Fantasy Baseball Lineup Analysis: AL 08/16

We have reached the halfway point in August meaning the fantasy baseball playoffs are right around the corner. With the season winding down, fantasy managers need to stay up to date on the latest news and notes to make sure they are prepared. This article provides a breakdown of the latest changes from each American League lineup with all the news and notes fantasy managers need to know. The five hottest hitters in the AL over the past two weeks have been Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Yordan Alvarez, Juan Soto, and Zach Neto. 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

• Jazz Chisholm is on the IL
  • The Yankees placed Chisholm on the IL with a UCL injury and it remains unclear how long he will be sidelined for
  • With Chisholm out, Oswaldo Cabrera figures to get the majority of reps at third base batting in the bottom part of the lineup
  • Cabrera got off to a fast start this season but lacks much upside from a fantasy perspective. He is not worth picking up
• DJ LeMahieu is getting more at-bats at first base
  • While Ben Rice is still playing against a lot of righties, LeMahieu is starting to enter the lineup with more regularity
  • 2024 has been a disaster for LeMahieu but he is batting over .300 since July 31 and could be turning things around
  • Rice meanwhile is batting under .150 since the break with just one home run. Rice is a fine drop in redraft formats
• Jose Trevino is rehabbing in Double-A
  • The Yankees’ catcher is nearing a return to the team and could be activated as early as Monday
  • Trevino’s return likely will eat into some of the playing time for Austin Wells although he should remain the primary starter
  • Wells continues to bat in the middle of New York’s lineup and is batting .364 since the start of August

Boston Red Sox

• Tyler O’Neill has been on the IL with a calf infection
  • With O’Neill out of the lineup, the Red Sox have shifted Ceddanne Rafaela to center field and moved Nick Sogard into the lineup
  • Sogard has been playing second base and batting seventh in the lineup in most games
  • Sogard has shown the ability to hit a ton of line drives throughout his professional career but lacks significant fantasy upside. O’Neill is not expected to be sidelined with this injury (illness?) for much longer
• Jarren Duran was suspended for two games
  • Duran used derogatory language toward a fan earlier this week that resulted in a two-game suspension
  • He has since returned to the Red Sox lineup and has continued to bat leadoff
  • Duran is in the midst of an excellent season with 14 homers and 29 steals but this act of ignorance was disappointingJojojo

Tampa Bay Rays

• Junior Caminero was promoted from Triple-A
  • The Rays finally promoted their top prospect back to the Major Leagues on Tuesday
  • Caminero has been batting fifth in the lineup and serving as the third baseman for the Rays
  • Caminero has incredible raw talent but will need to elevate the ball consistently to tap into his raw power
  • With Caminero in the Major Leagues, Jose Caballero has lost playing time
• Jonny DeLuca is playing every day
  • With Richie Palacios on the IL, DeLuca has been given the chance to start rotating between right and center field
  • He has been batting all over the lineup but is still hitting under .200 since the start of August
  • Although DeLuca continues to get regular playing time, he is not somebody that holds much fantasy relevancy outside of AL-only leagues
• The catchers are splitting time
  • Ben Rortvedt has been the primary catcher for much of the season but is now splitting time with Alex Jackson
  • Jackson is batting just .120 on the season and should not continue to see his playing time increase
  • Rortvedt is batting .191 in the second half and is not worth rostering at this point

Toronto Blue Jays

• The Jays promoted Will Wagner from Triple-A
  • Wagner was acquired from the Astros at the trade deadline in the Kikuchi deal and will not get a chance at the Major League level
  • Although his Minor League numbers never jumped off the page, Wagner showed off solid all-around skills that made him incredibly underrated
  • He has been playing second base and batting sixth since being promoted. He is worth a look in 14+ team leagues
  • Davis Schneider has moved into a bench role with this promotion
• Daulton Varsho has been batting second in the lineup
  • Varsho has moved up in the order recently after spending the majority of the season in the back half
  • His Toronto tenure continues to be a disappointment and things have not gotten better in August
  • He is batting under .240 since the start of the month and has just one home run since July 29
  • Varsho is going to generate consistent at-bats but that is about it for fantasy managers
• Ernie Clement has been batting fifth in the lineup most games
  • Clement has been in the Major Leagues for parts of each of the past four seasons but has never been able to stick
  • He is playing well with extended opportunities in Toronto this season thanks to his excellent contact skills
  • Although he lacks much upside, he is batting over .300 since the start of August and is worth a look in deeper leagues where you need consistent at-bats

