendon out, Brandon Drury has shifted over to third base and moved up in the lineup
  • Michael Stefanic has also seen his playing time increase along with recently promoted Eric Wagaman. Stefanic and Wagaman do not hold any fantasy value
• Kevin Pillar and Jo Adell are both on the IL
  • The team lost two outfielders within 24 hours and now promoted Bryce Teodosio from Triple-A
  • Teodosio has been serving as the everyday center fielder and batting at the bottom of the lineup since being promoted
  • In Triple-A, Teodosio was up to 40 stolen bases but has a questionable hit tool and lacks the game power to turn into a reliable fantasy asset
• Niko Kavadas has been better over the past week
  • Last week I mentioned that Kavadas was unlikely to keep his lineup spot due to his struggles, but he is turning things around at the plate
  • Since September 4, Kavadas is striking out less than 20% of the time and has two home runs
  • He continues to serve as the everyday DH batting sixth or seventh in the lineup

Texas Rangers

• Yes, this is a lineups piece, but can we talk about Jacob deGrom
  • DeGrom made his 2024 debut on Friday and hopefully, fingers crossed, we will get a healthy DeGrom in 2025
  • It feels like forever since we have seen him healthy on the mound. A healthy deGrom is just good for baseball and felt worth talking about
• Leody Taveras has been seeing less playing time
  • Taveras has been the primary center fielder for much of the season but has been on the bench a bit more regularly lately
  • On the season, Taveras has just nine home runs and a wRC+ below 80
  • His struggles have been especially apparent against lefties where he has a .202 batting average and one home run. He could be destined for a platoon role to start 2025

Oakland Athletics

• Ryan Noda is back from Triple-A
  • Noda was a fixture in Oakland’s lineup last season and was recalled from Triple-A earlier this week
  • Since returning, Noda has been playing first base and batting at the bottom of the lineup. He does not hold much fantasy value but could provide sneaky power
  • With Noda getting playing time, Tyler Nevin has seen his playing time decrease, and Tristan Gray was optioned back to Triple-A
• Zack Gelof has slid up in the lineup
  • Gelof has been a major disappointment in fantasy this season but continues to play regularly for Oakland
  • After spending much of the past few weeks batting eighth or ninth, Gelof has moved up to fifth or sixth lately
  • Gelof is batting .286 since the start of September but that comes with a BABIP of over .400. He still holds fantasy value thanks to 17 homers and 23 steals but does not project to be a star in the future
• Jacob Wilson has hit safely in six of seven games
  • The A’s first-round pick from last season continues to get regular playing time and has moved up to sixth in the lineup
  • Wilson’s contact skills are impressive and have translated nicely to the Major Leagues
  • His batted ball data is still underwhelming although his average exit velocity is up during this strong run. He is an intriguing asset heading into 2025

Seattle Mariners

• JP Crawford has moved down in the lineup
  • 2024 has been a disaster for Crawford who has battled injuries and is hitting just .198 on the season
  • After serving as the team’s leadoff hitter for much of the year, he has been moved down to eighth in the lineup and is batting just .156 since returning on August 28
  • With Crawford moving down, Victor Robles has reclaimed the leadoff spot in Seattle’s lineup
• Luke Raley is the everyday DH
  • Raley is still heading to the bench against lefties but he is no longer splitting any time with Mitch Garver or Mitch Haniger
  • Although the playing time has been inconsistent for much of the season, Raley has still hit 19 homers and stolen 10 bases this year for Seattle
  • He is slashing .267/.370/.550 since August 18 and is quietly a reliable source of production in OBP leagues

AL Central

Detroit Tigers

• Wenceel Perez is back from the IL
  • Perez was the first of Detroit’s prospects to be promoted this season but might no longer have an everyday role with the team
  • Parker Meadows has solidified himself as the everyday center fielder for this season and the infield is crowded with Trey Sweeney, Colt Keith, and Jace Jung all playing regularly
  • If you were holding onto Perez, he is a fine player to drop at this point
• Trey Sweeney has gotten hot
  • One of my favorite prospect crushes who never seemed to put things fully together in the Minor Leagues is now showing signs of doing so at the Major League level
  • Sweeney has been batting eighth most games for Detroit and has hit three home runs since September 4
  • After a slow start, Sweeney’s strikeout rate is down significantly and he is barreling the ball up at an impressive rate. He should be rostered in keeper leagues and all dynasty formats

