Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson (knee) is taking live batting practice against left-handers Drew Smyly (hip) and Jordan Wicks (forearm) on Friday. Swanson is ramping up his baseball activities this week after being put on the 10-day injured list last week with a right-knee injury. The 30-year-old's injury isn't believed to be all that serious, so he certainly has a chance to come off the IL when he's eligible on Saturday. The Cubs could really use him back, as middle infielder Nico Hoerner (hamstring) is missing his fourth straight game on Friday versus the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates with a left-hamstring ailment. Until one of Swanson or Hoerner can return, Miles Mastrobuoni will continue manning the 6 in Chicago. Swanson's fantasy managers will be hoping he can pick things up when he returns, as he was hitting just .209 (27-for-129) with four homers, 12 RBI and four steals before his injury.

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Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Michael Taylor will take a seat on the bench on Friday for the start of a series at Wrigley Field against the division-rival Chicago Cubs. Taylor will retreat to the bench after starting the last four games while going 2-for-13 with a double, two runs scored and five strikeouts to drop his season slash line to a weak .222/.271/.287. The 33-year-old veteran outfielder has added only one home run, eight RBI, three stolen bases and 12 runs scored for the Bucs through a month and a half of the season. Jack Suwinski is getting the start in center field and is batting sixth, while Connor Joe will be in right field while hitting cleanup against Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks. Both Joe and Suwinski are worth a look as DFS sleepers in the outfield on Friday against a pitcher who currently holds an 0-3 record and 10.04 ERA.

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Chicago Cubs middle infielder Nico Hoerner (hamstring) remains out of the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. Miles Mastrobuoni will get another start at the 6 and will hit sixth, with Nick Madrigal once again manning the keystone and hitting seventh against baseball's top prospect in right-hander Paul Skenes. Dansby Swanson (knee) is on the injured list with knee soreness, so Chicago's middle infield is thinned out at this time. The 27-year-old Hoerner is day-to-day with left-hamstring tightness but has now missed his fourth straight game. If he's unable to rejoin the Cubs' lineup this weekend, he could join Swanson on the IL. DFS gamers can probably find better options at shortstop and second base than Mastrobuoni and Madrigal, who are both light-hitting utility infielders.

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Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki is being rested on Friday and will start Friday's series opener against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on the bench. It appears to be a regular day of rest for Suzuki, who recently came back from a stint on the injured list due to an oblique injury. The 29-year-old has gone just 6-for-26 since coming back, but he was able to go deep in the team's last game on Wednesday against the Braves. Even after the rough stretch at the plate in May, the Japanese outfielder is still slashing a strong .282/.344/.482 with four home runs, 15 RBI and 16 runs scored in 85 at-bats for the Cubbies in 2024. Suzuki is a must-start in fantasy when he's in the lineup. With Suzuki out, Cody Bellinger is in right field and is batting second, while rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong will start in center field and bat eighth against Pirates rookie right-hander Paul Skenes.

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After riding the bench for the past nine games, Los Angeles Dodgers utilityman Chris Taylor drew the start on Thursday versus the Cincinnati Reds. Taylor picked up a single in his four at-bats, but he has struggled mightily this season with five hits in 60 at-bats to go along with five RBI and a stolen base. The veteran has had a brutal start to his 2024 season and the Dodgers will have a tough decision to make ahead of Friday's contest versus the Arizona Diamondbacks with outfielder Jason Heyward (back) expected to return. Taylor has helped fantasy managers in the past, but in 2024, the versatile Taylor can be left on the waiver wire in all formats.

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Chicago Cubs starting pitching prospect Cade Horton was recently promoted to Triple-A Iowa but has struggled since his call-up. Through three starts with Triple-A, the 22-year-old has an 8.25 ERA and, 1.67 WHIP with a mediocre 9:14 BB:K ratio. However, Horton began the season with Double-A Tennessee and dominated with a 1.10 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 2:18 BB:K ratio. Horton is considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball and the second-best prospect in the Cubs system, only behind Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is already in the major leagues. Horton should be expected to contend for a position on the major league roster later in the summer but first, he has to work through these struggles at Triple-A. He should be rostered in all dynasty and keeper leagues and will be worth stashing in redraft formats later this summer.

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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow tossed five innings in Thursday's loss versus the Cincinnati Reds. Glasnow struggled in the first inning with Will Benson hitting his sixth homer of the season to open up the frame and then Tyler Stephenson hitting a RBI double later in the inning. Glasnow's final line was six hits, four runs, one walk with eight strikeouts. The four runs were the most the right-hander has allowed this season and managers shouldn't worry about him have a rough outing. Glasnow will look ahead to Tuesday's start against the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks where he can look to get back on track. He remains a must-start in all matchups.

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New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso went 1-for-4 with a walk, two runs and a solo home run in Thursday's extra innings victory against the Philadelphia Phillies. Alonso's homer would come off Taijuan Walker in the top of the first inning and was his 10th of the season. Alonso has shown his power this season with 23 RBI to go along with his 10 homers, but he hasn't helped managers in the batting average department at .226 on the season. The upcoming free-agent continues to supply managers with plenty of strong power numbers and even with a low batting average, he offers managers plenty of value. Alonso will look to keep the power stroke going on Friday versus Jesus Luzardo to kick off a three-game series with the Miami Marlins on the road.

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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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