Fantasy Baseball Lineup Analysis: NL 05/31

Plenty has changed for fantasy baseball managers in the past two weeks. The season continues to move along, and adjustments undoubtedly need to be made to many fantasy baseball teams. What adjustments to make is the hardest question fantasy managers need to decide. This article helps make answering that question easier.

In the article below, the latest news and trends are outlined for all 15 National League lineups. The five hottest hitters in the National League over the past two weeks have been: Gabriel Moreno, James Wood, Seiya Suzuki, Brendan Donovan, and Marcell Ozuna. The five coldest hitters in the National League over the past two weeks have been: Matt McLain, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Willson Contreras, Willy Adames, and Juan Soto. Keep reading for the latest news and notes on all 15 lineups.

Fantasy Baseball Lineup Takeaways: NL Edition

Please note that this article is finalized the day prior to publication. I will do my best to update the information as it comes in later that night.

National League East

Philadelphia Phillies

• Bryce Harper has not been in the lineup since Wednesday night
  • Harper was hit on his surgically repaired elbow by a Spencer Strider fastball and has been out since
  • The Phillies do not expect this to result in an IL stint, as X-rays came back negative
  • With Harper out of the lineup, Alec Bohm has been playing first base, with Edmundo Sosa entering the lineup at third
• Brandon Marsh is starting to take more control of the starting center field job
  • When Marsh returned from the IL, he was splitting time with Johan Rojas
  • While Marsh is still sitting against some lefties, he has been seeing a much larger share of the playing time lately
  • Since returning from the IL on May 3, Marsh is slashing .314/.397/.412

Miami Marlins

• Derek Hill is on the IL
  • Hill landed on the IL with a sprained wrist and will now miss an undetermined amount of time
  • With Hill out, the team promoted prospect Victor Mesa Jr from Triple-A
  • Mesa has made two starts in center field since being promoted, but is not worth adding now that Dane Myers is back from the IL
• Matt Mervis has been DFA’d
  • With Mesa up and the Marlins looking for ways to get him into the lineup, Mervis was out of a job
  • The team has shifted Kyle Stowers to left field and Eric Wagaman to first base
  • Mervis is batting just .175 on the season with a 75 wRC+. He will now look for a new home after failing to stick in Miami
• Xavier Edwards is nearing a return
  • Edwards has been out since mid-May with a back injury, but has been rehabbing with Triple-A
  • Upon his return to the lineup, he is expected to play second base, which will give fantasy managers another slot to put him into their lineup
  • With Edwards nearing a return, Ronny Simon was DFA’d. The team promoted Heriberto Hernandez and Jack Winkler, who are not worth adding in any fantasy format

Atlanta Braves

• Ronald Acuna Jr. is officially back
  • Acuna returned to the Braves’ lineup on May 23 and has jumped right back into the leadoff spot
  • It should come as no surprise that Acuna hit a home run on the first pitch he saw, and then followed that up with a home run the following night. He is an elite fantasy asset, even if the stolen bases are not a significant part of his game in 2025
  • With Acuna back in the lineup, Eli White has moved back into a bench role
• Nick Allen was hit by a pitch on Thursday night
  • Allen was forced to leave the game. X-rays were negative, which is a positive sign. If he is forced to miss time, Luke Williams appears first in line to see additional playing time
  • Allen has been serving as the primary shortstop for Atlanta for a while now, but the release of Orlando Arcia cements his starting role even further
  • A whiz defensively, Allen does not have much offensive upside or value. He is not worth picking up outside of super deep leagues where you need consistent at-bats
• Drake Baldwin is taking over as the primary catcher
  • Sean Murphy got hot right after coming off the IL, but has cooled off significantly. Murphy is now on the short side of a platoon with Baldwin and is a fine drop wherever he is rostered
  • Baldwin meanwhile, is batting second in the lineup and is a must-roster player in leagues with 12+ catchers
  • He is batting .324 on the season with five home runs and excellent underlying metrics

