Fantasy Baseball Lineup Analysis: AL 06/20

We are not even out of June, and we already have our first major blockbuster trade of the year! As trades continue to come in and injuries pile up, lineups are constantly changing. This article focuses on all of the lineup changes that fantasy baseball managers need to know about from the American League. This article focuses specifically on the American League. The five hottest hitters over the past two weeks in the AL have been: Javier Baez, Josh Smith, Byron Buxton, Yandy Diaz, and Cam Smith. The five coldest hitters over the past two weeks have been: Parker Meadows, Angel Martinez, Carlos Santana, Jasson Dominguez, and Jac Caglianone. Keep reading for the latest news and notes from all 15 lineups around the American League.

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

Giancarlo Stanton is back from the IL
- Stanton made his anticipated return to the Yankees’ lineup on Monday after missing the first two and a half months of the season.
- Since returning, Stanton has been in the middle of the lineup and appears to have the inside track on the primary DH role
- The inclusion of Stanton into the lineup has clouded the playing time of several key players, although fantasy baseball managers should not be overly concerned about Paul Goldschmidt losing playing time
Austin Wells has moved down to eighth in the lineup
- The real person who could lose playing time is Austin Wells, who has moved down to eighth in the lineup and has been on the bench more frequently this past week
- Wells moving to the bench comes with Ben Rice getting a chance to start some games as a catcher, something he has not done since the Minor Leagues
- Wells has 11 home runs and a .219 average compared to Rice’s 12 homers and .228 average. Rice is batting just .149 since the start of June, so Wells’ playing time should not be impacted too significantly
Jasson Dominguez continues to get into the lineup on a regular basis
- According to Roster Resource, Jasson Dominguez is the fourth outfielder, but he is playing on a regular basis
- Dominguez is getting into the lineup with regularity, mixing in for Trent Grisham a couple of times a week, as well as Cody Bellinger on occasion, and even at DH
- He is primarily batting seventh in the lineup when playing. Although his season performance feels underwhelming, he is up to six homers and 10 stolen bases. A 600 PA pace of 16 HR and 26 SB.

Boston Red Sox

Rafael Devers was traded to San Francisco
- The news that shocked the world last Sunday was the surprise trade of Devers from Boston to San Francisco. Most of this dilemma stemmed from Devers’ unwillingness to play first base
- Devers was serving as the team’s primary DH prior to being traded. His playing time appears to be going primarily to David Hamilton against righties and Rob Refsnyder against lefties
- Hamilton has been playing second base and batting seventh in the lineup. He has elite speed and stolen base upside, but the rest of his profile is one fantasy baseball managers tend to stay away from
- The team has also mentioned attempting to accelerate Masataka Yoshida’s rehab and recovery to get him back in the lineup
Kristian Campbell was optioned back to Triple-A
- What initially started as a move down to ninth in the lineup has now resulted in a demotion
- Campbell was struggling offensively, batting just .205/.340/.318 since the start of June. This demotion will give him a chance to reset and work on some things before rejoining the Major League club later this season
- With Campbell out of the lineup, the combination of Romy Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder appears most likely to see additional playing time
Abraham Toro is batting second recently
- Toro continues to soak up most of the at-bats at first base and now has moved up in the lineup thanks to the Devers trade
- On the season, Toro is batting .297 with five home runs. Since the start of June, he owns a slash of .298/.359/.474
- This level of production is new for Toro, who has struggled to produce consistently throughout his Major League career. His batted ball data remains underwhelming, but a strong air pull percentage helps his power to play up. His aggressive approach will likely lead to some regression, but he is a fine add in deep or AL-only formats

