Fantasy Baseball Lineup Analysis: NL 06/14

The fantasy baseball landscape is continually changing. Players are getting injured, stars are struggling, young hitters are making a name for themselves. Keeping up with the changes for all 30 teams can be a grueling task. The goal of this article is to help keep fantasy baseball managers up to date with all of the latest changes and news from each National League lineup.

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: Juan Soto, Max Muncy, Pete Alonso, Matt Chapman, and Hunter Goodman. The five coldest hitters in the National League over the past two weeks have been: Bryson Stott, Teoscar Hernandez, Agustin Ramirez, Connor Norby, and Brenton Doyle. Keep reading for the latest on all 15 National League 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 remains without a firm timetable for a return
  • Harper has been on the IL and out of the lineup since June 7 as he deals with wrist inflammation. This is the same injury that Harper dealt with last year, and the lingering effects create concern for his outlook for the remainder of the season
  • With Harper out, the team called up Otto Kemp from Triple-A. Kemp has been playing every day and batting eighth in the lineup
  • Kemp was batting .313 with 14 home runs in Triple-A prior to his promotion. The power in Kemp’s profile is legit, but his hit tool is more suspect than his .313 Triple-A average suggests
• Alec Bohm is sliding up in the lineup
  • With Harper out, the Phillies needed somebody to fill in the middle of the order, and Bohm is getting that chance
  • Bohm spent most of last season batting fourth and started this year hitting there as well before his April struggles sent him down to the bottom of the lineup
  • Bohm has quietly been superb for fantasy baseball managers after his slow start. Since April 17, Bohm is slashing .330/.371/.478. All six of his home runs have come since May 6, which would be a season-long pace of 27 home runs

Miami Marlins

• The Marlins are splitting time at DH
  • The team is interested in getting their Rule-5 pick from this year into the lineup more often and has been rotating Liam Hicks between DH and catcher
  • Hicks has been playing well when given the chance and is up to four homers with a .272 batting average. He is not going to win you any weeks, but with consistent playing time, he could be worth a look in deep, two-catcher leagues
  • The team is also mixing in Heriberto Hernandez at DH when Hicks is out of the lineup. Hernandez has performed well since being promoted from Triple-A. He is batting over .400, although his plate discipline and Minor League track record suggest this success is unsustainable
• Jesus Sanchez feels a bit underrated in fantasy
  • Sanchez has been batting second in Miami’s lineup against right-handed pitching and is typically on the bench against lefties
  • He started slow after starting the year on the IL, but got hot in May. Since May 5, Sanchez is slashing .286/.351/.437
  • Sanchez is up to five homers and seven stolen bases on the season. He is also posting the best chase and whiff rates of his career. There is power and speed here that make him an intriguing option for fantasy managers

Atlanta Braves

• Michael Harris II seems to be moving up in the lineup
  • Even before the return of Ronald Acuna Jr, Harris was spending most of his time batting eighth or ninth in Atlanta’s lineup. This past week, Harris has been batting fifth or sixth more frequently
  • The 2025 season got off to a slow start for Harris, but with the Braves looking for a spark, Harris seems to be providing it
  • Harris’ numbers have been improving as of late, and he has blasted two homers in the past week. His plate discipline continues to be a major red flag, although the move up in the lineup should provide him with more RBI opportunities
• Catcher is a true timeshare
  • Drake Baldwin was getting the majority of playing time against righties for a couple of weeks, but Atlanta has moved back into an every-other-day split
  • When in the lineup, Baldwin has been batting second, with Sean Murphy typically batting seventh
  • While Baldwin has more fantasy appeal, their current timeshare limits the potential fantasy value of both players
• Austin Riley seems to be on the verge of a major power breakout
  • The 2025 season has not been bad by any means for Riley, who is up to 11 home runs while batting .280
  • The thing is, fantasy managers should expect Riley’s numbers to improve even more in the power department. Riley’s current HR/FB% would represent the lowest number of his career at 13.8%. This despite the second-highest barrel rate of his career and the highest pull air percentage of his career
  • Riley is a buy in fantasy and should start seeing his luck in the home run department improve as the season moves along

