Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Stephen Kolek was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Thursday. Kolek made a spot start on Saturday versus the Tigers and now he's back again. He figures to stick around this time with Seth Lugo (back) heading to the injured list. During his last start, Kolek tossed six innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out three batters. He's currently scheduled to take the ball against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. Kolek owns a 3.99 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and a 59/26 K/BB ratio across 85.2 innings with the San Diego Padres and Royals this season. He should offer some low-end streaming appeal for that game.

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Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo (back) was placed on the 15-day injured list on Thursday. At first, Lugo had his start pushed back to the weekend due to a back issue. However, Lugo didn't feel any improvements after playing catch on Thursday, so the team decided to place him on the shelf. He has been awful with the ball lately as he's allowed 10 earned runs over his last two starts. Hopefully, Lugo can get back on track in a couple of weeks. The assumption is that Lugo will be able to return by mid or late September. In the meantime, Stephen Kolek will be recalled and take the ball for the Royals on Saturday. He'll offer some low-end streaming appeal versus the Minnesota Twins.

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Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (hand) remains out of the starting lineup ahead of Thursday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Smith was removed from Wednesday's contest after getting hit in the hand by a foul tip. Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts said Smith will undergo a CT scan and is unlikely to play this weekend. It sounds like the team is trying to avoid a stint on the injured list, but that could happen depending on the results of the imaging. Dalton Rushing figures to do a majority of the catching while Smith is out. Ben Rortvedt has been added to the roster as a backup option. Fantasy managers should plan to be without Smith this weekend.

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Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe is out of the starting lineup ahead of Thursday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. This appears to be a rare off day for Lowe who has started in each of the last 13 games. This is a good time to sit him against left-hander Logan Allen. The Rays will go the matchup route and have the switch-hitting Jake Mangum in his place in right field and batting sixth on Thursday. Lowe figures to be back in the starting lineup following this contest.

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Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani (illness) is scheduled to make his next start against the Colorado Rockies on Monday, according to manager Dave Roberts. Ohtani was scratched from his scheduled start versus the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday due to illness. It's worth noting that Ohtani has still been serving as the designated hitter, which he'll continue to do on Thursday. Ohtani hasn't been great on the mound with a 4.18 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a 44/7 K/BB ratio across 11 starts. Despite that, Ohtani still should be rostered and started in most fantasy formats. It's unclear if the Dodgers will stick with a six-man rotation or have Emmet Sheehan move to the bullpen.

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Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout (body) is back in the starting lineup ahead of Thursday's game against the Kansas City Royals. Trout is back in the mix after missing each of the last two games due to a skin infection. He appears to be feeling good enough to play on Thursday, but won't play in the field. Trout will bat second and serve as the designated hitter versus left-hander Noah Cameron. The 34-year-old has struggled with the bat recently, but still needs to be rostered in most fantasy formats.

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Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton is resting in Thursday's series finale against the division-rival Chicago White Sox at Target Field. Josh Outman will take over in center field and will bat eighth against White Sox left-handed opener Fraser Ellard. Buxton has been seeing the ball well at the plate, but he'll get a day off after starting each of the team's last seven games. The 31-year-old veteran has managed to mostly stay healthy in 2025 and has played in over 100 contests for just the third time in his 11 major-league-seasons while slashing .273/.333/.559 with a career-best 29 home runs, 72 RBI, 83 runs scored and 21 stolen bases in 456 plate appearances. Fantasy managers should get him back in their starting lineups for Friday's series opener on the road against the division-rival Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

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Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz is on the bench to start Thursday's series finale against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers with left-hander Blake Snell on the mound. Alexander Canario will start in center field and will bat seventh. The Pirates continue to shield Cruz from lefties, as this will be the fifth straight game against them that he has taken a seat. In 118 plate appearances against southpaws in 2025, Cruz is hitting a pathetic .106 (11-for-104) with just one of his 19 home runs on the year and 43 strikeouts. The Dominican is barely hitting over .200 on the year but does have 19 homers, 54 RBI, 60 runs and 36 steals in his 416 at-bats, which continues to make him fantasy relevant in all leagues despite all the swing and miss. Cruz is hitting .123 (8-for-65) with two homers, 10 RBI, two steals and 23 K's in 19 games since Aug. 1.