Tampa Bay Rays

Ha-Seong Kim is going to be out a bit longer
- Kim was nearing a return to the Rays when he suffered a setback in his hamstring and was forced to pause baseball activities last Thursday
- Early reports are that Kim is already resuming baseball activities, but it appears he is still a couple of weeks away from returning to action
- Fantasy managers looking for shortstop help should still consider stashing Kim, who will likely take over as the primary shortstop for Tampa once he returns to the lineup
Brandon Lowe has been swinging a hot bat
- Streakiness has been a consistent theme throughout Lowe’s career, but when he is going good, there are few better second basemen in all of baseball offensively
- Lowe is now up to 15 homers on the year and is slashing .333/.379/.600 since the start of June
- Lowe’s batted ball data continues to rank amongst the best in all of baseball. Lefties continue to give him fits, making his value the highest in leagues with daily moves, where you can play the matchups
Jake Mangum has not missed a beat since returning from the IL
- The fantasy community lamented sending Chandler Simpson to Triple-A when Mangum returned, but the Rays appear to have made the right move. He continues to bat sixth in the lineup for Tampa
- Mangum just keeps on hitting. He has hit safely in eight of his last nine games and has kept his batting average over .300 nearly all season
- The 10 stolen bases are nice, but fantasy managers should be wary of regression that is due to come in his batting average

Toronto Blue Jays

Will Robertson was promoted from Triple-A
- Even with three outfielders on the IL, Alan Roden has failed to lock down everyday playing time at the Major League level. His struggles make him a fine player to move on from
- With Roden struggling and Nathaniel Lukes out with a concussion, the team promoted Will Robertson from Triple-A
- Robertson is playing on the strong side of a platoon and batting eighth in the lineup. He was batting .288 with 12 homers in Triple-A, but his hit tool makes it difficult to believe he can sustain success at the Major League level
Andres Gimenez has been moving up in the lineup
- With the slew of injuries, Gimenez has been batting sixth or seventh in the lineup this past week as opposed to ninth
- Gimenez is only playing against about 50% of lefties that Toronto faces and is batting .202 with four homers and nine steals on the season
- Since returning from the IL on June 3, Gimenez’s offensive production continues to be underwhelming. He is slashing just .229/.341/.343. The bigger concern for fantasy managers is the zero stolen bases. He is a fine player to move on from in redraft formats
Addison Barger is batting second against righties
- Similarly to Gimenez, Barger is not playing against all lefties but against righties; he is now batting second in the lineup
- Barger continues to be an offensive force for Toronto. Since May 30, Barger is slashing .293/.349/.690. There is a bit of concern about his hit tool, but the rest of his profile looks elite
- This is a breakout all fantasy managers should be buying into. Do not sell Barger to sell him. Barger’s rank amongst third basemen since May 30 is: first in home runs, third in runs, sixth in RBIs, eighth in average

Baltimore Orioles

Jordan Westburg is healthy and hot
- Westburg got off to a slow start in 2025, but he has been excellent since returning from the IL
- Westburg returned to the lineup on June 10 and is batting .333 with 10 home runs since his return
- He is batting fourth in Baltimore’s lineup and remains an excellent fantasy asset
Coby Mayo cannot maintain a lineup spot
- Despite big Triple-A numbers, Mayo cannot figure things out at the Major League level. Strikeouts continue to be an issue as he is batting just .174 on the season
- Mayo continues to get into the lineup against lefties but is sitting against righties in favor of both Ramon Laureano and Dylan Carlson
- Carlson is quietly batting .318 with two homers since the start of June. Laureano has also been hot and is slashing .275/.348/.500 since returning from the IL on June 6

AL West

Houston Astros

Jacob Melton is on the IL with an ankle injury
- Melton is expected to miss at least four weeks with this ankle injury
- With Metlon out of the lineup, Mauricio Dubon is getting everyday playing time
- Dubon is batting eighth or ninth in the lineup and playing second base. The hit tool continues to be excellent, but fantasy managers should not expect the uptick in power (three homers already) to continue. He is a fine floor add if you need batting average
Cam Smith is starting to put things together
- The Astros have continued to be patient with their young star, and Smith is finally settling in
- Smith has brought his average all the way up to .276, and he now owns a 121 wRC+. He is batting .400 since June 8 and .323 since May 19
- Smith’s offensive success has earned him a move up to sixth in Houston’s lineup. Victor Caratini has started to slide down in the lineup recently