Washington Nationals

• Alex Call is playing every day in right field
  • Jacob Young was activated off the IL, which resulted in the demotion of Daylen Lile back to Triple-A. Young, however, did not step back into an everyday role and is instead playing on the short side of a platoon with Robert Hassell III
  • Call has been getting a chance to start regularly and has been batting sixth in the lineup
  • Call is batting .264 with two home runs on the season. Both of his home runs have come in the past week, but fantasy managers should not expect Call to maintain an everyday lineup spot throughout the remainder of the season
• Keibert Ruiz is losing playing time
  • Ruiz seemed to have a firm grasp on the starting catcher role to start the year, but his struggles offensively have opened the door for Riley Adams to start seeing additional playing time
  • After hitting a home run on the first two days of the season, Ruiz has not hit another one all season. Since April 15, he is slashing .205/.229/.255
  • Adams appears to be mostly playing against right-handed pitchers. He is batting just .100 on the season with a negative wRC+. Neither option is relevant for fantasy managers
• Robert Hassell III is platooning
  • As mentioned earlier, since the return of Jacob Young, he and Hassell have been sharing center field
  • Hassell is still drawing the majority of the starts while batting in the bottom third of the lineup
  • For fantasy managers, any decrease in Hassell’s playing time removes any fantasy relevancy from his profile. He is batting just .227 with zero stolen bases and an approach that is unlikely to lead to much Major League success

New York Mets

• Jeff McNeil is red hot
  • When McNeil returned to the lineup earlier this season, it did not seem like the Mets were eager to give him everyday playing time. Well, he has quickly forced their hand
  • McNeil has been rotating between second base and center field and batting fifth in the lineup. He is up to seven homers on the season, with five coming since May 27. He is batting .340 over that time frame
  • Although McNeil’s batted ball data looks underwhelming, he is pulling the ball in the air at an extremely high rate, leading to this power outbreak. Even if he does not maintain this pace all season, his hit tool is good enough to make him an attractive fantasy option
• Ronny Mauricio is playing every day
  • Since being promoted to the Major Leagues, Mauricio has been playing shortstop, third base, and DH while batting ninth in the lineup
  • Mauricio is batting .207 with one homer and two steals since the promotion. He has the power and speed, but with both his whiff and chase rates over 30%, it is difficult to envision sustainable success
  • With Mauricio occupying every day’s playing time, Luisangel Acuna has not been getting any starts
• Tyrone Taylor is moving up in the lineup
  • Taylor has been batting all over the back half of the lineup in the past week, even hitting as high as sixth
  • He continues to get the majority of playing time in center field in favor of Starling Marte
  • The only contribution he really provides to fantasy managers is spee,d as he has stolen four bases since May 31. Outside of that, there is not much value in his profile

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

• Michael Busch is playing more consistently against lefties
  • Busch has only generated 36 plate appearances against lefties this season. He has been in the lineup twice against lefties this past week, but is still batting just .129 against them this year
  • Despite his struggles against lefties, Busch has been excellent against righties this year. He has 11 home runs, a .288 average, and a 166 wRC+
  • If Busch were to start sitting against lefties again, Justin Turner still appears most likely to platoon with him

St. Louis Cardinals

• Michael Siani has been promoted from Triple-A
  • While Siani himself is not particularly interesting for fantasy managers, his return to the team could have implications for players who are
  • Victor Scott has been playing center field every day for most of the season, but notably lost his playing time to Siani last year. Scott has 18 stolen bases but is batting just .164 since May 20
  • Fantasy managers should pay close attention to Siani’s playing time over the next week. If Scott loses playing time, he is an easy drop
• Lars Nootbaar has cooled off since his hot start
  • At the start of the season, it seemed as though the Nootbaar breakout was finally happening
  • Although he continues to bat leadoff, he has cooled off significantly. Nootbaar’s slash since May 20 is only .160/.259/.227
  • While Nootbaar continues to hit the ball hard, his plate discipline, which has always been a strong point in his profile, has fallen off dramatically. In shallow leagues, he is a fine player to move on from, although I am not totally out yet
• Willson Contreras is red hot
  • Contreras started the season slowly, but is making up for it in recent weeks. He has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games
  • In fact, Contreras’s success has been going on for a while. Dating all the way back to April 12, Contreras is slashing .296/.377/.485
  • The best use for him in fantasy is at catcher, where he still holds eligibility. Since April 12, Contreras ranks: fourth in home runs, third in runs, second in RBIs, fourth in batting average, and fourth in wRC+

Milwaukee Brewers

• Jake Bauers is now starting to get some time in left field
  • The team has a left field issue. Bauers is splitting time with both Daz Cameron and Isaac Collins, with all three playing a couple of games per week
  • Interestingly, the team traded for Andrew Vaughn this week and could use him in left field or move Yelich back into the field and play Vaughn at DH
  • Vaughn has not played the outfield since 2022 and has struggled offensively with the White Sox. Regardless, he offers more fantasy upside than any of the team’s current left field options
• Brice Turang has been batting lower in the lineup with more frequency as of late
  • Turang has been the team’s primary leadoff hitter for most of the season, especially against righties. However, he has seen more time batting lower in recent weeks, with Sal Frelick moving up in the lineup
  • While Turang has not been “hot” offensively, he has been playing strong enough to make this move a surprise. Since May 27, he is walking as often as he strikes out with an average exit velocity over 90 mph
  • Turang notably only has two stolen bases during that time period and will need to run more to be a reliable option for fantasy managers if this move down in the lineup sticks
• Christian Yelich has been dealing with a wrist injury
  • Yelich seems to deal with an injury each season. The good news for fantasy managers is that it is not his back this time
  • Yelich was forced to miss two games earlier this wee,k dealing with the wrist injury, but returned to the lineup on Thursday. The team has primarily utilized Yelich at DH this season, which will hopefully continue even after the Vaughn acquisition
  • Yelich has been red hot offensively as of late, slashing .385/.452/.677 with six homers since May 22. He remains a top-tier fantasy option when healthy