Baltimore Orioles

• Coby Mayo was sent back to Triple-A
  • Despite promoting one of their top prospects to the Major Leagues, the Orioles continue to give Ramon Urias the majority of playing time at third base
  • Urias has a wRC+ under 100 on the season and is batting under .200 since the start of August
  • Mayo is the far more talented player and should find his way back to Baltimore at some point. As long as you have the extra bench spot, I am holding Mayo despite this rough start
• Jackson Holliday is still striking out a lot
  • Holliday has looked MUCH better since being recalled by Baltimore on July 31, but he is still striking out about 30% of the time
  • He has hit five home runs but another concern is that his launch angle has remained below seven degrees since returning
  • He is locked into an everyday role and has as much upside as any player in baseball, but I worry there could be some struggles to come that fantasy managers need to be patient with
• Adley Rutschman has moved down to fifth in the lineup
  • The Orioles swapped Rutschman and Anthony Santander in the lineup around August 2 and Rutschman has responded
  • Since the move, he is batting over .350 with a strikeout rate below 11%
  • The only concern is that Rutschman has not hit a home run since July 19 and his barrel rate is below three percent over that timeframe

AL West

Houston Astros

• Zach Dezenzo is up from Triple-A
  • Dezenzo entered the season as one of Houston’s top prospects but had his season delayed due to injury
  • He returned on June 4 and made his Major League debut on August 6
  • Dezenzo has been getting a chance to play first base over Jon Singleton batting sixth or seventh in the lineup
  • He has an intriguing combination of power and contact skills that make him worth a look on the waiver wire
• Alex Bregman has been scorching hot
  • A slow start to the season had many thinking this was the season everything finally caught up to him
  • Wrong. Bregman has hit five home runs since the start of August including homering in four straight games over the past week
  • He is now up to 19 homers on the year and is batting over .300 since the start of June. Bregman remains an elite fantasy asset

Los Angeles Angels

• Anthony Rendon is back from the IL
  • After another stint on the IL, Rendon returned to the lineup on August 7
  • Since returning, Rendon has been batting fifth in the lineup as opposed to leadoff
  • Rendon is still yet to hit a home run on the season but has been hitting for a decent average since returning. His return has taken playing time away from Michael Stefanic
• Logan O’Hoppe has moved up to third in the lineup
  • O’Hoppe continues to be an excellent acquisition by the Angels front office and has flourished into one of the game’s top young catchers
  • He is up to 16 homers on the year and has provided reliable fantasy contributions for much of the season
  • He has struggled a bit as of late batting under .100 since the start of August and is striking out over 35% of the time since the ASB. This could result in him sliding back down in the lineup
• Jo Adell is striking out less in August
  • Adell’s strikeout rate this month sits below 20% as he continues to show off improvements to his hit tool
  • All of the improvements have not stuck yet as his average still sits near the Mendoza Line, but he is a player dynasty managers need to keep their eye on
  • He is quietly up to 18 homers and 14 steals this season which would be a 28/22 pace over 600 PA
• Willie Calhoun was DFAd
  • Calhoun had been serving as the team’s primary DH for the past few months but will now look for a new home
  • The team figures to give Kevin Pillar additional at-bats at DH with Calhoun gone

