The Washington Nationals activated outfielder Jacob Young (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list on Friday and optioned outfielder Daylen Lile to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move, according to the team. Young will return to the big leagues for the first time since being placed on the IL on May 23 with an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder. The Nationals haven't released their lineup for Friday's contest against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates, so it's unclear if Young is back in the starting lineup right away. Before his injury, the 25-year-old had gone 25-for-110 (.227) with no home runs, six RBI, 15 runs scored and five stolen bases in 41 games. Young will now be an option in center field again for the Nats, which could lead to fewer at-bats for both Alex Call and rookie Robert Hassell III.

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The Cincinnati Reds announced on Friday that they activated infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand (back) from the 10-day injured list and designated catcher Austin Wynns for assignment in a corresponding move. Encarnacion-Strand is returning for the first time since being placed on the IL back on April 17 with lower-back inflammation. It's unclear yet if the 25-year-old will be in the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks, but he'll be an option at third base, first base and designated hitter for the Reds now that he's back. He was hitting just .158 (9-for-57) with two homers and 13 strikeouts in 15 games before his injury, and he just hasn't been the same since fracturing his right wrist in 2024. When Encarnacion-Strand is right, he has high-end power upside for fantasy managers.

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The Minnesota Twins announced on Friday that they recalled right-handed pitching prospect Travis Adams from Triple-A St. Paul and optioned left-hander Kody Funderbunk to St. Paul in a corresponding move. Adams will get his first big-league call-up after going 3-1 with a 3.43 ERA and 1.14 WHIP with 37 strikeouts, three saves and 10 walks in 42 innings pitched over 13 outings (two starts) with the Saints. The 25-year-old served mostly as a bulk reliever on the farm, although he could make starts in Minnesota with Pablo Lopez (shoulder) out for an extended period of time. He's considered Minnesota's No. 21 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, but he should only be considered for a pickup in deep AL-only leagues. The 6-foot-1, 197-pounder is a strike-thrower but lacks high-end fantasy upside because his arsenal isn't all that overpowering.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Friday that they optioned right-hander Landon Knack to Triple-A Oklahoma City and recalled left-hander Justin Wrobleski in a corresponding move. Knack will head back to the minors after allowing four earned runs on four hits (three homers) while walking five and striking out only one in 3 1/3 innings in a no-decision in the win over the New York Mets on Wednesday. The 27-year-old has gone 3-2 this year with the Dodgers with a 5.12 ERA (6.18 FIP) and 1.47 WHIP with 35 strikeouts and 18 walks in 38 2/3 innings over nine appearances (seven starts). Home runs have been an issue for Knack, as he allowed 14 in just 69 innings last year, and he's already allowed 10 this year in just 38 2/3 frames. If/when Knack returns to the big-league level, it may not be in a starting role, depending on the health of L.A.'s rotation.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Friday that they recalled left-hander Justin Wrobleski from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned right-hander Landon Knack to Oklahoma City in a corresponding move. Wrobleski will make the start in Friday's series opener at Busch Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals in what will be just his eighth start in the big leagues since debuting in 2024. Fantasy managers should be looking to stay away from the 24-year-old southpaw as a streamer in St. Louis. He had a 5.09 ERA in 40 2/3 innings at OKC in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and allowed eight earned runs on nine hits (two homers) while walking three and striking out eight in nine innings over his two outings (one starts) for L.A. earlier this year. Wrobleski's strikeout rate leaves plenty to be desired, and he could head right back to the minors after this spot start.

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Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough reports that outfielder Kyle Stowers (hand) will miss his second straight outing due to "lingering hand soreness." McCullough noted that the Stanford product will be available to pinch-hit. It was strange that Stowers would miss two games so recently after a routine day off, and now we have some clarity on the situation. It's good news that the injury doesn't appear to be serious, and he was already able to pinch-hit in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Rockies. He can be considered day-to-day as of now, but it is still a situation to monitor. Stowers has had a strong season through 58 appearances, boasting a .282 average (.836 OPS) with ten home runs, eight doubles, 33 RBI, and 24 runs scored.

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Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Kameron Misner will take a seat for Friday's home meeting with the Miami Marlins. Teammate Jake Mangum will bat fifth and occupy center field in his stead against right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera. Misner had two days off last weekend, though he technically picked up at-bats in both games and hasn't had an actual off day in nearly a month, so it's likely just that for him. The 27-year-old has been solid against righties this season (.248), but not as good as the switch-hitting Mangum (.322). Misner is an excellent defender, but poor plate discipline and quality of contact have held him back at the plate. He's sporting a .224/.290/.376 triple slash with five home runs, seven steals, 25 runs scored, and 18 RBI (57 appearances).