Cincinnati Reds

• Christian Encarnacion-Strand is back in the middle of the Reds’ lineup
  • CES was activated off the IL on June 6 and has been playing every day and batting fourth since returning
  • The surprising part has been his splitting time between first base and third base, which could add positional eligibility for fantasy managers
  • He homered in three straight games upon being activated, inflating his fantasy value and desperation to add him. However, his approach at the plate continues to be terrible. The raw power is legit, and he is going to hit home runs, but fantasy managers should not expect much else
• Will Benson has been batting higher up in the lineup
  • Benson is still only playing against right-handed pitchers, but he is batting fifth or sixth more consistently when in the lineup
  • On the season, Benson is up to six homers with a slugging percentage of .500. However, since May 21, Benson is slashing .173/.250/.250
  • While the power potential and batted ball data are all there, Benson’s hit tool continues to limit his fantasy value
• Matt McLain continues to frustrate fantasy managers
  • McLain has seven home runs and 11 stolen bases on the year. The power and speed are there, and in deeper leagues, McLain still holds plenty of value
  • The issue is that his numbers have slowed way down as of late, with just one home run and one stolen base since May 16. Over that time frame, he is batting .187
  • McLain’s batted ball data has dropped off over the past month, and his hit tool continues to be suspect. Despite the potential, he is a fine drop in shallow formats

Pittsburgh Pirates

• Adam Frazier has been playing left field
  • With Nick Gonzales back in the lineup and playing every day, Adam Frazier has shifted into the primary left field role
  • Alexander Canario was playing left field, but is no longer worth rostering after moving into a bench role
  • Frazier is batting .259 with three homers and four steals on the season. He does not offer much in terms of fantasy value
• Nick Gonzales is batting in the middle of the lineup and playing every day
  • Gonzales missed over two months of action after injuring his ankle on Opening Day. He returned to the lineup on June 3
  • Since returning to the lineup, Gonzales has been playing every day and batting fifth in most games
  • Gonzales has power upside offensively, but a poor approach at the plate combined with suspect contact skills make sustained success unlikely
• Spencer Horwitz has not found his groove at the plate yet
  • He has only been back with the team for 23 games, but Horwitz’s offensive production has been disappointing
  • Horwitz continues to play first base on the strong side of a platoon and bat fourth in the lineup despite his .210/.281/.321 slash line
  • Part of Horwitz’s struggles have been due to poor luck, but there is nothing in his profile that should lead fantasy managers to believe a breakout is imminent

National League West

Los Angeles Dodgers

• Hyeseong Kim is getting some time in the outfield
  • Kim’s playing time since being called up has been sporadic, while the Dodgers have been fully healthy
  • He got three straight starts in center field this past week, batting ninth in the lineup. If the team continues to prioritize getting Kim at-bats, this could push Michael Conforto into a bench role
  • Kim has blazing speed, which has led to six steals in just 69 plate appearances. He is also batting .391 with two home runs, although the power is much less believable to buy into
• Max Muncy continues to look like a different hitter
  • Who would have guessed that glasses would make all the difference in Muncy’s offensive performance
  • Muncy has brought his season slash line up to .238/.364/.417, but his recent performances have been even better. Since May 27, he has been slashing .356/.482/.756. Since May 8, he has been slashing .312/.432/.591
  • Muncy is turning back into an elite four-category contributor. He continues to bat fifth or sixth in a loaded Dodgers’ lineup