Washington Nationals

• Dylan Crews is on the IL
  • Crews landed on the IL with an oblique injury on May 20 and is expected to miss a significant amount of time
  • With Crews out of the lineup, the team called up Robert Hassell III from Triple-A to make his Major League debut
  • Hassell has been playing every day and batting seventh in the lineup since being recalled. Despite being a former top prospect, Hassell does not have much upside from a fantasy perspective
• Jacob Young also landed on the IL
  • The Nationals lost not one, but two outfielders when Young was placed on the IL with a shoulder injury
  • Similarly to Crews, the team decided to call up another prospect, Daylen Lile, for his Major League debut
  • Lile is playing right field and batting ninth in the lineup. Lile has an excellent hit tool but has been unable to hit for much power in the Minor Leagues. I would pick up Lile before Hassell, though, if you need to pick one
• Luis Garcia Jr. is heating up and playing more often
  • Garcia has been seemingly stuck in a platoon for the entirety of this season, but has been spending more time in the lineup against lefties as of late
  • Garcia is slashing .349/.378/.628 since May 12 while showing off an incredible barrel rate
  • After flashing significant fantasy upside last season, Garcia is at it again. He is worth picking up if available to help boost your second base production

New York Mets

• Luisangel Acuna has lost all of his playing time
  • Acuna is the odd man out right now and has been riding the bench frequently over the past two weeks
  • With Jeff McNeil serving as the primary second baseman and Brett Baty at third, there is no room for Acuna, who is batting just .260 with zero homers on the season
  • Acuna’s speed, defensive versatility, and contact skills make him an intriguing buy-low option for dynasty managers, although there is likely not more than 10-homer upside in his bat. For redraft leagues, he is a fine drop
• Brett Baty has moved up to fifth in the lineup
  • Baty struggling to find success at the Major League level never made much sense, and he is finally bucking that trend
  • Since being recalled from Triple-A on May 7, Baty has been on a tear, slashing .281/.328/.561 with five home runs
  • His batted ball data has been fantastic. The only red flag is a high chase rate, which makes it unlikely Baty sustains a batting average of over .260 this season
• If there are any disgruntled Juan Soto owners in your league, buy low on him
  • The narrative over the past two weeks in mainstream media has been about Juan Soto’s struggles, but fantasy baseball managers should not be buying into this
  • Yes, since May 10, Soto is batting .119/.260/.136 with zero home runs. The struggle has been real, and he is hurting fantasy teams
  • However, during that timeframe, he owns a barrel rate of 13.6%, he has a .159 BABIP, and he has a chase rate of just 10.3%. Soto is fine and will continue to be an elite fantasy asset in 2025

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

• Pete Crow-Armstrong is now up to fourth in the lineup
  • PCA’s MVP-like start to the season has continued throughout the month of May
  • He is now up to 15 homers and 16 stolen bases on the year. His 600 PA pace is 38 homers and 41 stolen bases
  • Do not sell high on PCA. Yes, the batting average will come down a bit, and his home run pace will cool off, but this is a player with elite athleticism and 25/40 upside. Not many other fantasy players possess that, even if he only bats .240 the rest of the season
• Matt Shaw has looked better since coming back up from Triple-A
  • Shaw’s first stint in the Major Leagues did not go according to plan, but things have been better this time around
  • Since his recall on May 19, Shaw has reached base safely in all but one game and is batting .382 with five stolen bases. He is playing third base and batting ninth in the lineup
  • Shaw ranked as my top prospect in baseball entering the season. He has significant fantasy upside and hopefully starts to hit the ball harder as he grows more comfortable at the Major League level
• Miguel Amaya is on the IL
  • Amaya was splitting time at catcher with Carson Kelly, but is now out with an oblique injury
  • The team signed Reese McGuire with Amaya out. McGuire has started multiple games since being signed due to Kelly dealing with an illness
  • Kelly returned to the lineup on Wednesday and should see his playing time increase with Amaya on the IL

St. Louis Cardinals

• The Cardinals are using Ivan Herrera as their primary DH
  • The team clearly does not trust Herrera to handle the defensive responsibility of being the everyday catcher, but they are making sure to keep his bat in the lineup
  • Herrera has been batting all over the middle of the lineup recently, with Pedro Pages serving as the primary catcher and batting eighth
  • Herrera is batting .358 on the season with five homers. Everything in his profile is sparkling, and he should be considered one of the top fantasy catchers in baseball
• The Masyn Winn breakout is not getting enough attention
  • Entering the year, Winn was viewed as a glove-first player with limited offensive upside
  • An IL stint earlier this year has limited him to just 45 games, but he is already up to six home runs and is batting .278
  • Since May 7, Winn is slashing 303/.379/.474 and has been batting second in the Cardinals’ lineup
• Jordan Walker is battling with Alec Burleson for playing time
  • Fantasy managers want Walker to win this battle, and the good news is that he is swinging a hot bat lately. Since May 14, Walker is slashing .333/.351/.528
  • The issue is that Burleson has been just as effective offensively lately
  • There is a strong chance that the two players wind up splitting time, which would negatively impact Walker’s fantasy value

