Fantasy Baseball Lineup Lowdown: American League Trends

The goal with Lineup Lowdown is simple: we're looking for trends which could help identify players that might be undervalued or overvalued. Who is playing more/less? Who is moving up/down? This week, we will be focusing on players from the American League.

Trending Up

Jac Caglianone, 1B/OF, Kansas City Royals

The weather is heating up, and so is Mr. Caglianone.

Through the end of May, Caglianone was sporting a .236/.303/.382 batting line with five home runs over 54 games. The left-handed batter started only five games against 15 lefty starters during that stretch, and he hit .200/.217/.311 with one homer and a 0:16 BB:K versus southpaws. He batted higher than sixth just eight times and sank to as low as eighth in the lineup. Flash-forward to June, and Caglianone is slashing .373/.453/.773 with nine long balls in his first 20 contests this month. He's started all but one game in June — including six of seven against lefties — and has put up a .394/.444/.788 batting line with four home runs versus southpaws during that span. Last year, Caglianone kept his strikeout rate to a reasonable 22.4 percent, but he chased out of the zone at a 38.5 percent clip. That led to some underwhelming quality of contact (42.4 percent hard-hit rate, 12 percent barrel rate, 89.4 mph average exit velocity), at least compared to what the expectations were for the physically-gifted former top prospect. In 2026, Caglianone has traded contact (29.2 percent strikeout rate) for more damage (58.5 percent hard-hit rate, 17 barrel rate, 93.9 mph average exit velocity), and that swap has proved wise. He's hit third in nine straight games for the Royals, and that includes four tilts versus lefties.

Zack Gelof, 2B/3B/OF, Sacramento Athletics

I'll be honest when I admit I did not hold much optimism for Gelof becoming fantasy-relevant again. The swing-and-miss (33.3 percent strikeout rate for his career, 45.5 percent strikeout rate in 2025) had become untenable and there wasn't enough damage when he did make contact.

Gelof, though, has proven me and other doubters wrong. He had the longest active hitting streak in the majors at 24 games before exiting Tuesday's game with a hand injury (he's expected to be fine), and he's slashing .347/.398/.579 with five home runs, two stolen bases and a 6:25 BB:K over that stretch. Gelof has started all but one game since May 3, and the one he missed was due to being beaned the day before. In his last four starts, Gelof has been perched atop the Athletics' lineup, which is the first time he has hit higher than fifth this season.

Brayan Rocchio, 2B/SS, Cleveland Guardians

Rocchio finally appears to be breaking through from an offensive standpoint, but is it sustainable?

The switch-hitting infielder came into the 2026 season with a lowly .222/.293/.327 batting line for his career, and he managed only 12 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 911 plate appearances. This year, though, Rocchio is slashing .271/.346/.392, he has already tied last season's home run total with five, and he's already set a new career high with 12 steals. The biggest key has been cutting down on strikeouts, going from a career 21.3 percent strikeout rate down to 13.1 percent in 2026. As a result of his offensive breakout, Rocchio was moved from the nine spot all the way up to the No. 3 spot in the Guardians' lineup after Jose Ramirez (hand) was hurt, occupying the spot for each of the past seven games. I'm not sure this will last, though. Rocchio's quality of contact has never been great, and it's down across the board year-over-year. He's outperformed his expected stats with a .329 wOBA and .313 xwOBA. The 25-year-old's superb glove will help keep him in the lineup and give him a floor, but I suspect Rocchio will be back toward the bottom of the lineup when Ramirez returns, if not before.

Royce Lewis, 1B/3B, Minnesota Twins

Lewis had posted a .163/.261/.279 slash line and 31.1 percent strikeout rate through 119 plate appearances when he was sent down to Triple-A St. Paul last month. He was down in the minors for less than three weeks, earning another opportunity with the Twins after slashing .340/.417/.868 with eight home runs in 13 contests for the Saints.

Lewis kept the momentum going initially upon his recall, hitting .379/.424/.759 with three homers, one steal and a 3:4 BB:K in his first eight contests. He's slowed since then, going 6-for-33 across his last eight tilts, but Lewis has remained a regular presence in the middle of the Minnesota lineup, batting either fourth or fifth in each of the past 11 contests. Lewis is really good at pulling the ball in the air with a 29.1 percent pull-air rate that ranks 21st among 328 qualifiers, and he boasts a career-high 13.7 percent barrel rate in 2026. He'll have to keep the strikeouts in check, though. His 27.1 percent strikeout rate and 33.9 percent whiff rate are both easily career highs.