Los Angeles Angels

Christian Moore was promoted from Triple-A
- As is standard recently, the Angels wasted no time pushing their first-round pick from last year through the Minor Leagues
- Moore made his Major League debut last Friday. He has been serving as the team’s primary second baseman since being promoted and is batting ninth in the lineup
- Moore put up strong numbers in the Minor Leagues, but the biggest question has always been about how his hit tool would hold up against Major League pitching. Through the first week, Moore has looked a bit overmatched, and that may continue throughout 2025
Is this the Jo Adell breakout we have been waiting for?
- After struggling to start the season, Adell is finally showing signs of a breakout fantasy managers have been waiting years for
- Adell is playing center field every day for the Angels and batting in the bottom third of the lineup. He is now up to 14 home runs with seven of those coming since the start of June
- Adell’s plate discipline and contact skills remain suspect at best, but the batted ball data is excellent. He is a power/speed play but fantasy managers should not expect much in the average department
Logan O’Hoppe has cooled off considerably since his hot start
- O’Hoppe got off to a great start to 2025, but has seen his numbers take a dip recently. He is now batting sixth in the lineup
- The lone bright spot remaining in O’Hoppe’s season-long numbers is power, but he has not hit a home run since May 22. Since the start of June, O’Hoppe is batting .091
- Part of the issue is that O’Hoppe has been very unlucky in the BABIP department but his poor chase and whiff rate make it difficult to see him ever hitting for much average

Texas Rangers

Josh Jung got a mental reset this past week
- Jung got back-to-back games off on Sunday and Tuesday, with an off-day on Monday sandwiched between in an attempt to give him a mental reset
- He has been struggling offensively slashing .163/.241/.224 since the start of June
- On the season as a whole, Jung has been unspectacularly solid. He should see some more luck in the power and home run department, but he does not seem to be a difference maker for fantasy baseball players
Evan Carter has been swinging it better lately
- Carter continues to play regularly on the strong side of a platoon and bat fifth in the lineup
- After starting the season in the Minor Leagues, Carter has played in 24 games at the Major League level. He has four homers and five stolen bases. Since returning from the IL on June 3, Carter is slashing .343/.425/.686
- Everything in Carter’s profile is pointing in the right direction. He is hitting the ball harder, pulling the ball more, and continues to show off great plate discipline. He should be rostered in all leagues at this point
Josh Smith just keeps on hitting
- Despite many expecting regression from Smith, he continues to hit and is now up to seven home runs and eight stolen bases
- Since the start of June, Smith is batting .377 with a BABIP over .400
- This week, Smith has been dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the lineup. The severity of the injury does not appear to be severe, but if he were forced to miss extended time, Ezequiel Duran is most likely to see additional at-bats

Athletics

Max Muncy is playing every day and batting sixth in the lineup
- Muncy’s second stint in the Major Leagues this season is going much better. He is serving as the team’s everyday third baseman and batting sixth in the lineup
- In his first stint, Muncy slashed .176/.211/.279. This second time around, Muncy is slashing .250/.294/.500 with four home runs
- Under the surface, Muncy’s profile looks fairly similar to how it looked earlier in the year. The one difference is the improvement to his batted ball data, which is fueling a power breakout. Muncy has 20 HR potential, but his hit tool is not very good, and fantasy managers should not expect this success to continue
Catcher is a timeshare with Shea Langeliers on the IL
- Langeliers has been on the IL since June 5 with an oblique injury. He has started to partake in hitting drills, but remains without a timetable for a return
- With Langeliers out, Austin Wynns is getting the majority of playing time, although Willie Maciver is also mixing in
- The 34-year-old Wynns is batting .333 with five home runs in limited playing time. Wynns’ success is unsustainable from a BABIP perspective and a HR/FB%. He is not worth adding
Tyler Soderstrom is platooning
- Soderstrom has been a streaky player for fantasy managers, but they should still be encouraged by his early-season success
- He is playing left field and batting third in the lineup against righties. He is up to 14 homers on the season and a 123 wRC+
- With Gio Urshela back from the IL and Soderstrom owning a 50 wRC+ against lefties, the team has opted to start platooning Soderstrom more consistently