San Diego Padres

• Martin Maldonado is starting to see the advantage in playing time at catcher
  • Maldonado has been splitting time with Elias Diaz throughout the season, but Maldonado seems to have the upper edge right now
  • He has started four of the past six games batting ninth in the lineup. Even with more playing time, Maldonado does not offer much in terms of fantasy upside and is not worth rostering
  • The one thing that is clear is that the team is prioritizing defense at catcher. Luis Campusano is not getting any playing time at catcher or anywhere else on the field
• Jackson Merrill’s numbers have started to dip
  • Merrill misses a large chunk of time earlier this season on the IL but still owns an impressive .303/.343/.479 slash line this season
  • He has gone cold at the plate recently, slashing just .242/.292/.394 with one homer and zero stolen bases since May 25. The issue has been an increasing chase rate (even higher than before,) which is leading to more weak contact
  • Merrill continues to bat fourth in San Diego’s lineu,p but he will need to start showing some development in his plate discipline if he ever wants to reach his extremely high ceiling
• Jake Cronenworth has been disappointing this season
  • Cronenworth continues to play second base every day and bat seventh, but his offensive production has been poor
  • Since coming off the IL on May 9, Cronenworth is slashing just .230/.352/.350. It has been even worse as of late, as he is batting .190 with zero extra base hits since May 30
  • The only points of value in Cronenworth’s game for fantasy baseball managers are his consistent playing time and walks. Besides that, Cronenworth is a fine player to drop in all formats

Arizona Diamondbacks

• Geraldo Perdomo is batting third in the lineup
  • Perdomo shifted down to the bottom of the order once Ketel Marte returned, but that did not last long
  • While Perdomo’s season-long slash line is strong, his recent production makes the move up in the lineup a bit puzzling. Since May 20, Perdomo is batting just .182/.261/.260. While it is fair to say he has been a bit unlucky in recent weeks but his early-season success was never sustainable
  • Even with the move up in the lineup, Perdomo should not be viewed as more than a fringe starter for fantasy managers
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno have shifted down in the lineup
  • With Perdomo moving all the way up, the counter move down has been two-fold. Gurriel has moved down from third to sixth in the lineup and Moreno has moved down from sixth to ninth
  • Adding to the move being puzzling is the fact that Gurriel has been red hot offensively. Since May 23, Gurriel is slashing .338/.389/.462. He has two homers since the start of June and should move back up in the lineup soon
  • Moreno has been equally as hot at the dish and continues to elevate and barrel the ball up more than ever in his career. Moreno is a strong buy option if you need catching help in fantasy
• Alek Thomas is taking advantage of every day playing time
  • Thomas has been in the Diamondbacks’ lineup every day for the past wee,k batting ninthin  most games
  • He has hit safely in six of seven games and is slashing .355/.375/.581 since the start of June
  • Thomas has always flashed substantial power and speed potential, but has been unable to do it consistently. Could this finally be the breakout? Fantasy managers would be wise to buy in just in case

San Francisco Giants

• Dom Smith has taken over at first base
  • The team made the surprising move to DFA LaMonte Wade Jr., who was eventually traded to the Angels
  • With Wade gone, Dom Smith has taken over as the primary first baseman and has been batting sixth in the lineup
  • Smith is off to a strong start to his Giants’ tenure, but has not been fantasy-relevant since the 2020 season. He is likely just a stopgap until the team decides to promote Bryce Eldridge
• Matt Chapman is on the IL
  • Chapman landed on the IL with a hand injury and will now miss some time
  • With Chapman out, Casey Schmitt has taken over at third base and has been batting seventh in the lineup. Schmitt has struggled through 462 Major League plate appearances this season and does not have much upside
  • Chapman’s absence also pushes Willy Adames back up to second in the lineup
• Patrick Bailey also landed on the IL with a neck injury
  • With Bailey out, Andrew Knizner has stepped in as the primary catcher
  • Knizner is hitless through 12 Major League plate appearances thus far this season and has no real upside for fantasy players
  • The team also promoted Logan Porter from Triple-A. Porter was batting .237 in Triple-A and does not hold any fantasy appeal

Colorado Rockies

• Ryan Ritter is up from Triple-A
  • Ezequiel Tovar lasted just 32 games before going back on the IL, this time with an oblique injury
  • With Tovar out, the team promoted Ryan Ritter from Triple-A, who was dominating in the Minor Leagues
  • Ritter has been batting eighth and playing every day since joining the team. There is some game power in his bat, but his hit tool is suspect, as evidenced by his early strikeout issues
• Keston Hiura is splitting time with Orlando Arcia
  • With Michael Toglia no longer on the team, Keston Hiura is getting time at first base, with Orlando Arcia also mixing in throughout the week
  • Arcia does not hold any fantasy value, and Hiura is showing the same strikeout issues that we have seen throughout his professional career
  • Neither of these two players is worth rostering in fantasy
• Thairo Estrada is batting in the middle of the lineup
  • The Rockies’ lineup is obviously not a strong one, but Estrada has been batting fourth in the lineup since coming off the IL
  • In 48 plate appearances since returning, Estrada is slashing .261/.271/.370
  • After hitting for some power a few seasons ago, Estrada’s batted ball data is underwhelming. The more concerning part this season is that Estrada has yet to steal a base