June 30, 2014

Interleague Report

Week 14

by Jeff Quinton

the archives are now free. All Baseball Prospectus Premium and Fantasy articles more than a year old are now free as a thank you to the entire Internet for making our work possible. Not a subscriber? Get exclusive content like this delivered hot to your inbox every weekday. Click here for more information on Baseball Prospectus subscriptions or use the buttons to the right to subscribe and get instant access to the best baseball content on the web.

Subscribe for $4.95 per month Recurring subscription - cancel anytime. Subscribe for $39.95 for one year a 33% savings over the monthly price! Purchase a $39.95 gift subscription a 33% savings over the monthly price! Already a subscriber? Click here and use the blue login bar to log in.

Please note that in the “DH” column, the player listed is the player that has been added or removed from the lineup, not necessarily the player in the DH slot. For example, if the Phillies move Dominic Brown to DH and put Tony Gwynn Jr. in the OF, then I will list Gwynn Jr. in the “DH” column because he is the player that is gaining at bats.

Last Week

AL at NL:

Away	Opponent (Games)	R/L Faced	DH
OAK	NYM (2), MIA (3)	4R, 1L	Sogard/Punto
CLE	ARI (2)	1R, 1L	Nick Swisher

Alberto Callaspo started at second base for all five interleague games, leaving Eric Sogard and Nick Punto on the bench.

Terry Francona went with Yan Gomes, Carlos Santana, and Lonnie Chisenhall at the corners, and a David Murphy-Ryan Raburn platoon in right field. As a result, Nick Swisher DH’d both games.

NL at AL:

Away	Opponent (Games)	R/L Faced	DH
PIT	TB (3)	2R, 1L	Stewart/Harrison/Snider
LAD	KC (3)	2R, 1L	Triunfel/Van Slyke
ATL	HOU (3)	3R	Doumit/Gattis

Clint Hurdle changed up his DH for this series. We saw Travis Snider DH, Josh Harrison get a start at third base with Pedro Alvarez moving to DH, and Chris Stewart get a start with Russell Martin starting at DH (against the lefty).

Hanley Ramirez was at DH for the first two games with Carlos Triunfel starting at shortstop. For the third game, Ramirez sat; thus, Miguel Rojas started at shortstop, Adrian Gonzalez got a game at DH, and Scott Van Slyke started at first base.

Evan Gattis moved to DH for the first and third games of the series with Gerald Laird starting at catcher. Gattis caught the second game with Ryan Doumit getting the start at DH.

This Week

AL at NL:

Away	Opponent (Games)	R/L Faced	DH
CLE	LAD (3)	2R, 1L	Swisher/Santana/RF
TEX	NYM (3)	2R, 1L	Michael Choice

Nick Swisher sat both games while visiting the Diamondbacks. I think he will sit two games of this series and replace either Carlos Santano or the David Murphy-Ryan Raburn platoon for the other game.

The Rangers will move Shin-Soo Choo to the outfield; thus, Michael Choice will be moved to the bench.

NL at AL:

Away	Opponent (Games)	R/L Faced	DH
CHC	BOS (3)	2R, 1L	Ruggiano/Olt/Valbuena
MIL	TOR (2)	1R, 1L	Overbay/Maldonado

Either Justin Ruggiano or Mike Olt will be added to the lineup against the righties (or they will each get a start). Against the lefty, I think Luis Valbuena will get a start at third base with Mike Olt moving to DH.

The Brewers will most likely use the DH to get a regular a day of semi-rest. Against the righty, Aramis Ramirez will most likely be at DH with Mark Reynolds moving to third base and Lyle Overbay getting a start at first base. I am guessing that Jonathan Lucroy moves to DH with Martin Maldonado catching against the lefty.

Next Week

AL at NL:

Away	Opponent (Games)	R/L Faced	DH
BAL	WAS (2)	2R	Steve Pearce
OAK	SF (2)	2R	Catcher/2B
MIN	COL (3)	3L	Mauer/Morales

Nelson Cruz will take Steve Pearce’s spot in left field and Steve Pearce will sit on the bench.

If last week was any indication, then we will see Callaspo at second base instead of Sogard and Punto. If Derek Norris is healthy, then my guess is that both he and John Jaso get a start at catcher.

I think that Joe Mauer will get two of the starts at first base with Kendrys Morales getting the other. If Mauer hits well to start the series, then we might not see Morales start at all.

NL at AL:

Away	Opponent (Games)	R/L Faced	DH
WAS	BAL (2)	2R	Espinosa/Frandsen/Span
SF	OAK (2)	2R	Gregor Blanco
LAD	DET (2)	2R	Van Slyke/Triunfel/Rojas

With Bryce Harper coming off of the DL, the DH helps alleviate Washington’s roster crunch. My guess is that Harper and Ryan Zimmerman will both see time at DH; allowing Denard Span to stay in centerfield and Anthony Rendon to stay at third base with either Kevin Frandsen or Danny Espinosa starting at second base.

With Angel Pagan and Brandon Belt both due to be back, Michael Morse will probably start at DH with Gregor Blanco starting in left field.

As we saw from “Last Week,” with Carl Crawford still not back, Don Mattingly’s DH use will depend on the health of his players, particularly that of Hanley Ramirez. We could see Ramirez DH with either Triunfel or Rojas starting at shortstop. If Ramirez is healthy, then we could see Van Slyke start in the outfield or first base with a regular moving to DH.

Jeff Quinton is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @jjq01
Click here to see Jeff's other articles. You can contact Jeff by clicking here