Seattle Mariners

Dominic Canzone was promoted from Triple-A
- Canzone spent parts of the last two seasons in the Major Leagues but was sent down to Triple-A to start this season
- Down in Triple-A, Canzone was batting .296 with 13 home runs. Strikeouts and batting average were the biggest issues for Canzone in the past two seasons and will likely continue to be an issue this season
- Since being promoted, Canzone is batting seventh and playing on the strong side of a platoon. Leody Taveras was DFA’d as a corresponding move
Jorge Polanco has shifted to fourth in the lineup
- Polanco’s success this season seems to be flying under the radar. Now 31, fantasy managers feel burned by Polanco in recent seasons, ignoring his 116 wRC+
- While the 11 home runs on the season are nice, Polanco has only hit one since May 13. His barrel rate has completely disappeared, leading to the disappearance of power
- His recent slump offensively makes his move up to fourth a bit surprising and is not reflective of his recent performance
Cal Raleigh continues to be a dominant force offensively
- Raleigh’s 2025 season has been everything that fantasy managers could have expected and more
- Already this season, Raleigh is up to 27 home runs, which is just seven shy of his career-high. He is even stealing more bases and hitting for more average this season than ever before
- There is nothing in Raleigh’s profile that should concern fantasy managers. He is an elite fantasy asset and should be viewed as the top catcher for the remainder of the season

AL Central

Detroit Tigers

Parker Meadows is still searching for his swing since returning from the IL
- Meadows is batting just .133 in 13 games since returning from the IL. After a strong first game, he is batting .098
- The encouraging part is that the Tigers are sticking with Meadows and leaving him in the lineup. He is batting leadoff against righties and moves down to ninth against lefties
- Under the hood, Meadows is doing a lot of things right. He is walking, hitting the ball hard, and hitting a lot of line drives. Meadows has been a victim of poor luck early on and is still worth rostering despite his struggles early on
Javier Baez is finding his way into the lineup on a consistent basis
- Part of the reason Baez has been in the lineup so often lately is due to the large number of lefties Detroit has faced
- However, even without lefties, Baez is seeing increased playing time at shortstop over Trey Sweeney, who has moved into more of a bench role
- Baez has been on fire. He is slashing .340/.377/.560 since the start of June. His profile lends itself to hot and cold stretches that fantasy managers need to capitalize on
- Sweeney is not worth rostering outside of dynasty formats
Should fantasy managers buy Wenceel Perez?
- Injuries have limited Perez to only 18 games this season, but he is looking more and more like a breakout with each game
- He is playing every day, batting fifth in the lineup recently. He is already up to five home runs and is batting over .300
- An extreme fly ball hitter, Perez’s biggest issue last season was a lack of barrel rate. This season, he is barreling the ball up much more and continues to pull the ball in the air at a high rate. Perez is worth adding if he is still available

