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The Lineup Card

Prospects Live April 3, 2026

Welcome to The Lineup Card, a new weekly article here at Prospects Live that will cover developments and changes related to playing time, lineup position, bullpen usage, and more. Time and again, it’s been shown that the most successful fantasy teams are the ones that accumulate the most playing time, and this article is here to help you clue in to playing time and usage trends that will allow you to make the smart pickups before your league mates see them coming.

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Who says the first week of the season isn’t full of surprises? There’s been plenty of lineup movement to begin the season as position battles and platoons get straightened out, closers may have already lost their jobs, and Konnor Griffin is officially entering the big leagues. Where is Kevin McGonigle hitting in the lineup? And Noelvi Marte is on the short side of a platoon? Get caught up on the news that doesn’t make the news this week, and get the information you need to submit your waiver claims this weekend.

AL East

Photo Credit: Jonathan Dyer

Orioles

We knew the Orioles had the “good” problem of having a lot of mouths to feed in the lineup, and while at first glance it may look like the timeshares are playing out slightly differently than expected, it may be too early to tell. They have not yet faced a lefty starting pitcher, and are not currently projected to do so through the first three weeks of the season. We’ll have to wait to see if more predictable platoons emerge as they face more southpaws, the one big loser in Baltimore is Ryan Mountcastle, who started just one of the team’s first six games.

Red Sox

Boston’s lineup has been consistent to start the season, and Alex Cora has recently signaled additional playing time scheduled for Masataka Yoshida. This could eat into Jarren Duran’s at-bats as he has started three of the team’s first four games at DH before ceding the role to Yoshida on Tuesday night. Duran was back in the lineup on Wednesday as Roman Anthony got his first breather of the season. On the pitching side, Connelly Early’s strong first start of the season further cements him in the rotation going forward, potentially keeping Johan Oviedo, who threw 72 pitches in his first relief outing of the year, in a multi-inning reliever role for the time being.

Blue Jays

Jesus Sanchez surprisingly missed the first game of the season against a Righty as incumbent lefty specialist Nathan Lukes drew the start, but Sanchez has started and batted 2nd in the lineup over the next three games versus right-handed pitching. The strong-side platoon specialist has made the most of it and should continue to be highly valued in daily lineup leagues. Also notable, after a white-hot start to the season, Kazuma Okamoto may be moving up in the lineup already, as he’s drawn two starts in the cleanup spot and one start in the 5th spot in the lineup over his first five games. The Blue Jays will primarily have to continue to contend with a slew of pitching injuries, with Cody Ponce now being added to the list after going down with a sprained knee on Monday night. It’s unclear who could step in as the 5th starter for the Blue Jays as they now have a full five man rotation in Bieber, Berrios, Ponce, Yesavage, and Bowden Francis on the IL, but there’s a chance for a veteran signing such as Lucas Giolito or Patrick Corbin, to join the mix, or for Toronto to find another solution.

Yankees

The Yankees' lineup has been consistent to start the season, and they showed early that Trent Grisham, Ryan McMahon, and Ben Rice could all be out of the lineup when lefties are on the hill, assuming the other bats stay healthy. On the mound, Luis Gil was the odd man out as the Yankees went with a four-man rotation to start the season, but he should rejoin the big league club next week. No surprises in the bullpen with Bednar locked in as the closer, with Doval setting him up in the 8th inning.

Rays

Some excitement in the Rays bullpen to start the season as two spotty outings, and blown saves, by Griffin Jax yielded the next save opportunity to Kevin Kelly, who pitched to a 5.90 ERA and a 20.5% K rate over 39.2 big league innings in 2025. Bryan Baker had pitched on back-to-back days and may be the next man up in the 9th for Tampa Bay when he’s rested. At the same time, expect Jax to continue to get opportunities, as both his blown saves came in a fireman role. Offensively, the Rays are leaning into platoons as they tend to do, and former top prospect Carson Williams is getting some run at shortstop with Taylor Walls on the IL, which could give him a chance to take the job and run with it.

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