Milwaukee Brewers

• Isaac Collins is getting a chance to play left field every day
  • Collins was a Minor League Rule-5 pick from the Rockies back in 2022 and has primarily been serving in a bench role this season for Milwaukee
  • He has been getting more playing time over the past week and batting sixth in the lineup
  • Collins has a solid hit tool and good plate discipline, but lacks the power and speed to give him much fantasy appeal
• Brice Turang is back up in the leadoff spot
  • Milwaukee played with the idea of shifting him down, but that did not last long as he jumped back up to the top of the lineup May 16
  • Turang is a really difficult player to figure out for fantasy. After starting hot, he is batting just .200 since the start of May and only .208 over the past two weeks
  • The flip side is that Turang continues to hit the ball hard and is barreling it more often. He is also up to 14 stolen bases on the season. Turang seems like he could be on the verge of a breakout and is an interesting buy option for fantasy managers

Cincinnati Reds

• Austin Hays and Jake Fraley have switched places
  • Hays is now on the IL with a foot injury, and Fraley was just activated off of the IL
  • In his return to the lineup on Friday, Fraley started in right field and hit eighth
  • Prior to landing on the IL, Fraley was batting just .205 on the season with three home runs. He will also be out of the lineup against leftie,s limiting his fantasy value
• Christian Encarnacion-Strand is nearing a return
  • CES is currently rehabbing with Triple-A and should return at some point next week
  • With his return looming, the most likely player to lose their starting role is Will Benson
  • Even though the team will likely look to get him right back into the lineup, CES is far from a sure thing. He hit just .190 in 28 games last season and was batting .158 prior to landing on the IL

Pittsburgh Pirates

• Endy Rodriguez is back from the IL
  • The Pirates activated Rodriguez prior to Wednesday’s game, but he was not included in the lineup that night
  • After a slow start to the season, Rodriguez is not going to step right back into the everyday lineup
  • Andrew McCutchen continues to be the primary DH, and Spencer Horwitz is playing first base every day. Rodriguez is not worth rostering in fantasy leagues
• Joey Bart landed on the IL with a concussion
  • With Bart on the IL, Henry Davis appears to be first in line to serve as the primary catcher
  • The former number one overall pick has struggled in limited playing time this season, hitting just .222 with two homers through 62 plate appearances
  • There is still upside in his bat, it is just a matter of everything clicking. He is worth taking a flyer on as Joey Bart was batting only .240 prior to landing on the IL
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been red hot offensively since coming off the IL
  • IKF continues to outperform the expectations set for him this season
  • Since returning from the IL on May 12, IKF is slashing .327/.362/.473
  • For fantasy managers, there is not a ton of upside here, but he does present consistent playing time and a strong batting average. Fantasy baseball managers should not expect very many home runs

National League West

Los Angeles Dodgers

• Hyeseong Kim is not getting much playing time
  • Tommy Edman has primarily been playing second base for the Dodgers, which is keeping Kim out of the lineup
  • The team is opting to keep Michael Conforto’s bat in the lineup despite his .172 batting average
  • Conforto has been swinging a hotter bat lately (.267 since May 10) and should start to see his luck improve in the home run category. He has just three home runs despite an average EV of 90.8 mph and a barrel rate of over 11%. This will not continue
• Dalton Rushing is also not playing very often
  • This was always the concern when the Dodgers promoted Rushing to the Major Leagues
  • He is getting two starts per week at catcher to give Will Smith a breather, but is not playing consistently enough to generate much fantasy value
  • Rushing is striking out 52.4% of the time through his first 21 plate appearances and could find himself back in Triple-A soon
• Tommy Edman has slid down to the bottom of the lineup
  • Edman has spent most of the season batting fifth but has cooled off significantly after a fast start
  • Since coming off the IL on May 18, Edman is slashing just .129/.182/.161. He has not had a home run since April 22
  • Edman’s batting average should see some positive regression (his BABIP sits at just .216), but the move down in the lineup hurts his counting stats significantly
• Mookie Betts is dealing with a stubbed toe
  • The Dodgers do not expect Betts to miss extended time, and Miguel Rojas or Hyeseong Kim would get additional playing time

