Boston Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder (hamstring) is back in the starting lineup on Friday against the visiting Washington Nationals and left-hander Patrick Corbin, serving as the designated hitter and batting second in the order. Refsnyder will return for Boston after leaving Sunday's game against the Minnesota Twins with left-hamstring soreness. Although the 33-year-old South Korean isn't high on the fantasy radar in any formats, he's facing a really good matchup and has hit .351/.467/.622 with a 1.088 OPS, a homer, eight RBI, a stolen base and seven runs scored in his first 37 at-bats. Refnsyder is known for hitting left-handers well in his career, too, so he should certainly be on the DFS radar in his return to the lineup after missing this week's series against the Atlanta Braves. He has one hit in three career at-bats against Corbin.

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Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida (thumb) got a third opinion on his left-thumb injury on Thursday and told two Japanese media members that he won't need surgery. Yoshida received good news after being placed on the injured list with a strained left thumb, and avoiding surgery will be huge in terms of a quicker return to Boston's lineup. The 30-year-old is eligible to come off the IL now, but he's not close to a return. We'll give you updates on Yoshida's progress with his injured thumb as he progresses. In the meantime, the contact artist and primary DH for the Red Sox should be stashed in most fantasy formats. At the time of his unfortunate thumb injury, he was hitting a strong .275/.348/.388 with two home runs, 11 RBI and 12 runs scored in 80 at-bats. Rob Refsnyder will likely be the biggest beneficiary for Boston until Yoshida is able to return.

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Toronto Blue Jays outfielders George Springer and Kevin Kiermaier are taking the day off on Friday for the series opener against the visiting Minnesota Twins. Davis Schneider is starting in left field and is hitting leadoff, while Daulton Varsho is in center field and batting No. 2 against Twins right-hander Joe Ryan. Cavan Biggio is in right field and hitting seventh. Springer will get his first day off since April 30. He's hitting just .206 (29-for-141) on the year with three homers, six RBI and six stolen bases. Kiermaier has one homer, seven RBI and two steals while hitting .224 (15-for-67). Varsho will be the most attractive fantasy option for regular leagues and in DFS on Friday night, while Schneider also takes on some added value while batting atop Toronto's order.

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Detroit Tigers outfielder Mark Canha (illness) is back in the starting lineup on Friday as the designated hitter and is batting third against the visiting Houston Astros and left-hander Framber Valdez. Canha missed two games earlier this week while battling an upper-respiratory illness, but he's obviously feeling better now and is back in there for the series opener this weekend in Detroit. The 35-year-old veteran outfielder/designated hitter is batting .248 (29-for-117) on the year with five home runs and 16 RBI in his 34 games played. Canha has had decent success against left-handed pitchers in his career and shouldn't be ignored in this one in DFS now that he's past his illness. In his 14 career at-bats against Valdez, he's hitting .286 with one RBI as well.

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Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Jose Siri is on the bench again on Friday for the Rays for the start of a series against the visiting division-rival New York Yankees. It's the third time in the last four games that Siri has been on the bench, and he's been losing playing time to Jonny DeLuca, who is in center field and batting sixth on Friday against Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt. It hasn't helped Siri's cause that he's slashing just .170/.255/.277 with two home runs, seven RBI, six stolen bases and 11 runs scored in his first 94 at-bats this year. The return of Josh Lowe to Tampa's outfield recently has been another factor working against Siri as the 28-year-old continues to lose playing time. DeLuca's fantasy stock is rising, meanwhile, as he's gone 7-for-20 (.350) with a homer, 10 RBI and two steals in his first six games with the team in 2024.

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St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar went 1-for-5 with a solo home run to drive in the team's lone run in Thursday's 7-1 loss to the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers in the series opener. Nootbaar has now homered in back-to-back games but is still hitting only .184/.290/.356 with three home runs, nine RBI, two stolen bases and eight runs scored in 87 at-bats after getting a late start in 2024 due to an injury. In his last 10 games, he's hit .184 (7-for-38) with five extra-base hits. It's nice to see Nootbaar display some power recently, and it could be a sign that he's finally starting to get his timing down at the plate after his first 24 games played. At least until Tommy Edman (wrist) makes his season debut, Nootbaar should be a lineup regular for the Red Birds.