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Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang and outfielder Sal Frelick are both out of the lineup for Thursday's series finale with Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Ranger Suarez on the mound. The Brewers are going with Andruw Monasterio at the keystone and Isaac Collins in right field with Turang and Frelick getting a day off. It's a rare off day for Turant, who continues to contribute across the board for fantasy managers with a .291/.359/.450 slash line, .808 OPS, 17 home runs, 70 RBI, 87 runs scored and 23 stolen bases in 505 at-bats. The 25-year-old is a major reason why Milwaukee is the best team in baseball. Monasterio has been a productive utility player for the Brew Crew in a limited role, batting .294 (30-for-102), but with only four homers. Collins is mainly useful for his speed (16 steals), but he's also hit .276 in 115 games in 2025.

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Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (hand) is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's series finale at PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates after taking a pitch off his right hand in Wednesday's loss. Rookie Dalton Rushing will do the catching for left-hander Blake Snell and will bat ninth against Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes. X-rays on Smith's right hand came back negative, so hopefully he'll be available to play in the series opener on Friday in Baltimore against the Orioles. Smith has been a must-start in fantasy when he's in the lineup as one of the best hitters at a weak position. Rushing, meanwhile, is hitting only .190 (22-for-116) with three home runs and 21 RBI in his first 43 big-league games this year. In the tough matchup against Skenes, we'd recommend fading Rushing as a DFS sleeper.

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The St. Louis Cardinals are hoping that right-handed reliever Riley O'Brien (shoulder) will be available out of their bullpen this weekend during their series against the visiting San Francisco Giants, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. O'Brien has been dealing with a right-shoulder injury and hasn't pitched for the Cardinals in over a week, but he was cleared to resume throwing earlier this week and it looks like he will avoid a trip to the injured list. How effective the 30-year-old will be in his return is another question, but he should continue to be in the mix for saves for St. Louis the rest of the way if he can stay healthy. O'Brien has been fantastic in his second season for the team in 2025 with a 1.69 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, his first two career saves, 35 strikeouts and 17 walks in 37 1/3 innings of relief. He also had three holds last month.

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Toronto Blue Jays infield prospect Orelvis Martinez (undisclosed) was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, retroactive to September 2. The nature of the injury is not known, but at his point in the season, it will all but end his 2025 campaign. The Blue Jays' 12th-ranked prospect has had a rough go of it in 2025 and even worse up until the injury, going hitless in 14 of his last 18 games, during which time he went 4-for-54 (.074). The 23-year-old owns a .176/.288/.348 slash line with 13 home runs in 99 games for the Bisons and will look to make another attempt to get back to the majors in 2026 after making a one-game debut there in 2024, but right now, his arrow is pointing down.

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Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos will retreat to the bench for Thursday's series finale against the hosting Milwaukee Brewers. The left-handed-hitting Max Kepler will make the start in right field for the Phillies and will bat seventh against Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta. This will be the fourth time in the last 10 games that Castellanos will start on the bench for the first-place Phillies. Since Aug. 6, the 33-year-old veteran has fallen on hard times at the plate, going 12-for-75 (.160) with only one home run, two doubles, one RBI, 12 runs scored, six walks and 19 strikeouts in 20 games. Castellanos last homered on Aug. 17, although he did go 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Wednesday's 6-3 loss. Kepler has only faced Peralta seven times in his career, but he's hitting .429 against him with a 1.214 OPS.

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Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans (shoulder) threw a two-up live batting practice session at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday that consisted of around 30 pitches and could embark on a minor-league rehab assignment this weekend if everything checks out in the coming days, according to MLB.com. It was the first time that Ragans has faced hitters since being diagnosed with a torn left rotator cuff and placed on the injured list on June 11. The Royals are taking it slow with the 27-year-old left-hander, who is in the midst of an injury-plagued 2025 campaign. Ragans has a shot to rejoin the Royals before the end of September as they look to get into the postseason, but at this point, fantasy managers shouldn't be holding their breathe for him. He was an All-Star in 2023 but pitched to a 5.18 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 76 K's and 16 walks in 10 starts before being shut down.

