Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer (thumb) was unable to play catch on Friday. Earlier in the week, reports suggested that the 40-year-old could begin to throw on Friday. However, Scherzer will remain sidelined. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported that the team will continue to check on the veteran right-hander daily. Scherzer was dealing with a thumb injury during camp but was cleared to make his first start of the season. His start did not last long as he was removed from the contest after throwing just three innings. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status, but should not expect him back in the majors for a few weeks. While Scherzer remains on the 15-day IL, Easton Lucas should continue to see starting opportunities.

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Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Erik Swanson (forearm) threw his first bullpen session on Friday since receiving a cortisone injection. Swanson opened the campaign on the 15-day injured list due to carpal tunnel syndrome in his right forearm. While he is still several weeks away from a return, this is a good sign to see him throwing on the mound. Last season, Swanson was only able to log 39 1/3 innings of work and held a high 5.03 ERA with a 1.27 WHIP. However, during the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, Swanson was a valuable high-leverage option in the bullpen. In 2022, Swanson enjoyed a career season, posting a stellar 1.68 ERA and 0.90 WHIP while tallying 14 holds. In 2023, Swanson tallied 29 holds across 66 2/3 innings of work. When healthy, he will be a viable target in leagues that reward holds.

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Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho (shoulder) has been playing catch up to 165 feet but has not yet been cleared to throw in games. Varsho opened the regular season on the 15-day injured list as he is working his way back from shoulder surgery. However, Varsho was able to serve as the designated hitter during spring training. The coaching staff has noted that Varsho will only join the MLB roster when he is cleared to play defense. While he has been sidelined, prospect Alan Roden has seen playing time in the starting nine. Last season, Varsho saw most of his time in left and center field. Across 136 contests, the 28-year-old posted a .214/.293/.407 slash line with 18 long balls and 10 stolen bases. Varsho is worth monitoring as he will hold value in category formats given his ability to hit for power and steal bases.

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New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger (back) is not in the starting nine when they start a three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday afternoon. According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, he is dealing with a stiff back. Bellinger has been in the starting lineup in each of the first six games of the campaign. However, the 29-year-old has hit a bit of a skid over his last four, tallying just one hit with a 2:5 BB:K. Over the first two games of the season, Bellinger tallied four hits which was highlighted a three-hit four RBI game on March 29. Instead, Trent Grisham will get the starting nod in center field and bat in the seven-hole. Fantasy managers should expect Bellinger to return to the starting nine on Saturday if he does not face a setback when they face Pittsburgh southpaw Bailey Falter. Grisham is worth a look as a value play in DFS as he tallied three hits with a home run on Thursday evening.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are promoting catcher Hunter Feduccia from Triple-A Oklahoma City to the majors. In a corresponding move, the Dodgers are placing first baseman Freddie Freeman (ankle) on the 10-day injured list. Feduccia received a brief taste of the major leagues last summer as he appeared in five games. Across this brief stint, Feduccia tallied four hits, scored two runs, and tallied one RBI. Through the first five games of the Triple-A regular season, Feduccia has been swinging a hot bat as he held a .357/.526/.643 slash line with a double and a long ball. Last summer, the former 12th-round selection spent the majority of the campaign at Triple-A and held a .284/.409/.428 line with six round-trippers. Fantasy managers should expect Feduccia to operate as a depth option behind the dish and not carry much standalone fantasy value.

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Colorado Rockies right-handed pitching prospect Chase Dollander will be called up to make his major-league debut on Sunday against the Athletics, according to DNVR's Patrick Lyons. Dollander, the team's top prospect and No. 24 in all of baseball per MLB Pipeline, didn't have to wait long to get the call after narrowly missing out on an Opening Day rotation spot out of spring training. The 23-year-old not only has the skills to stick around all year and be successful, but he'll have a pristine first matchup in his debut against the A's. Dollander was the ninth overall pick in 2023 out of Tennessee and went 6-2 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 169:47 K:BB in his 23 starts in 2024 for High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford. He could have four above-average pitches when all is said and done with his fastball, slider, curveball and changeup. Pitchers in Colorado are always a bit scary, but Dollander has the upside to be fantasy relevant in all formats.

