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 National League.
Trending Up
Noelvi Marte, OF/3B, 
Cincinnati Reds
Marte played less than expected early on this season, struggled with the playing time he did receive and was optioned to Triple-A Louisville by mid-April. The 24-year-old didn't sulk, turning in a .984 OPS with eight homers and nine steals with Louisville to earn another opportunity with the Reds.
Though he started only three of the first six games upon his recall, Marte has since been penciled into the lineup for five of the past six tilts (four against right-handers, one against a left-hander). He batted sixth for Cincinnati in his last two starts — which is the highest he's hit this season — and had a stretch with homers in three straight. After striking out at a 32.3 percent clip during his early-season stint in the majors, Marte has cut that mark down to 18.8 percent since being summoned back to the big club. Marte's leash will not be long, but he's worth picking back up in fantasy leagues in case that dynamic power/speed combination clicks.
Bryce Eldridge, DH, 
San Francisco Giants
Upon his promotion from Triple-A Sacramento to the Giants in early May, Eldridge was in the lineup for only eight of the team's first 15 contests.
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 National League.
Trending Up
Noelvi Marte, OF/3B, Cincinnati Reds
Marte played less than expected early on this season, struggled with the playing time he did receive and was optioned to Triple-A Louisville by mid-April. The 24-year-old didn't sulk, turning in a .984 OPS with eight homers and nine steals with Louisville to earn another opportunity with the Reds.
Though he started only three of the first six games upon his recall, Marte has since been penciled into the lineup for five of the past six tilts (four against right-handers, one against a left-hander). He batted sixth for Cincinnati in his last two starts — which is the highest he's hit this season — and had a stretch with homers in three straight. After striking out at a 32.3 percent clip during his early-season stint in the majors, Marte has cut that mark down to 18.8 percent since being summoned back to the big club. Marte's leash will not be long, but he's worth picking back up in fantasy leagues in case that dynamic power/speed combination clicks.
Bryce Eldridge, DH, San Francisco Giants
Upon his promotion from Triple-A Sacramento to the Giants in early May, Eldridge was in the lineup for only eight of the team's first 15 contests. He managed to slash just .170/.264/.277 through his first 53 plate appearances.
Since then, however, the top prospect has been one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball, sporting a .439/.515/.772 batting line with four home runs, seven doubles, 12 RBI and a 10:11 BB:K. As a result of the hot stretch, Eldridge is being trusted with a more desirable spot in the lineup, having batted second twice and third once over the last three contests. Prior to that, he had made seven straight starts in the No. 6 spot in the batting order. Unsurprisingly, the 6-foot-7, 251-pound Eldridge is hitting the ball with authority, putting up a 57.5 percent hard-hit rate, 92 mph average exit velocity and 12.5 percent barrel rate. The key for him will be keeping that strikeout rate at a reasonable level.
Jake Mangum, OF, 
Pittsburgh Pirates
It didn't happen the way the Pirates wanted it to, but Mangum has become an everyday player of late, taking over as the team's center fielder following the injury to Oneil Cruz (hand).
Mangum began the 2026 campaign in what was expected to be an active fourth outfielder role with the Pirates. However, while he did often enter games off the bench, Mangum made only 16 starts in the team's first 36 games before he went on the injured list in early May with a strained hamstring. He was in the lineup for 10 off the first 19 contests upon his reinstatement from the IL, but then Cruz went down and since that injury Mangum has started in center field each of the last nine games (seven versus righties, two versus lefties). The 30-year-old has taken advantage of the added chances, going 11-for-34 with three stolen bases over that span. He has no power and rarely leaves the bottom third of the Pirates' batting order, but with a .299 average and 13 stolen bases this season, Mangum is a useful two-category contributor.
Jared Young, 1B, 
New York Mets
There have been a lot of things that haven't worked out as the Mets envisioned this season. Young settling in as the team's cleanup hitter might not be at the top of that list, but it's on the list somewhere.
Young won a reserve role on the Opening Day roster with the Mets but then had meniscus surgery on his left knee in mid-April, which knocked him out of commission for six weeks. He batted fifth for the Mets in his first game back from the IL, and since then he's made 16 consecutive starts in the cleanup spot versus right-handed pitching (he also batted fourth once against a lefty opener). Young is in a mini-slump with just one hit in his last five contests, but prior to that he slashed .288/.360/.530 with four long balls in his first 25 tilts this season. He's also impressed from a batted-ball perspective with a 46.9 percent hard-hit rate and 12.5 percent barrel rate. The Mets won't give Young a long leash, but Mark Vientos isn't much of a threat right now and Jorge Polanco (Achilles/ankle) is expected to focus on designated hitter when he returns.