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Kansas City Royals outfielder Garrett Hampson contributed in a lot of different areas in Thursday night's 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Hampson went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a stolen base, a run scored and a walk at the bottom of the Royals' batting order. The 29-year-old is currently hitting .268/.302/.317 with no home runs, three RBI, four stolen bases and five runs scored in just 41 at-bats in 2024. The former third-round pick of the Colorado Rockies in 2016 out of Long Beach State offers plenty of defensive versatility but is merely an option for fantasy baseball managers in AL-only leagues because he's currently on the short side of a platoon with Kyle Isbel in center field for the Royals.

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Milwaukee Brewers infielder Joey Ortiz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, his third of the season, in the team's 7-1 win over the visiting division-rival St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. Ortiz has homered in his last two games played and has gone 3-for-11 with the two home runs, a triple, two RBI and two runs scored in four games since the calendar flipped to May. The 25-year-old former fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2019 out of New Mexico State is hitting .267 (20-for-75) on the year with just 10 RBI and nine runs scored, but he's been a strong option for the Brewers at third against right-handers, as he's hitting .327 (18-for-55) against them with all three of his homers and all 10 of his RBI. On the strong side of a platoon at the hot corner, Ortiz is at least worth rostering in NL-only fantasy leagues.

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Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout in Thursday's 3-2 loss on the road to the Chicago White Sox in the first game of their series. It was Naylor's 10th home run of the season and also the third time he's cleared the fences in his last eight games. The 26-year-old left-handed slugger appears to be heating up now that we're in May with a .259 average (7-for-27). As long as Naylor stays healthy this year, he should easily surpass his career-high of 20 home runs, which was set back in 2022. The former 12th overall pick by the Miami Marlins in 2015 is now slashing a strong .277/.364/.562 with a .926 OPS, 10 long balls, 29 RBI, two stolen bases and 20 runs scored in 130 at-bats for Cleveland. He's a must-start in all fantasy formats.

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Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in the team's 7-1 win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday, his second game in a row leaving the yard. Hoskins now has eight long balls on the year, but he's still hitting a weak .220/.322/.455 in his first year in Milwaukee through 123 at-bats. Still, the 31-year-old has been healthy and has contributed power and RBI (21) in a strong Brewers lineup as their starting first baseman. His back-to-back games with homers could be a sign that he's starting to heat up in the month of May, although he's gone just 4-for-26 (.154) with three walks and eight strikeouts in seven games since the calendar flipped from April. Even if Hoskins doesn't start hitting for average, he should continue to be a solid source of power for fantasy managers.

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The New York Yankees have transferred the minor-league rehab assignment of infielder Oswald Peraza (shoulder) from Single-A Tampa to Double-A Somerset. Peraza is moving to Double-A after going 2-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and two walks in two games at Tampa. He's working his way back from a shoulder injury that he suffered in late February during spring training, so his rehab assignment isn't going to be a short one. But when the 23-year-old is ready to return, he could see decent playing time at the hot corner in the Bronx, depending on whether DJ LeMahieu is back from the injured list by then. The Venezuelan infielder has looked good in the minors but has yet to make his mark in the majors yet in the last two years, slashing .216/.298/.306 with three home runs, 16 RBI and six stolen bases in 70 total games.

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St. Louis Cardinals first baseman/designated hitter Matt Carpenter (oblique) will serve as the DH for Triple-A Memphis on Friday on his minor-league rehab assignment, and he said if everything goes well, he will join the Cardinals in Milwaukee on Saturday for their weekend series against the division-rival Brewers. In five rehab games on the farm, the 38-year-old veteran left-handed hitter has gone 4-for-17 with two home runs, so he appears to be swinging the bat well. He has been sidelined since early April with a right-oblique strain. When he's back in St. Louis, he's merely going to be a lefty bat off the bench who can occasional start as the DH against right-handed pitching. The three-time All-Star should only be rostered in deep NL-only fantasy leagues.

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Colorado Rockies first baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant (back) played catch and did some light running in the outfield on Thursday. He also took infield practice at first base on Wednesday and hit in the batting cages on Tuesday and Wednesday. Manager Bud Black said that Bryant "most likely" will need a minor-league rehab assignment before he returns to the Rockies. The 32-year-old former MVP is recovering from disc and arthritis issues in his lower back and could need a lengthy rehab assignment, considering he hasn't played in a game since April 13. In a best-case scenario, he might be back in Colorado at the end of May, but that might be a little optimistic. The four-time All-Star is having trouble staying healthy on the wrong side of 30 and was just 7-for-47 (.149) with a homer and six RBI this year before he went down with his back injury.