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San Diego Padres outfielder Gavin Sheets is out of the starting lineup again versus a lefty on Friday at Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs' home opener. Brandon Lockridge is starting in left field and is batting eighth, while Yuli Gurriel is serving as the designated hitter and is batting sixth against Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. Sheets has surprisingly been one of the hottest hitters in MLB in the early portion of the 2025 season, slashing .444/.474/.722 with a 1.196 OPS, a homer, five RBI, three runs scored and also a stolen base in 18 at-bats, but the Friars are going to continue to protect him against southpaws. Neither Lockridge nor Gurriel have ever faced Imanaga in their careers, and both players will be low-upside DFS plays for Friday's slate. The 40-year-old Gurriel will continue to platoon with Sheets for the time being at DH. He has just one hit and an RBI in his first eight at-bats with the Padres.

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San Diego Padres catcher Elias Diaz will open the game on the bench on Friday at Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs' home opener. Martin Maldonado will do the catching for right-hander Randy Vasquez and will bat ninth against Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. Diaz and Maldonado will continue to split the catching duties in San Diego for the time being with Luis Campusano starting 2025 at Triple-A El Paso. Neither backstop moves the needle much in fantasy outside of two-catcher and NL-only formats. The 34-year-old Diaz, who was an All-Star in 2023 with the Colorado Rockies, has gone 3-for-13 with a walk and four strikeouts in four games to begin the year, while Maldonado has two hits, an RBI and four strikeouts in his first 11 plate appearances. Maldonado has gone hitless in just two career at-bats versus Imanaga.

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On Friday, the Washington Nationals placed starting pitcher Michael Soroka (biceps) on the 15-day injured list with a biceps strain. Pitcher Jackson Rutledge was recalled from Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reported the news. Soroka left his start against the Blue Jays after five innings with what the Nationals initially deemed as cramping. The timetable for his return is unclear, but he's slated to miss at least a few turns in the rotation. Rutledge will hold down Soroka's spot for the time being. The oft-injured 27-year-old has not been fully healthy since 2019 and has failed to eclipse 80 innings in each season since.

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Back in February, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Brendan Kuty reported that free-agent first baseman Anthony Rizzo is healthy and wants to continue playing in 2025. However, even at just 35 years old, Rizzo knows the end of his career might be approaching. The 14-year veteran became a free agent when the Yankees declined his $17 million option, instead giving him a $6 million buyout. After two injury-marred seasons the last two years, Rizzo understands why his market hasn't been robust, and he remains available after the start of the regular season. He dealt with concussion issues, two fractured fingers in his hand and a fractured forearm the last two years. While Rizzo is healthy now and would love to continue his major-league career, he also said he's not going to ruin the market for veterans that come after him and settle for a minimum contract.

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Detroit Tigers outfielder Matt Vierling (shoulder) is not yet throwing, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. Stavenhagen notes that Vierling is hitting BP, conditioning, and running defensive drills daily but has yet to progress to throwing. This spring, Vierling was limited to just two at-bats after falling victim to a rotator cuff strain. The Tigers are short-staffed in the outfield right now, with teammates Parker Meadows (arm), Wenceel Perez (back), and Akil Baddoo (wrist) all dinged up with their respective injuries. Vierling was expected to rejoin the team by the end of April, which remains a possibility. However, he still has a few milestones to check off before he returns to in-game action. The 28-year-old will undergo an MRI in the coming days to check the status of his shoulder.

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Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group reports that Detroit Tigers pitcher Alex Cobb (hip) is scheduled to throw live batting practice at Comerica Park early next week. The 37-year-old missed all of spring training due to right hip inflammation. Cobb dealt with injuries last season, limited to just 16.1 innings pitched over August and September. Unfortunately, injuries have already hampered him once again, but it appears he's turning a corner as he'd only thrown bullpen sessions thus far. It's unclear if the former fourth-round pick will be ready to go when he's first eligible or return to the rotation at all when he's healthy, as injuries have been a concern for him. Despite pitching well during his limited 2024 with the Cleveland Guardians -- holding an ERA of 2.76 -- Cobb held an xERA of 5.01.

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Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez finished last year with 39 home runs, 39 doubles and 41 stolen bases in 158 games, leaving him just shy of the elusive 40-40-40 club, which only Alfonso Soriano in 2006 was able to pull off. Ramirez said he worked even hard this past offseason to try and reach that unique goal. The 32-year-old Dominican is already a six-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger award winner. He said he's the same weight now as he was at the end of the 2024 season -- he's listed at 5-foot-9, 200 pounds -- but he was strict with his intake and increased his muscle mass while trimming body fat over the winter. J-Ram has been as dependable, durable and productive as any hitter in recent seasons, and he's played 681 of a possible 708 games from 2020-24. He's gotten off to a strong start in 2025, too, hitting .294 (5-for-17) with a homer, two doubles and two RBI in five games.