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Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz will be out of the team's lineup on Friday for their series opener against the visiting Miami Marlins. It's just a routine day off for the 33-year-old, who's started 18 of the previous 19 outings. Teammate Brandon Lowe will act as the Rays' designated hitter, while Jonathan Aranda is at first base. Despite a middling .244/.291/.397 slash line, Diaz is underperforming his xBA (.285) and xSLG (.474) by quite a bit. In fact, his quality of contact metrics are closer to where they were in 2023 when he hit .330 with 22 homers. He appears due for some positive regression, considering an uncharacteristically low .255 BABIP that would qualify for the lowest of his career by 30 points if it holds.

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Chicago Cubs third base prospect Matt Shaw went 3-for-5 with two runs and two stolen bases during their victory over the Nationals on Thursday. Over his last 11 games, the Maryland product has begun to heat up at the major league level. During this stretch, Shaw has posted a stellar .333/.381/.410 slash line with three doubles and five stolen bases. During his first stint in the majors, Shaw posted a modest .172/.294/.241 slash line across 18 games. However, after a brief stint in Triple-A, Shaw has begun to turn the corner in the big leagues. Given his five-category upside, fantasy managers should view Shaw as a strong corner infielder in all standard formats. Shaw will look to stay hot at the plate on Friday, facing Detroit ace Tarik Skubal.

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Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers will not be in the team's lineup on Friday for the first game of their series with the Tampa Bay Rays. Teammate Eric Wagaman is occupying left field and batting sixth for the Marlins. Stowers wasn't in Miami's lineup on Tuesday when they squared off against left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland. However, he was available off the bench to pinch-hit. The 27-year-old has hit lefties well this season, so it appeared to be a peculiar decision to bench him -- especially after he received a day off on Saturday. He may be working through a minor injury, though; nothing has been reported. Look for him to return to the starting nine over the weekend.

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Kansas City Royals left-handed pitching prospect Noah Cameron continued his incredible start to his MLB career on Thursday. Facing the St. Louis Cardinals, the southpaw tossed six shutout frames with two hits and two free passes. He struck out three. Through his first 31 2/3 innings in the majors, Cameron has posted a stellar 0.85 ERA with a 0.79 WHIP. Across this stretch, he has struck out just 19 batters but allowed just two long balls. While the 25-year-old has looked quite strong, his underlying metrics suggest he could be due for some regression. He currently sits with a 3.19 xERA and a .230 xBA. In addition, he has allowed hard contact at a modest 40.0% rate. With Cole Ragans back in action, the Royals could opt to send Cameron back to Triple-A to continue his development or shift Michael Lorenzen to a long relief role. However, given his productive start, fantasy managers should continue to hold Cameron on their bench as he will likely be given more opportunities in the major leagues.

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Minnesota Twins right-hander David Festa allowed six hits and eight earned runs across 3 2/3 innings in his loss to the Athletics on Thursday. Festa struck out six batters and allowed two walks. The 25-year-old ran into trouble early as he allowed an RBI single to Brent Rooker and a three-run shot to infielder Max Muncy in the opening frame. In the third, he allowed two solo shots, one to Wilson and the other to first baseman Tyler Soderstrom. Festa replaced right-hander Pablo Lopez (hamstring) in the rotation, who recently hit the 15-day IL. Fantasy managers should expect Festa to remain in the rotation for the time being. However, if he continues to struggle, Simeon Woods Richardson could get the call from Triple-A St. Paul. Through his first 81 MLB frames, Festa has posted a 5.00 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP. Given his struggles, he should only be viewed as a streaming option in deeper formats.

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Athletics infield prospect Max Muncy went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run during their victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. Muncy would hit the three-run shot in the opening frame off Minnesota right-hander David Festa. This long ball scored Brent Rooker and infielder Jacob Wilson. Muncy was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier this week. Over his first two games back in the majors, Muncy has gone 3-for-9 with four strikeouts. Muncy was able to make his MLB debut in April but posted a modest .176/.211/.279 line through his first 21 contests. With both Miguel Andujar (oblique) and Gio Urshela (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list, fantasy managers should expect the 22-year-old to see stable playing time. He remains a viable depth infielder in deeper 14+ team formats for the time being.