Kansas City Royals

• Paul DeJong and Maikel Garcia are splitting time
  • DeJong had taken over as the primary third baseman but has been losing playing time over the past week
  • He is up to 24 home runs but is batting just .174 since August 25. When in the lineup, he has also shifted down a bit
  • Garcia got off to a fast start but has been struggling offensively for most of the season. DeJong has been more consistent, but with iffy playing time neither player holds much fantasy value
• Salvador Perez has shifted to first base
  • With Vinnie Pasquantino on the IL, Perez has moved over to serve as the primary first baseman and continues to bat third in the lineup
  • This shift to first full-time allows Freddy Fermin to step in and serve as the everyday catcher
  • Fermin has put up solid numbers with inconsistent playing time but is batting just .180 since August 25
• Michael Massey has settled into the sixth spot in the lineup
  • Massey has battled injuries throughout the season but is quietly having his most productive season yet
  • Through 306 plate appearances, Massey is up to 13 homers with a .259 batting average
  • He is not flashy, but with consistent playing time he is a reliable fantasy option for deeper leagues where you need help at second base

Chicago White Sox

• Jacob Amaya has joined the Major League club
  • Amaya made his Major League debut last season with Miami and is now getting another shot with the White Sox
  • Since being promoted, Amaya has been serving as the everyday shortstop and batting at the bottom of the lineup
  • Amaya has not shown much promise in Triple-A this year and there is nothing in his profile that suggests he will become a Major League regular
• Lenyn Sosa is getting more playing time at second base
  • Nicky Lopez has been the team’s primary second baseman for most of this season but he has been on the bench three times in the last four games
  • Sosa is stepping in and getting another chance to prove himself at the Major League level
  • Sosa has put up solid Minor League numbers but has never been able to get things to click at the Major League level. He is not somebody that needs to be picked up
• Bryan Ramos is playing DH more often
  • Ramos is one of the team’s top hitting prospects and the White Sox are working him into the lineup more frequently
  • He has been serving as the DH over Gavin Sheets while also working in at third base for Miguel Vargas
  • Ramos is batting just .211 through his first 60 plate appearances and there is nothing in his profile that looks enticing from a fantasy perspective

Minnesota Twins

• Edouard Julien is batting leadoff
  • The Twins started the season with high expectations for Julien, but struggles have resulted in him bouncing between Triple-A and the Major Leagues for much of this season
  • With the Twins searching for an offensive spark, they have moved Julien back to the top of the lineup this past week
  • Since being recalled from Triple-A on August 16, Julien is slashing .250/.304/.344 with just one home run. He still is not worth a roster spot in most fantasy leagues
• Royce Lewis has been a different hitter the past month
  • When healthy Royce Lewis looked like one of the best players in baseball during the first half of this season
  • However, since returning from the IL on July 26, Lewis is slashing just .221/.278/.407. He also has just one home run in his last 100 plate appearances
  • The most recent injury for Lewis was a right hip injury and it is possible this is still impacting him late this season. Hopefully, a full off-season will help Lewis get healthy and put up monster numbers in 2025
• Willi Castro continues to lose playing time
  • Castro has been a regular in Minnesota’s lineup throughout the season but his offensive struggles have had him on the bench with more regularity recently
  • He has been out of the lineup three of the past six games with recently promoted DeShawn Keirsey Jr getting more playing time
  • Keirsey has spent all season in Triple-A where he hit 14 homers with 36 stolen bases. Despite being 27 years old, he actually has an intriguing profile for fantasy managers if he continues to see increased playing time

Cleveland Guardians

• Lane Thomas is back
  • Thomas is now batting fifth in Cleveland’s lineup and playing every day
  • After a slow start, Thomas has turned things around at the plate. Thomas has hit safely in eight straight and is batting .390 since the start of September
  • Hopefully, you did not give up on Thomas too quickly as his plus speed provides excellent fantasy value
• David Fry has lost his lineup spot
  • Fry was one of the true feel-good stories from the first half of this season but that has come to an end
  • His numbers have dipped throughout the second half and he is batting just .209 since August 20
  • With Fry on the bench more often, the team is giving additional playing time to Jhonkensy Noel. Kyle Manzardo is serving as the DH with Bo Naylor doing most of the catching
• Steven Kwan was scratched on Friday night
  • The team is reporting “body fatigue” for Kwan and this is not expected to keep him sidelined for long
  • If Kwan misses a few days, Daniel Schneemann or Will Brennan would be most likely to see additional playing time