Quick Hits: Willi Castro has found himself batting either first or second for the Rockies in each of the last nine games, and he's started all but one of the past 20 tilts … The Dodgers have rolled out Ryan Ward in left field for nine of their past 10 contests … The Marlins have been using Kyle Stowers more and more at first base, leaving a starting spot in the outfield to Heriberto Hernandez for eight of the last 10 games. He hit cleanup against two lefties and fifth against six righties during that span … The left-handed-swinging Tyler Callihan has been in the lineup for the Pirates each of the last eight times they've faced a righty … Samad Taylor has drawn starts in the outfield for the Padres in eight of the past nine contests … Will Wagner has been slotted into San Diego's lineup each of the last six times it has gone up against a righty … The Giants' center-field job has belonged to Drew Gilbert each of the last eight times they've faced a right-hander … The Cardinals called up Blaze Jordan last week and have handed him five consecutive starts … Nathan Church has made eight starts in a row in center field since coming off the IL … St. Louis has started Jimmy Crooks nine times in 12 contests versus righty starters/bulk relievers since his promotion.
Trending Down
Nico Hoerner, 2B, 
Chicago Cubs
At the end of April — one month after inking a six-year, $141 million contract extension — Hoerner was slashing .291/.370/.449 with four home runs and seven stolen bases. He's fallen on hard times since then, sporting a .188/.267/.231 batting line with zero home runs and five steals across 41 contests. The extended slump is finally costing him a prime spot in the batting order.
From April 5 to June 3, Hoerner batted either first or second for the Cubs in all but one of his starts (and he hit fourth in the other game). Over his last nine starts, he has batted seventh four times and sixth five times. He also received a rare day off during that stretch. Hoerner appeared poised to easily set a new career high in home runs (his current high is 10, set in his first full season in 2022) after his excellent April, but that optimism was short-lived. He remains, however, an elite contact hitter with a 7.1 percent strikeout rate and 9.5 percent walk rate, so a rebound in the batting average department seems inevitable.
Sal Frelick, OF, 
Milwaukee Brewers
One of the reasons I liked filling my final outfield slot in drafts this spring with Frelick was because I figured his elite defense would keep him in the lineup every day, giving him a safe floor as an accumulator. Unfortunately, he is no longer being deployed as an everyday player, and even his defense has regressed.
The Brewers have gone up against three left-handers and one lefty opener among their last nine games, and the left-handed-hitting Frelick has been absent from the lineup for all four of those contests. He also was absent from the lineup versus a righty Tuesday. In the 30 games before that, Frelick was out of the lineup only three times, and he made five starts versus traditional lefty starters during that span. Part of the conundrum is the Brewers finding a way to have both Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn in the lineup at the same time, which has meant more time in the outfield for Bauers. Frelick simply hasn't hit much, though, with a .611 OPS, and he's also turned in a minus-2 DRS on defense.
Connor Norby, 1B/3B, 
Miami Marlins
While fellow former Orioles farmhand Kyle Stowers enjoyed a breakout 2025 season, Norby is still trying to find his footing at the major-league level. It's going to be difficult to do that if his playing time continues trending in the wrong direction.
Norby was out of the Marlins' lineup just three times through the end of April and he was reasonably productive that month with a .707 OPS, three home runs and a pair of stolen bases. In May, he was absent from the lineup seven times and posted a .572 OPS. Thus far in June, Norby has started only seven of 14 contests. He's been in the lineup just three times over the past seven games, and he batted ninth in those games he did start. Norby is swinging and chasing less often in 2026, helping him to a healthy 10.9 percent walk rate, but his strikeouts are also up (29.4 percent) and his quality of contact continues to trend in the wrong direction.
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B, New York Mets
Vientos' playing time in April was inconsistent, but he settled into an everyday role in May, starting all but two games and doing so predominantly from the cleanup spot in the Mets' lineup. In June, however, Vientos' playing time has cratered.
Vientos has been in the lineup on only three occasions in the Mets' 14 games this month. The right-handed batter has started just once across the past nine tilts, and that was the lone time they faced a southpaw during that span. The aforementioned Jared Young has been the Mets' preferred option over Vientos at first base against right-handed pitching, and Jorge Polanco (Achilles/ankle) should be back soon to soak up most of the at-bats at DH. We know Vientos is capable of getting hot and turning his season around, but he might also be a change-of-scenery candidate.
Quick Hits: The corresponding move for the aforementioned Blaze Jordan getting a chance at third base for St. Louis was the struggling Nolan Gorman being sent back to Triple-A Memphis … The same goes for Victor Scott when it comes to Nathan Church taking over in center field for the Cardinals … Unlike Gorman and Scott, Pedro Pages remains in the majors, but he's now the team's third catcher. Pages has made three starts in 17 contests since Jimmy Crooks was called up to the big club … He's been in the lineup for seven of the past eight tilts, but Nasim Nunez has been out of the lineup five times over the Nationals' last 18 contests. Prior to that, he had started 48 of the team's first 56 games … TJ Friedl was demoted from the leadoff spot in mid-May and by early June was demoted to Triple-A Louisville, as Blake Dunn has taken over as the Reds' primary center fielder.