Quick Hits: Anthony Seigler has netted four straight starts at second base for the Red Sox, batting leadoff in two of them … In the last 13 games versus right-handed pitching, Andrew Benintendi has hit third 12 times and second once for the White Sox … James Outman has started five of six tilts in center field versus righties since joining the Tigers … The Angels have trotted out Jose Siri in center field for seven games in a row … Donovan Walton has started seven straight games versus righties for the Halos … Denzer Guzman has manned the hot corner for the Angels in 13 of the past 15 contests … Drawing 10 straight starts for the Royals has been Lane Thomas, who has hit leadoff against four southpaws during that span … The Twins have employed Trevor Larnach as their leadoff man each of the last nine times they've gone up against a righty … Jasson Dominguez has been a regular lineup presence for the Yankees since coming off the IL, starting eight of the last nine tilts and hitting second versus all four right-handers amidst that stretch … Cedric Mullins has hit third for the Rays in five of their last six games against righties.

Trending Down

Coby Mayo, 1B/3B, Baltimore Orioles

Mayo clubbed his 10th home run of the season in Monday's win over the Angels. That it came off a left-hander in Sam Aldegheri should come as no surprise.

The right-handed-hitting Mayo has some of the most drastic splits in baseball this season, having slashed .304/.361/.750 with seven home runs over 61 plate appearances versus lefties and just .141/.212/.225 with three long balls in 156 plate appearances against right-handers. He was absent from the lineup for five straight games against right-handers earlier this month before starting each of the past five contests (four versus righties). Adley Rutschman's concussion has meant Samuel Basallo handling catching duties, freeing up some designated at-bats for Mayo. At third base, though, Blaze Alexander has been steadily eating into Mayo's reps, having started there in seven of the past 10 tilts.

Max Muncy, 2B/3B, Sacramento Athletics

In the Trending Up section, we highlighted the emergence of Zack Gelof. Someone has to lose at-bats as a result of Gelof's hot bat, and that someone has been Muncy.

Muncy started all but one of the Athletics' first 27 games this season before missing six-plus weeks with a fractured hand. He started six of the first seven games for the A's upon being activated, but four of those starts came versus left-handed pitching. In eight contests against right-handers since he returned, Muncy has been in the lineup only twice. He had a five-game stretch with zero starts, and his last three times in the lineup he's hit eighth once and ninth twice. Muncy has also been unable to recapture the hard contact he was producing early in the season. Before going on the IL, Muncy sported a 56 percent hard-hit rate and 92.5 mph average exit velocity. Since coming back, he has a 40 percent hard-hit rate and 90 mph average exit velocity.

Oswald Peraza, 2B/3B, Los Angeles Angels

I remain confused about how the Angels have handled Peraza this season. Given the organization's reputation, however, I have only myself to blame for being surprised.

Peraza has shown real signs of offensive progress this season, putting up a solid .261/.307/.420 batting line with seven home runs and nine stolen bases. The seven long balls are already a career high, and the nine steals tie a career best. However, Peraza's playing time has had both peaks and valleys. Right now he's in a valley, having been out of the lineup for three of the last four games and having started only two of the last seven contests versus right-handers. It's true that Peraza has been much better versus lefties (.858 OPS, five homers) than righties (.650 OPS, two homers), and he has batted either fourth or fifth each of the last five times the Angels have faced a southpaw. That said, Peraza just turned 26, so shouldn't the Halos be finding out if he can improve versus righties during yet another lost season for the franchise? The answer, apparently, is "no," because the Angels would rather ride with Donovan Walton and Nick Madrigal (the latter was designated for assignment earlier this week, but not before eating into Peraza's at-bats).

Jake Meyers, OF, Houston Astros

Meyers had arguably his best offensive season to date in 2025, but to this point he has been unable to carry that momentum into 2026.

When Meyers went down with a Grade 2 oblique strain in early April, he was hitting a perfectly adequate .243/.326/.378. Since spending six weeks on the shelf, Meyers has slashed just .188/.233/.294 with a 5:20 BB:K in 32 games. Meyers batted fifth for the Astros in four of his first five starts since coming off the IL, but in his last four times in the lineup he's hit eighth on three occasions and ninth once. Across the past eight contests, Meyers has been out of the lineup four times. The quality of contact for Meyers has been very weak, too, with a 27.4 percent hard-hit rate and 85.8 mph average exit velocity. Even the defensive metrics have Meyers' work in center field going from elite to merely good.

Quick Hits: In a move seemingly telegraphed after he couldn't clearly distance himself from Drew Romo, Edgar Quero was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte when Kyle Teel returned from the IL earlier this week … Brice Matthews has been in the Astros' lineup just twice across the past six games … After a month-long stretch as the Twins' primary two-hole hitter, Brooks Lee has batted between the fifth and seventh slots in each of his past 11 starts … Tristan Gray hasn't started any of Minnesota's last four contests, having been overtaken by Ryan Kreidler at shortstop … Yohendrick Pinango hit cleanup in his last two starts for the Blue Jays but was nonetheless sent down to Triple-A Buffalo earlier in the week … It's been a season to forget for Josh Smith, who struggled, got hurt and then last week was jettisoned to the minors.