San Diego Padres

• Jason Heyward is on the IL with an oblique injury
  • Heyward had been serving as the team’s primary left fielder, but will not be out of the lineup
  • To replace him on the roster, the team called up Luis Campusano from Triple-A. He has been in the lineup twice since his promotion as the DH, with Gavin Sheets moving to left field
  • Campusano figures to share Heyward’s playing time with Tyler Wade, who offers more to the team defensively. Neither player is worth rostering in fantasy
• Speaking of Sheets, he has been batting fifth in the lineup more frequently this week
  • Sheets has spent most of the season batting sixth, but his continued success offensively has him moving up in the lineup
  • Since May 10, Sheets has hit seven home runs, which trails only Shohei Ohtani during that time. He continues to be a consistent producer for fantasy managers
  • With Sheets moving up in the lineup, Xander Bogaerts has slid down to sixth

Arizona Diamondbacks

• Jordan Lawlar was optioned back to Triple-A
  • This now makes it two failed stints at the Major League level for Lawlar, who will try to regain momentum in the Minor Leagues
  • Lawlar was getting run in the super utility role for Arizona, but was hitless through his first 22 plate appearances on the season
  • Despite his struggles, there is still significant upside in his profile. He is a fine drop in redraft leagues, but still holds value in dynasty formats
• Josh Naylor has gotten hot offensively
  • Dating back to May 8, Naylor has gone hitless in just two games. He is batting .304/.316/.482 since May 13
  • Naylor is doing a little bit of everything this season for Arizona. Fantasy baseball managers were not counting on many stolen bases, but he has already stolen nine and is on pace for 23 on the season
  • He continues to bat fourth in Arizona’s lineup and should be considered a top first base option for fantasy managers
• Gabriel Moreno is getting to more power
  • Back when Moreno was a Blue Jays’ prospect, the hope was that his power would one day catch up to his wonderful hit tool. Well, that may be happening
  • Since May 8, Moreno has hit four home runs and is slugging .655 during that span
  • Moreno has always hit the ball hard, but now he is getting it in the air more and pulling the ball a lot more. This could be the start of a true breakout and completely change Moreno’s fantasy value

San Francisco Giants

• Tyler Fitzgerald has not found his timing since returning from the IL
  • Fitzgerald rejoined the Giants’ lineup on May 16 and is batting just .206 with a 34% strikeout rate
  • After bursting onto the scene last season, Fitzgerald is hitting for notably less power this year
  • He is still pulling the ball a lot, but his batted ball data suggests this is more in line with what fantasy managers should expect moving forward. He is serving as the team’s everyday second baseman and batting ninth in the lineup
• Patrick Bailey may be starting to lose playing time
  • The team has stuck with Bailey as their everyday catcher despite a .174 batting average and a 38 wRC+
  • Well, he has been on the bench for two of the past four games this week as the team starts to grow impatient
  • There is not a lot of organizational depth behind him, but Sam Huff could see some additional playing time moving forward
• Heliot Ramos just keeps on hitting
  • Ramos has settled into the second spot in San Francisco’s lineup nicely and continues to perform for both the team and fantasy managers
  • He is up to 10 homers on the season and has brought his average up to .288
  • There are a few red flags in his profile that fantasy managers need to be aware of. First, Ramos hits a lot of ground balls, which will likely result in regression to his BABIP. He also has a below-average hit tool that will likely catch up to him as the season moves along. Even still, this is just his second full professional season, and he could continue to get even better

Colorado Rockies

• Of course, the Rockies signed Orlando Arcia
  • Instead of letting Adael Amador continue to try and figure things out, the team signed the recently released Arcia to a Major League contract
  • Since joining the team, Arcia has started one game and been on the bench for one game. He served as the DH and hit seventh in his one game started
  • Arcia was batting just .194 with a 21 wRC+ with the Braves prior, and is not worth rostering in fantasy
• Thairo Estrada is back from the IL
  • Estrada had yet to appear in a game all season after injuring his wrist in Spring Training
  • In his return to the lineup, he played second base and hit fourth. Estrada hit 14 homers and stole 23 bases in 2023, but saw his numbers dip significantly last season
  • He should play as the everyday second baseman. Adael Amador was sent back to Triple-A, with Estrada returning and the Arcia signing
• Michael Toglia is moving down in the lineup
  • Toglia has been batting fourth for most of the season, but has slid down to seventh and eighth this week
  • On the season, Toglia is batting just .198 with a 59 wRC+ and a -1.0 WAR
  • Fantasy managers should not be surprised if Toglia loses his starting spot with the Rockies. He is a fine drop candidate