Texas Rangers

• Carson Kelly has taken over as the primary catcher
  • Kelly was acquired from the Tigers earlier this season and was expected to serve as the backup catcher to Jonah Heim
  • Heim is batting just .222 since the start of June and Kelly has taken over as the starter
  • Kelly is batting over .300 since being acquired and is batting in the back third of the lineup
• Wyatt Langford has slid down in the lineup
  • Langford had been batting fourth or fifth for Texas for much of the past month but has recently been batting seventh in the lineup
  • The return of Josh Jung contributes to his slide down, but Langford has also been struggling at the plate
  • He is batting just .207 in the second half although a lot of that can be blamed on a .247 BABIP. Langford hit a home run on Thursday which will hopefully help him snap out of this cold stretch
• Josh Jung has been struggling
  • After missing nearly four months, Jung has struggled to regain his timing
  • Since returning to the Rangers’ lineup Jung is striking out over 35% of the time with a walk rate below four percent
  • While Jung has big time upside still, fantasy managers should not rely on Jung down the home stretch

Oakland Athletics

• Darell Hernaiz has returned to the lineup
  • Hernaiz had been sidelined for nearly three months with an injury but finally returned to the Oakland lineup on August 3
  • Hernaiz was one of Oakland’s top prospects entering the season although he has not been able to produce much offensively at the Major League level
  • He hit his first Major League home run last Friday and has been playing third base batting eighth for the A’s
• Shea Langeliers is hot at the plate
  • Langeliers is batting over .300 since July 23 with four home runs during that span
  • The biggest improvement has been to Langeliers’ strikeout rate as he is striking out less than 20% of the time since the start of August
  • Progression is not always linear and Langeliers is making the kinds of adjustments fantasy managers should be excited about moving forward

Seattle Mariners

• Julio Rodriguez is back from the IL
  • The Mariners activated Rodriguez on Sunday and he has been serving as the designated hitter since returning
  • The DH allows Rodriguez to rejoin the lineup without needing to play the field. He has been batting fourth since returning
  • His return has eaten into the playing time of Luke Raley
  • Rodriguez was absent from the lineup on Friday with an ankle injury; the same injury he just returned from
• Jorge Polanco has been batting second in the lineup
  • Polanco has bounced around the lineup recently but has quietly been putting together a strong second half
  • After an abysmal start to the season, he has hit six homers since the break and has brought his average up to .212
  • Still not the kind of production fantasy managers expected during draft season, but Polanco should get more run-scoring opportunities batting second
• Josh Rojas is still playing every day
  • Rojas is playing third base everyday batting at the bottom of the lineup but has not been performing well offensively
  • Since the break, Rojas is batting under .200 and is striking out over 30% of the time since the start of August
  • He is not worth rostering in any format

AL Central

Detroit Tigers

• Kerry Carpenter is back from the IL
  • After a lengthy stay on the IL, Carpenter returned to the Tigers’ lineup on Wednesday and has been batting second since returning
  • He hit two home runs in his first game back and followed that up with another home run in his second game
  • Carpenter is showing no signs of rust and should continue to be a very strong four-category contributor for the rest of the season
  • His return to the lineup appears to be impacting Justyn-Henry Malloy’s playing time the most
• Wenceel Perez is on the IL with an oblique injury
  • Obliques are never a good sign for hitters and Perez could potentially miss the remainder of the 2024 season
  • With Perez out, Parker Meadows has stepped back in as the primary center fielder
  • Meadows has been batting sixth in the lineup and has been playing better since being activated on August 3
  • He still strikes out too often but has intriguing power and speed for fantasy managers to keep an eye on
• Dillon Dingler and Jake Rogers are splitting time at catcher
  • Dingler is the prospect with more upside but he has not performed well since being promoted from Triple-A
  • Dingler is hitting the ball extremely hard but is striking out too much to hit for a high average
  • Rogers is batting under .200 on the season and just .174 since the break. Dingler should continue seeing his at-bats increase as the season moves along
• The Tigers recalled both Trey Sweeney and Jace Jung
  • Both prospects land within my top 100 fantasy baseball prospects with Jung ranking inside the top 20
  • Jung is likely to serve as the everyday third baseman with Gio Urshela moving to the bench or first base
  • Sweeney should overtake Javier Baez for playing time at shortstop
  • Jung is a must-add, Sweeney is worth taking a look at in 14+ team formats