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Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo (elbow) came out of his bullpen session on Tuesday in Bradenton feeling good and is expected to throw live batting practice this week as well. Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk referred to Oviedo's bullpen as a "nice, monumental moment." The 27-year-old is recovering from Tommy John surgery that he had in December of 2023, which caused him to miss the entire 2024 season. He's making progress in his recovery, but Oviedo still will need a lengthy minor-league rehab assignment and surely won't be an option for the big-league pitching staff until after the All-Star break in mid-July. When Oviedo is finally deemed ready, he'll likely be eased in by the Pirates and will be a shaky fantasy asset in deeper leagues. In 32 starts in 2023, he went 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA (4.49 FIP) and 1.37 WHIP with 158 K's and 83 walks in 177 2/3 frames.

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Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson went 3-for-5 with a home run during Thursday's victory over the Minnesota Twins. Wilson went deep in the third inning off Minnesota right-hander David Festa. This was Wilson's sixth-straight tallying at least one hit. Over his last 16 contests, the rookie infielder has posted a stellar .444/.493/.667 slash line with five doubles, three home runs, nine runs, three stolen bases, and a 6:5 K:BB. Through 60 games this season, the former sixth overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft has posted an impressive .362/.402/.523 line with eight long balls and five short balls. Under the hood, he has generated an elite .312 xBA (96th percentile) while striking out at a 6.3% rate. Given his impressive start to his career, he remains a must-start shortstop in all formats going forward.

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Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed reliever Tim Mayza (lat) had serial imaging done on his shoulder late last week by Dr. Anthony Romeo in Chicago and was cleared to start a plyometric workout program, which he will do for the next two weeks, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Colin Beazley. If Mayza avoids a setback with his strained left lat muscle, he can resume a throwing program. The 33-year-old southpaw has been sidelined since landing on the 15-day injured list back on April 19. Even if he doesn't encounter any setbacks when he resumes throwing, Mayza is unlikely to return to the Pirates' bullpen until late June or early July. When Mayza does return, he won't really be much of a fantasy option with just four career saves in eight seasons. He had a 2.89 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with eight K's in just 9 1/3 innings before his injury.

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Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Dauri Moreta (elbow) remains on a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis and is nearing a major-league return. Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said he "would have no issues with recommending him for game readiness very soon." Moreta had a stretch where he didn't give up a run in seven of eight outings at Indy before giving up two runs and a walk without recording an out in Wednesday's game. The 29-year-old Dominican reliever has appeared in 14 rehab games (one start) with Indy and Single-A Bradenton, posting a 3.86 ERA and 1.63 WHIP with 15 strikeouts and 10 walks in 11 2/3 innings pitched. Moretta is attempting to return from Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss all of last year. In 55 relief outings for Pittsburgh in 2023, he held a 3.72 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, one save and a 76:24 K:BB with five holds in 58 innings.

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Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Rays. The two home runs were his fifth and sixth of the season. Semien has gotten off to a slow start for his standards this season. Still, he showed some life on Thursday by providing some power, clutch hitting, and showed fantasy managers some signs of better days to come as we move forward into the middle part of the season. In his last seven days, Semien is slashing .611/.682/1.222, and has raised his line to .210/.298/.308 on the season with 23 RBI, 21 runs scored, and five stolen bases. He will look to keep it rolling in the Rangers' three-game series against the Washington Nationals over the weekend.

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Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez (6-4) had a smash spot on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and made the most of it. He worked seven innings, allowed four hits, two earned runs, walked three, and struck out 11 batters. The 11 strike outs were the most he's had in any start this season, and he lowered his season WHIP to 1.06 and ERA to 3.07. Valdez has now logged six consecutive quality starts and remains one of the top arms to deploy every week for fantasy managers. Next up for Valdez is another dream matchup against the Chicago White Sox, scheduled for next Wednesday. Fantasy managers can roll him out with confidence next week, as the White Sox have a bottom-five offense in all of MLB.

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Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ was seeing the ball well on Thursday, as he blasted his fourth home run, his 13th double, and went 3-for-6 on the evening. The long ball came in the sixth inning with one on and one out to help extend the Cubs' lead to 5-0, and help them eventually win 7-1 over the Washington Nationals. Happ missed a few weeks in May due to an oblique injury, but has not missed a beat since his return, picking up right where he left off in April. On the season, Happ is now slashing .259/.348/.373 with four home runs, 25 RBI, and 38 runs scored. Happ continues to bat in the leadoff spot against right-handed pitchers, and it's paying dividends for him in the runs department, batting behind Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki, both of whom have been tearing the cover off the ball this season.

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