What It Means:

Encarnacion has been appealing a one-game suspension after he made contact with home plate umpire Vic Carapazza earlier this month. The team and he have decided to get it over with right before the break, so Justin Smoak is starting at first base and hitting seventh, while Josh Donaldson is serving as the designated hitter and hitting second on Sunday.

Encarnacion has turned it on over the last month and he is posting a .384 wOBA with 23 homers and a league-leading 80 RBI's. Our models project him to post a .385 wOBA with 17 homers and 50 RBI's remaining this season.