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Colorado Rockies left-hander Lucas Gilbreath (elbow, shoulder), who has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, was pitching in the first game of his minor-league rehab assignment on April 23, when he felt discomfort at the back of his shoulder and was shut down and moved to the 60-day injured list. Gilbreath pinpointed the injury to his "teres major, in the armpit, almost -- not the labrum, and the rotator cuff in general is in really good shape." He's currently in a rest period for an injury that isn't considered major, but it's nevertheless a setback as he tries to return from Tommy John surgery. It's a tough development for the 28-year-old southpaw, but he still could return to Colorado's bullpen this year. Gilbreath didn't pitch at all in 2023 and won't be an option in fantasy once he does return.

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Chicago Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon will no longer take the ball on Friday for the series opener against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, with Javier Assad now lined up for the start. There has been no information given as to why Taillon has been pushed back, but he could be dealing with an injury. Left-hander Justin Steele is set to make his third start of the year on Saturday, but the Cubs have listed their starter for Sunday's game as TBA. The 32-year-old Taillon has been stellar so far early on this season, so his fantasy managers would hate to see him dealing with an injury. So far, he's gone 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 24 innings of work. When we get an update on Taillon, we'll pass it along, but for now, make sure to remove him from your starting fantasy lineups on Friday.

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Texas Rangers pitching prospect Jack Leiter was sent back to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday after making his second major-league start in Game 2 of the team's doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday. The 24-year-old right-hander from Vanderbilt got rocked for the second straight time in a spot start, giving up six runs (four earned) in just four innings of work against the suddenly explosive A's offense. The team's No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, looks a bit overmatched at the big-league level right now, so he'll go back to the farm to work on things as he waits for his next call-up. With Texas' starting rotation banged up right now, Leiter's next MLB chance could come sooner than later. The good news is that the former second overall pick has looked better at Round Rock, posting a 2.84 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with eight walks and 37 K's in 25 1/3 innings.

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Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia went 3-5 at the plate with two RBI and two runs in Thursday's victory. Garcia tallied his first hit of the night with a single in the third and then lacked a double in the fifth. Later in the sixth, he knocked his second double of the game which scored two. This excellent performance brings Garcia to a .247/.302/.396 line with four long balls and eight swiped bags. His underlying metrics suggest the 24-year-old could be in for a big summer as he holds a strong 91.7 mph average exit velocity and 47.6% hard-hit rate, which are both well above average among qualified hitters. Garcia should be rostered in all leagues with his potent combination of power and speed.

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Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto extended his hitting streak to six games with a single in Thursday's loss to the Kansas City Royals. Neto got off to a slow start but has recently begun to catch fire. Since April 29, the 23-year-old is sporting an impressive .343/.378/.543 line with two long balls and one stolen base. Neto is usually batting in the nine-hole but did move up to the two-hole twice last week and was in the seventh hole last night, suggesting that his recent performance could be rewarded with more at-bats and scoring opportunities. Neto remains an option for deeper leagues but should be considered in DFS this weekend due to his recent stretch.

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Kansas Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino went 2-4 at the plate on Thursday and launched his fifth home run of the campaign. After getting off to a slow start to the season, Pasquantino looks to be rounding into form. Overall on the season, the 26-year-old has a solid .256/.340/.457 line, but it has been even better as of late. Since May 1, he is riding an incredible .429/.441/.714 line with 11 RBI and a 3:4 BB:K ratio. Hitting third in the Royals lineup every day presents him with significant opportunities to get on the scoresheet batting behind superstar Bobby Witt Jr. and in front of backstop Salvador Perez. Pasquantino is a solid play in any DFS matchup and should always remain in your fantasy lineup.

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Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha tallied his second victory of the season against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday by tossing six innings of three-run ball (two earned). Wacha allowed just three hits but struggled with his control, giving up five free passes. He struck out six. This was a big bounce-back performance for the 32-year-old as he got chased out of his previous start on May 4 against the Texas Rangers, allowing seven earned runs in just three innings. Wacha now sits with a 5.15 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with just 37 punchouts across 43 innings. Wacha has done well with limiting hard contact with an excellent 35.0% hard-hit rate and sports a 4.08 xERA, suggesting he could be due for some positive regression. However, Wacha remains an option for deeper leagues and should only be deployed in favorable matchups.

From RotoBaller