Kansas City Royals

Jac Caglianone has struggled since his promotion [Editor’s Note: 2 HRs yesterday may have turned things around]
- Caglianone’s dominance in the Minor Leagues made it seem inevitable that his success would continue at the Major League level
- The Royals continue to let Caglianone play every day and bat sixth in the lineup, but his struggles could result in him losing playing time against lefties
- In 13 games since his promotion, Caglianone is batting just .196 with zero home runs. He is hitting the ball hard, but hitting it on the ground too often to tap into his game power. He is also chasing far too much, leading to a high strikeout rate
The playing time in the outfield is a mess
- On Roster Resource, Drew Waters and John Rave are listed as the starters, both on the strong side of a platoon
- Nick Loftin and Mark Canha are both getting into the lineup against lefties, but the main person getting at-bats is Freddy Fermin
- Fermin is entering the lineup at catcher, shifting Salvador Perez to DH, and Jac Calglianone to the outfield. Fermin is not a terrible option in AL-only leagues, but lacks much upside to be fantasy relevant in standard leagues

Chicago White Sox

Ryan Noda was acquired from Boston
- Noda joined the White Sox last Saturday and has been serving as the team’s primary first baseman since joining the team
- He is playing on the strong side of a platoon with Lenyn Sosa (who was just activated off the IL) and batting seventh in the lineup
- Noda was batting .378 in Triple-A but has not found much success in the Major Leagues due to a high strikeout rate. This issue has not been solved, and Noda is not worth adding
Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero are rotating between catcher and DH
- Both young catchers are still getting a chance to work behind the plate while also staying in the lineup as the DH
- Teel is sitting against most lefties, while Quero is getting days off against righties and lefties. Teel is batting fifth in the lineup, with Quero batting eighth against righties and fourth against lefties
- Strikeouts are proving to be a big issue for Teel in a small sample size. Quero is hitting too many ground balls to get to any of his raw power
Miguel Vargas continues to be light in the darkness
- The White Sox’s season is a lost cause, but finding young players to build around is the first step toward a better future
- One of those players is Miguel Vargas, whose strong start has continued. He is playing third base every day and batting fourth in the lineup
- He is up to 10 home runs. The low batting average is a product of extreme fly ball tendencies, but his contact skills and power are excellent signs for his future production

Minnesota Twins

Royce Lewis is back on the IL
- Lewis just cannot stay healthy and is now on the IL with a hamstring injury
- With Lewis out of the lineup, the Twins have shifted around their defense, allowing Willi Castro to get more consistent playing time in the outfield
- Castro has been batting third in the lineup recently and is already up to seven home runs despite a previous career-high of 13 homers
- Castro is pulling the ball in the air at the highest rate of his career, which is leading to an increase in his home run rate. Even if the power is justifiable, he should see some regression to his batting average as his BABIP comes down
Matt Wallner has been ice-cold since returning from the IL
- Wallner rejoined the Twins’ lineup on May 31 and is batting just .140 since returning
- The Twins continue to give him everyday playing time, batting fourth against righties and shifting down against lefties
- The power is undeniable, and even during this rough stretch, Wallner still has four home runs. The issue is just he only has seven total hits during this stretch. Fantasy managers should not expect much more than power from him

Cleveland Guardians

Bo Naylor’s playing time is at risk
- Austin Hedges was activated from the IL last Friday and played in back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday
- While Hedges does not offer any offensive upside, his defense is valued highly by the team and could turn him into the preferred option
- Naylor, meanwhile, is batting lower in the lineup and is hitting just .130 since May 26. Neither Naylor nor Hedges are worth rostering
Kyle Manzardo is batting second against righties
- After batting cleanup for most of the season, Manzardo has been moved up to second in recent games
- He is still sitting against most lefties, even though his wRC+ is significantly higher against lefties than righties. This could help pull him out of the platoon as the season moves along
- Overall, Manzardo is batting .211 with 11 homers. His power is a definite plus but that batting average continues to be an anchor
The team continues to play Lane Thomas every day
- Thomas has been on the IL two different times this season, limiting him to just 91 plate appearances
- He is batting just .160 on the year with one homer and two steals. His production has been slightly better since returning to the lineup on June 9, but his batted ball data remains underwhelming, and he is striking out far too often to produce consistently
- Despite his struggles, the Guardians continue to give him everyday playing time over players like Angel Martinez and Johnathan Rodriguez

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