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The Atlanta Braves announced on Thursday that they reinstated outfielder Jurickson Profar from the paternity list and also recalled right-hander Daysbel Hernandez from Triple-A Gwinnett. In corresponding moves, the team designated infielder Luke Williams for assignment and released right-hander Cal Quantrill. Right-hander Wander Suero was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets. Profar will return to Atlanta after he missed the final two games of the series in Chicago this week against the Chicago Cubs, but he's back now and will be in the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the visiting Seattle Mariners. The 32-year-old veteran switch-hitter has played in only 58 games in his first season with the Braves due to a PED suspension and is slashing .258/.362/.472 with 12 homers, 37 RBI, 44 runs and eight steals.

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The New York Mets will promote right-handed pitching prospect Brandon Sproat to start Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds. Struggling righty Kodai Senga had been penciled in for that game, but the Mets will instead turn to Sproat for his debut. MLB Pipeline ranks the former second-round pick (2023) as the fifth-best prospect in the Mets' system and their No. 3 pitcher behind fellow righties Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. Both McLean and Tong earned call-ups in recent weeks and have been successful, leading the Mets to try their hand again with another well-regarded minor-league hurler. The 24-year-old Sproat has recorded a 4.24 ERA with a 1.24 WHIP, 113 strikeouts, and 53 walks over 121 Triple-A innings this season. He has been much more impressive lately, though, having pitched to a 2.59 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 11 appearances (10 starts) and 59 innings since June 28. Sproat will look to continue his recent success in a meeting with the Reds, who rank 14th in the majors in runs and 17th in OPS.

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The Boston Red Sox will place right-hander Jordan Hicks (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder issue and recall lefty Chris Murphy from Triple-A Worcester, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. The injury may bring about the end of Hicks' season, according to Cotillo. The Red Sox acquired the 28-year-old reliever as part of their return from the San Francisco Giants for star slugger Rafael Devers in June, but Hicks has fallen flat with his new team. Hicks has logged 18 1/3 innings over 21 appearances as a member of the Red Sox and pitched to a 6.95 ERA with a 1.98 WHIP, 15 strikeouts, and 12 walks. He gave up four earned runs on four hits in a third of an inning in an 8-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday. That could go down as his last appearance of 2025.

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Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tyler O'Neill (wrist) is expected to participate in all baseball activities this weekend before embarking on a minor-league rehab assignment. O'Neill has already missed almost a month after going on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Aug. 6 with inflammation in his right wrist. The offseason free-agent pickup has been on the IL two other times - once for neck inflammation, once for a shoulder impingement - and has played in just 43 games in his first year with the Orioles. When he has been in the lineup, the 30-year-old slugger has hit a disappointing .210/.293/.434 with eight homers, 23 RBI, 20 runs scored, and two stolen bases in 164 plate appearances. Even if O'Neill makes it back sometime this month, 2025 will largely go down as a lost season for him.

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Milwaukee Brewers reliever Shelby Miller (elbow) will "likely" require Tommy John surgery on his injured right UCL, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Miller's season ended abruptly when the team placed him on the 60-day injured list with a sprained UCL on Wednesday, and the next step is to visit renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister for a second opinion when the Brewers go to Texas next week. If Meister confirms that Miller needs Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, it would probably shelve him until 2027. Miller, who will turn 35 next month, could decide to retire as a result. "Probably not going to play if (surgery) is the route we go," Miller said. "So, we'll see where I'm at." Miller showed he had plenty left in the tank before the injury cut him down, which makes this situation especially unfortunate. Between Arizona and Milwaukee, he logged 46 innings of 2.74 ERA ball with a 1.04 WHIP, 54:15 K:BB, 10 saves, and nine holds. Miller is due to become a free agent in the offseason, but instead of going through an arduous rehab and seeking a new contract, he may call it a career.

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The New York Mets are strongly considering promoting right-handed pitching prospect Brandon Sproat to make a start in the majors, Andy Martino of SNY reports. MLB Pipeline ranks Sproat as the Mets' third-best pitching prospect, trailing righties Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. The team has called up McLean and Tong in recent weeks, and the two have performed well at the outset of their careers. Meanwhile, veterans Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea have struggled. That could help open the door for Sproat, a second-round pick in 2023. The hard-throwing 24-year-old has spent the season at the Triple-A level and notched a 4.24 ERA with a 1.24 WHIP and 113:53 K:BB over 121 innings. He has been far more effective since June 28, having registered a 2.44 ERA in 59 innings, and could be on his way to the Show soon.

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