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Milwaukee Brewers shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt will begin the season with Double-A Biloxi. The Brewers drafted the 20-year-old in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Later that summer, Pratt received a brief taste in the Arizona Complex League where he held a strong .326/.424/.444 slash line across 12 contests. He opened the 2024 campaign at Low-A, where he spent most of the season. In a 73 game-stint, Pratt posted a .295/.394/.395 line with 11 doubles, three triples, and three home runs. During this stint, he swiped 25 bags and held a 38:57 BB:K. He then earned a 23-game taste of High-A, posting a modest .221 AVG. However, Pratt has shown enough to earn a vote of confidence to open the campaign just one step away from the top of the minor leagues.

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Philadelphia Phillies pitching prospect Andrew Painter is set to throw live batting practice on Friday in Clearwater. Phillies manager Rob Thompson noted that his next steps will become "clearer" after that. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on his throwing progression as he could be cleared to make his season debut in the coming weeks. The Phillies are slowly increasing Painter's workload as he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2023. Painter was able to pitch in the Arizona Fall League and performed very well. He did not participate in any Grapefruit League contests. The former 13th overall pick is considered the No. 8-best prospect in the sport on MLB.com and the top prospect in the Philadelphia system. Given that he has yet to appear in a Triple-A game, he is still several months away from his big league debut.

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The St. Louis Cardinals recalled infield prospect Thomas Saggese from Triple-A Memphis on Friday after placing second baseman Nolan Gorman (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list with a right-hamstring strain. Saggese will head back to the big leagues after starting the year going 4-for-14 with a home run in his first four games with Memphis in the minors. The 22-year-old former fifth-rounder by the Texas Rangers in 2020 made his MLB debut last year with the Red Birds but played in only 18 games, going 10-for-49 (.204) with a homer, four RBI and 14 strikeouts in 52 plate appearances. Saggese has good bat-to-ball skills and raw power, but he must learn to become a more patient and selective hitter at this level if he's going to stick around. In his second big-league stint, expect him to serve as infield depth for the Cards while Gorman recovers.

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The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Friday that they placed infielder Nolan Gorman (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 2) with a right-hamstring strain. Infield prospect Thomas Saggese has been recalled from Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move. Although Gorman was hitting .500 (4-for-8) in the early going with a home run, the 24-year-old had started just two of the team's first five games of the year at second base before injuring his hamstring this week. It's unclear if Gorman's injury will keep him out beyond 10 days, but he'll be eligible to return to the Cardinals next Saturday, April 12. In the meantime, expect Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson to split time at the keystone in St. Louis. Saggese, the team's No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, will most likely serve as a backup infielder off the bench while Gorman recovers.

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Colorado Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar is off to a slow start this season. He holds a .125/.125/.167 line with only one RBI and one extra-base thus far in 24 plate appearances. The only silver lining is that he is striking out at a 16.7 percent clip, which is better than his 27.7 percent career strikeout rate. It's still early in the season, and the Rockies have yet to play a game at Coors Field, but it's not necessarily the start that Tovar, or fantasy managers, were hoping for to start the 2025 season. Look for Tovar to get right this weekend as the Rockies head home to Coors Field to start a three-game series against the Athletics.

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Colorado Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle went 1-for-5 with a double in Thursday's contest against the Philadelphia Phillies. The double was his first extra base hit of the young season, and hopefully, it will provide a spark to his bat as he's gotten off to a slow start in the power department thus far. On the season, Doyle holds a .240/.296/.280 line, and although he is getting a few hits, he is not getting on base or hitting for the type of power fantasy managers are hoping for. Last season, Doyle enjoyed a solid campaign where he hit .260/.317/.446, so fantasy managers should expect some progression soon. No better time than a trip back home to Coors Field, where the Rockies will take on the Athletics this weekend. Look for Doyle to have a good series this weekend.

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Arizona Diamondbacks second base prospect Tim Tawa went 2-for-5 at the plate with two doubles and three RBI during their victory over the Tacoma Rainiers on Thursday. Tawa's first double brought home Jordan Lawlar and Trey Mancini. Later in the contest, his second double would bring in Trey Mancini for the second time. Tawa has been one of the most productive hitters at the start of the Triple-A campaign. Through six games, he has tallied at least one hit in each of them. During this stretch, he launched three long balls and two doubles, adding a triple with 13 total RBI and eight runs. Last season, Tawa enjoyed similar production during his first 37-game taste of Triple-A as he held a strong .304/.376/.616 slash line with 11 doubles and 10 home runs. He is worth monitoring as he could push an early-season MLB debut if he continues to swing a hot bat.

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