Kansas City Royals

• Michael Massey has been batting leadoff
  • Massey is still heading to the bench against most lefties but has moved up to the top of the order against righties
  • Injuries have limited Massey to under 65 games on the season but he has still hit 10 home runs and would be on a 26 homer pace over 600 plate appearances
  • Massey has made significant improvements to his strikeout rate this season but is still unlikely to provide much fantasy upside
  • Maikel Garcia has moved back down to the bottom half of the lineup with Massey moving up
• MJ Melendez has been batting fifth in the lineup
  • Melendez’s early season struggles had him sliding down in the order earlier this season but the Royals have moved him back up as of late
  • Since returning from the IL on July 28, Melendez has hit three home runs and is striking out under 20% of the time
  • Melendez has obvious power and could be in for a big second half if he can keep his strikeout rate down
• Hunter Renfroe is losing his playing time
  • Renfroe got hot to start the second half but has cooled way off and is now sitting more often
  • He has been on the bench against two of the past four righties in favor of getting Adam Frazier and Garrett Hampson some at-bats
  • Renfroe is batting just .227 on the season and is not hitting for the same power he has in past years. He is not worth rostering in fantasy

Chicago White Sox

• Brooks Baldwin has moved down to ninth in the lineup
  • Baldwin had been batting seventh for a while and even hit second a handful of times but has been relegated to ninth in the White Sox’s lineup
  • Through his first 23 games, Baldwin has two homers and two steals but is batting just .215
  • So far, he is chasing over 35% of the time leading to a high strikeout rate. Despite his strong Triple-A numbers, Baldwin does not seem ready for the Major Leagues
• Gavin Sheets has been swinging a hot bat this past week
  • Sheets has a history of going on very brief tears that excite fantasy managers before regressing back to his career numbers
  • Despite three multi-hit efforts since August 7, Sheets has not shown much improvement to his overall game
  • He should continue to get everyday playing time for the White Sox moving forward and is batting fifth in the lineup

Minnesota Twins

• Brooks Lee is on the IL with a bicep injury
  • With Lee out, the team has been using Austin Martin as the primary second baseman
  • Martin has been getting everyday playing time and batting at the bottom of the lineup
  • Martin has been swinging it a little bit better since the start of August but still has not hit a home run since April 21. He is not worth picking up
• Jose Miranda is playing every day
  • When you look at Roster Resource, Miranda is listed as a backup but he is playing regularly batting in the middle of the lineup
  • Miranda has struggled a bit since returning from the IL on July 27 and has not hit a home run
  • He is a fine player to hold but is not a must-roster player
• Byron Buxton was placed on the IL with a hip injury
  • Buxton has been able to avoid missing too much time this year, but durability finally caught up to him
  • With Buxton on the IL, Kyle Farmer could get some more time at second base with Austin Martin shifting to the outfield
  • Edouard Julien was also recalled from Triple-A but is not worth rostering

Cleveland Guardians

• Will Brennan is back from Triple-A
  • Brennan was optioned to Triple-A after the team acquired Lane Thomas but is back in the Major Leagues
  • The team optioned Angel Martinez to open up a roster and lineup spot for Brennan
  • Brennan is playing on the strong side of the platoon and batting second in the lineup against right-handed pitching
• Jhonkensy Noel is playing over Lane Thomas
  • Thomas’ got off to a slow start to his season but performed well prior to his trade to Cleveland
  • Since joining the Guardians, Thomas has hit just .109 with zero homers and zero stolen bases
  • He is now serving as the fourth outfielder getting into the lineup primarily against left-handed pitchers
  • I am still holding Thomas in deeper formats but he is a fine drop in shallow leagues
  • Noel has been batting seventh in the lineup most games and has huge power if he can hit enough to stay in the lineup