The Lineup Card

Welcome back to The Lineup Card, a new weekly article here at Prospects Live this season 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.

The Lineup Card - Prospects LiveProspects LiveDavid Gofman

There's been plenty of movement to track this week, with top young players starting to lose playing time, opening day starters being sent down to the minors, and how many saves did the Rockies bullpen get this week?? It's all here and more this week in The Lineup Card.

Remember to check out out MLB Playing Time Tool put together by Mike Kurland, complete with starting lineups vs RHP and LHP.

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AL East

Photo Credit: Joe Sargent

Orioles

The Orioles lineup is starting to come into focus: Taylor Ward is locked in as the leadoff hitter, and Rutschman and Basallo have been alternating behind the plate, with Basallo as the only one of the pair getting games at DH. Basallo’s slow start may be starting to cost him playing time in the early season, as Ryan Mountcastle has picked up two starts in the Orioles' last three games. Dylan Beavers continues to earn playing time, helped by the fact that the Orioles haven’t seen a lefty in over 12 games. Blaze Alexander has more than held his own covering the keystone for Jackson Holliday. Coby Mayo is off to a slow start, and it’s possible Alexander could push him for at-bats once Holliday returns.

Red Sox

The Red Sox have stayed consistent with their lineups this week, and it seems they’ve settled on rotating Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, and Masataka Yoshida across LF and DH, with Anthony getting the very occasional day off. Caleb Durbin is off to a slow start, but his approach remains very strong, and it's not time to hit the panic button yet.

Yankees

The Yankees faced a lefty last night for the first time in several weeks, but against righties, their lineup seems locked in place 1-9, with Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, and Randal Grichuk being deployed against lefties. Luis Gil is expected to make his season debut for the big league club tomorrow as the Yankees officially move to a 5 man rotation.

Rays

The Rays have deployed a very unique and Rays-like lineup, featuring Jake Fraley in the three spot and Chandler Simpson moving up to the five spot as he’s hit .391 with a 157 wRC+ to start his season. Taylor Walls is back in the lineup, sending Carson Williams back to Triple-A, and off-season acquisition Ben Williamson has hit enough thus far to retain his spot at second. Joe Boyle was the beneficiary of Ryan Pepiot’s injury, and he’s looked great in his first two starts. Bryan Baker continues to be the favorite for saves in the pen, but Edwin Uceta is now throwing bullpens and may not be too far away from a return to the big leagues.

Blue Jays

Andres Gimenez seems fully healthy to begin the season and has added further length to an already dangerous Blue Jays lineup. Jesus Sanchez notably sat out against back-to-back righties on Saturday and Sunday, but he has looked good in the strong side platoon role and continues to hit in the top half of the lineup when he is in there. As predicted last week, Patrick Corbin has joined the Blue Jays' rotation. The injury woes for the Blue Jays rotation haven’t abated as Max Scherzer was pulled from his last start after just two innings with forearm tendinitis. While reports say Scherzer is on track to make his next scheduled start this weekend, it’s notable that Manager John Schneider said on Tuesday that Scherzer "doesn't feel any worse", which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but he is currently penciled in as the starter on Sunday.

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