Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Cooper Criswell struggled against his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. Criswell only last 3 2/3 innings and allowed four hits, five runs (three earned), two walks and three strikeouts. It was the worst performance of the season for Criswell and he still owns a solid 2.76 ERA with the rough performance. With starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock (oblique) due back as early as next week, Criswell is likely to shift to a swingman role moving forward. Despite his good overall numbers, Criswell is unlikely to help much in the fantasy community and can be avoided in most formats.

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Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Taijuan Walker (toe) left Wednesday's start after being hit by a liner on the foot, but he is feeling encouraged about making his next start. Matt Gelb of The Athletic has reported that Walker's toe is not broken. He also notes that it is no sure thing that Walker will make his next start, but the club will see how the right-hander is feeling on Friday. Walker got a late start to the season after dealing with shoulder pain and is 3-0 with a 4.91 ERA over his first four starts of the season. More should be known on his status on Friday, but it does not seem like a long-term injury. If Walker were to miss his next start, Spencer Turnbull would likely draw the spot start.

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Colorado Rockies outfield prospect Robert Calaz has been off to a great start to the season in the Rookie League and is making a case to be promotion to Single-A. On Thursday, the 18-year-old went 3-5 at the plate with a home run and a triple. This brings him to an incredible .406/.500/.875 slash line through nine games this season. Calaz has now tallied multiple hits in five games and has only gone hitless in two of them. He spent time in the Rookie League last season, logging 43 games with a .325/.423/.561 line. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the eleventh overall prospect in the Rockies system but does not expect him to reach the major leagues in several years. Calaz remains a name to monitor in dynasty leagues as he could develop into one of Colorado's best young bats.

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New York Mets starting pitcher Jose Quintana picked up a no-decision in Thursday's contest versus the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. The veteran lefty tossed 5 1/3 frames and allowed four hits, two runs, no walks and struck out four on the evening. Quintana is who he is at this point in his career and that is an innings eater. With an ugly 5.21 ERA over his first nine starts, the 35-year-old can be avoided in a tough matchup versus the Cleveland Guardians and should remain on the waiver wire in all formats moving forward.

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Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's victory versus the Boston Red Sox. The home run was the second of the season for Lowe. The outfielder began his season on the injured list with an oblique injury, but has hit .294 with a pair of homers and three RBI in his first 34 at-bats since being activated on May 6. Lowe has consistently hit second or third this season for the Rays and should have plenty of opportunities to put up power numbers. He also is capable of stealing bases with 32 in 2023. The 26-year-old offers help across the board and should be rostered in most formats moving forward.

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Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Erasmo Ramirez relieved relief pitcher Jason Adam with two outs in the ninth inning to record his first save of the season in Thursday's victory against the Boston Red Sox. Closer Pete Fairbanks seemed to have the night off and Adam got himself in trouble with two runners on base when Ramirez entered the ballgame. Ramirez has allowed seven runs in the 13 innings he has thrown this year and can be avoided in all formats with Fairbanks and Adam in line to receive most of the Rays save chances moving forward.

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Baltimore Orioles infield prospect Jackson Holliday tallied two hits and his fourth home run of the season on Thursday. This brings him to a solid .283/.438/.491 line with a stellar 29:26 BB:K ratio through 27 games at Triple-A. Holliday made his major league debut earlier this season but struggled through the small ten-game sample size. Since returning to the minor leagues, Holliday has not been as dominant as he was earlier in the season with a low .234/.395/.406 slash line, but hopefully, Thursday's performance can get him back on track. Holliday is considered the top prospect in all of baseball and should be expected to return to the major leagues very soon. The 20-year-old remains a great stash candidate in all formats.

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Houston Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier had his best start of the season on Thursday, going six scoreless innings in an 8-1 win over the Oakland Athletics. Javier allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out a season-high eight. The 27-year-old got 15 whiffs on 39 swings, including five on his slider, six on his changeup, and four on his fastball, indicating he had everything working in this one. He lowered his ERA to 3.23 and his WHIP to 1.24 with the solid start. Although things haven't been easy for Javier this season, he is worth rostering in fantasy because of his ability to have outings like this one.

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Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz had a monster game on Thursday, going 4-for-4 with a double, three runs, an RBI, and an astounding four stolen bases. De La Cruz is now at 30 swipes on the season, putting him on a pace not seen since the 1980s. Although he has slowed down at the dish in May, he is still a major fantasy asset due to his stolen bases. He also has a .277 AVG, 35 runs, nine homers, and 22 RBI to round out his line, making him a five-category contributor. He's looking like a future first-rounder in fantasy leagues at this point.

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Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado had a tough outing on Thursday, blowing the save and taking the loss in a 6-5 defeat at the hands of the New York Mets. Alvarado allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out two. It was a tough situation for the lefty, who inherited the ghost runner in a one-run game. He had been rock solid of late, allowing just one run in his last eight innings pitched. Alvarado should still be the go-to guy for the Phillies, but don't expect him to always pitch in save situations as the team has shown the willingness to use him earlier in games.

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Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar continued his recent run of success on Thursday, tossing a scoreless inning to pick up the save in a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. Bednar didn't allow a baserunner and struck out one. After a horrid April that included three blown saves and a loss, Bednar has bounced back in May, going 4-for-4 in save opportunities while allowing just two runs in seven innings. Fantasy managers can rest easy with Bednar for now, as he should continue as the team's closer for the foreseeable future.

