Lineups in spring are just snapshots, but they can still tell us something about how a team wants to deploy their hitters. Here are the latest hints.
Anthony Rendon, leadoff hitter? New Angels manager Ron Washington is considering that move after expressing some frustration with the number of one-pitch at-bats from Luis Rengifo this spring. Rendon has long been a terrific on-base player when healthy, but he hasn't hit leadoff since 2015. Obviously, Rendon needs to hit well to justify that spot, but it's worth noting he did have a .361 OBP last season and could score a decent number of runs ahead of Mike Trout at the top of the lineup. Personally, I would like to see Zachary Neto or Nolan Schanuel at the top of the lineup for the Angels, but Washington wants to stick with Neto in the No. 9 spot, at least at first. I think he has some upside, but hitting ninth for an extended stretch would certainly limit his appeal.
Kyle Tucker could hit third for the Astros. Manager Joe Espada told reporters he is "considering" making that move with the lineup, slotting Tucker in behind Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez, with Alex Bregman dropping back to the cleanup spot. Tucker finally started hitting toward the top of the lineup last season, spending 56 games in the No. 3 spot, and hitting there behind Alvarez full time could push his value even higher.
When he's been in the lineup lately this spring, Brendan Rodgers has been hitting either third or fourth for the Rockies, typically swapping spots with Nolan Jones. Rodgers is a post-post-post-hype sleeper at this point, but if he can tap into any of the upside he once showed as a prospect, he could emerge as a viable waiver-wire add. It's also worth noting that, when lineup mainstays like Kris Bryant and Ryan McMahon have been in there, Ezequiel Tovar has typically hit sixth or seventh this spring, so that's where I'm expecting him to open the season. He's a post-hype sleeper himself, and he could move up the lineup if he starts off well, but he's going to have to earn that opportunity, it seems.
Parker Meadows has some sleeper appeal heading into his first full season, and it looks like he might hit leadoff for the Tigers this season, something he's done in nine of his 10 appearances since the start of March. Meadows wasn't great in his first taste of the majors, but he did steal eight bases and hit three homers in 37 games; he could seemingly be a 15-30 guy at the top of an improving lineup. After him, it looks like it'll be Riley Green, Spencer Torkelson, and Kerry Carpenter rounding out the top four, with Mark Canha and Colt Keith to open the season, though I could also see Keith moving up the order if the top prospect hits the ground running.
Is Roman Laureano the cleanup hitter for the Guardians? They had a split-squad game on Tuesday of this week, and it sure looks like one of them was their Opening Day lineup, with sure things like Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, and Josh Naylor at the top of the lineup. Followed by Laureano, who signed for $5.15 million with the Guardians after signing there last season. I may be reading too much into that, and it's not like I'm going to go out and draft Laureano because of that. But it's worth noting.