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Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran had a big game on Thursday, going 3-for-5 with a homer and two doubles in a 7-5 loss against the Tampa Bay Rays. Duran added a pair of runs and an RBI to round out his line. The lefty now has five extra-base hits in his last two games after hitting a pair of doubles yesterday and following it up with today's performance. After a slump in late April, Duran has somewhat returned to his early-season form, although the steals haven't been there recently. He isn't much of a fantasy asset without the swipes, so his owners will have to hope those come back.

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Houston Astros outfielder Joey Loperfido went 1-for-3 with his first major league homer in an 8-1 win over the Oakland Athletics. Loperfido also scored a run and drove in two. The 25-year-old has enjoyed modest success in his young career so far, slashing .324/.378/.441 with a homer and a steal in 34 at-bats. He hasn't been playing every day, though, and the pending return of Chas McCormick might make playing time even tougher to come by. He doesn't need to be added in standard leagues unless something changes with his playing time.

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Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz (elbow) made his third minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Durham on Thursday, throwing 3 1/3 innings while allowing one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Baz threw 69 pitches on Thursday as he continues on the road to recovery from Tommy John surgery, and he'll likely need another appearance or two in the minors to sharpen things up before rejoining Tampa Bay's injury-riddled rotation. The 24-year-old former top prospect should be able to return before the end of May at this rate, so he's worth a stash in the majority of fantasy leagues. For his major-league career, Baz features a promising 4.02 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while fanning 48 and walking 12 through 40 1/3 frames (nine starts) for the Rays.

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Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford (oblique, hand) is not traveling with the team ahead of Friday's series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. Crawford's hand is still sore and a little swollen after getting hit by a pitch during Thursday's minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma, and the M's aren't certain when he'll rejoin the club. Working his way back from a strained right oblique as well, the 29-year-old infielder will likely need a few days to allow the swelling in his hand to go down before getting back into game action. It may be enough to keep Crawford from being reinstated from the injured list this weekend. Fantasy managers should have a few more days of streaming value out of utility man Josh Rojas, who's taken over as Seattle's primary leadoff man while slashing a potent .330/.395/.482 with three home runs, nine RBI, 12 runs scored, and four stolen bases in 126 plate appearances (35 games) this year.

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Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (hamstring), who remained out of Thursday's lineup, went through a more regular pregame workout before the game against the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates, manager Craig Counsell said. If all goes well, the hope is that Hoerner will be back in Chicago's lineup for the second game of the series against Pittsburgh on Friday. The 27-year-old contact-hitting infielder appears to be on the cusp of a return from tightness in his left hamstring after being out of the lineup in each of the past three contests, so fantasy managers should expect to get him back without needing a trip to the injured list. In 41 games (156 at-bats) before picking up the injury, Hoerner slashed .269/.361/.391 with two home runs, 11 doubles, 12 RBI, 25 runs scored, and five stolen bases as the Cubs' primary leadoff hitter.

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Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson (knee) continued to ramp up his activity ahead of Thursday's game against the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field, including fielding ground balls. After a period of rest, recovery, and treatment, Swanson did some light running and agility work and played catch before Wednesday's series finale against the Atlanta Braves and seems to be progressing well in his recuperation from a sprained right knee. The 30-year-old star infielder is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list as early as Saturday's contest against Pittsburgh, though it's unclear if he'll need a brief minor-league rehab assignment before the Cubs activate him. Although Swanson was slashing a meager .209/.285/.341 with four home runs, 12 RBI, 20 runs scored, and four stolen bases in 37 games (129 at-bats) as Chicago's everyday shortstop before the injury, he's a must-stash player in all fantasy leagues.

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Los Angeles Dodgers, shortstop/outfield prospect Wilman Diaz, tallied two hits and stole three bases on Wednesday to lead Single-A Rancho to a victory. During the season, Diaz posted a .200/.305/.289 line with nine total stolen bases and no home runs. The 20-year-old has flashed his elite speed throughout his time in the minor leagues and is on pace to steal double-digit bases in consecutive years. In the batter's box, this performance will hopefully help Diaz break out of his May slump as he has hit for a mere.133/.257/.133 line. Diaz could force a promotion to High-A later this summer but should be left on the waiver wire in all dynasty leagues for the foreseeable future.

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Texas Rangers left-hander Brock Burke (hand) has been sent to the Arizona Complex League Rangers in the Rookie league on a minor-league rehab assignment. Burke is scheduled to pitch for the ACL Rangers in Thursday's game against the ACL Padres at Peoria Sports Complex. Burke is trying to recover from a broken right (non-throwing) hand that landed him on the injured list on April 13. The 27-year-old southpaw had allowed five earned runs on nine hits (one homer) while walking one and striking out five in three innings out of the Texas bullpen earlier this year before going on the shelf. Since he's currently on the 60-day injured list, Burke will not be eligible to return to the team's big-league bullpen until June 12. When healthy, Burke isn't on the fantasy radar in a middle-relief role.

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Boston Red Sox shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer has been on fire to begin the season but has been especially dominant through the early part of May. Since May 1, the 21-year-old has a .314/.379/.529 line with one home run, 11 RBI, three stolen bases, and a 6:9 BB:K ratio. On the season, the top prospect in Boston has posted a .310/.359/.496 slash line. After struggling through 43 games at Double-A last season, Mayer has begun to find his footing and is making a case to be moved up to Triple-A very soon. MLB Pipeline projects him to reach the major leagues this season and could become a stash candidate later in the summer if he continues to dominant minor league pitching.

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