Los Angeles Angels infielder Brandon Drury (illness) is feeling better on Friday and is starting at second base and batting sixth for the Angels in the series opener at Dodger Stadium against the Los Angeles Dodgers and right-handed rookie Landon Knack. Drury was scratched from Wednesday's lineup due to an illness but had a day off to recover on Thursday and is now good to go for the Freeway Series. The 31-year-old veteran returned from the injured list on Monday and is 1-for-6 this week since returning. Drury has battled injuries this year and hasn't been able to get into a groove at the plate, as he comes into Friday's contest with a .173/.233/.236 slash line with only a homer and six RBI in 110 at-bats. As long as he stays healthy, though, he should be a lineup regular for the Halos, making him useful in much deeper fantasy leagues.

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The Colorado Rockies activated second baseman Brendan Rodgers (hamstring) from the injured list on Friday and placed infield prospect Adael Amador (oblique) on the injured list in a corresponding move with a right-oblique strain. Rodgers isn't in the team's starting lineup on Friday against the visiting Washington Nationals, but he should return to regular duties at the keystone moving forward now that he's past his hamstring issue. The former first-round pick in 2015 has mostly been a bust for the Rockies since making his big-league debut in 2019, but he's actually having one of his best seasons in 2024, hitting .275/.309/.390 with three home runs, 22 RBI, the first stolen base of his career and 24 runs scored in 59 games played. Rodgers has never had more than 15 homers in his career, though, so he comes with a low ceiling and floor.

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Oakland Athletics infielder Abraham Toro (shoulder) is back at third base and is batting in his customary leadoff spot on Friday in Minnesota against the Twins and right-hander Chris Paddack. Toro is going to give it a go for the A's after missing the last three games with shoulder soreness, but he did serve as a pinch-hitter in Thursday's loss to the Kansas City Royals. The 27-year-old switch-hitter has earned regular playing time for Oakland and a spot atop the batting order by hitting .259/.300/.387 with six home runs, 24 RBI, three stolen bases and 31 runs scored in 274 at-bats. The playing time is useful for those in deeper fantasy leagues, but he has a low ceiling for counting stats with the A's and is hitting just .161 (10-for-62) with a homer, two doubles, four RBI and 13 strikeouts in 16 games in the month of June. Toro is hitless in two career at-bats versus Paddack.

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After 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, left-hander Cole Hamels has decided to officially retire. The 40-year-old hasn't pitched in a MLB game since the 2020 season with the Atlanta Braves. Hamels made one appearance with Atlanta before suffering an injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season. He was a four-time All-Star and the 2008 World Series MVP. It was an incredible season for Hamels who spent most of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies. That being said, the organization has decided to honor Hamels ahead of Friday's game.

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San Diego Padres catcher Luis Campusano has been scratched from the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. There is no word yet on why Campusano was pulled from the lineup. The Padres should give an update on his status shortly. In his place, Kyle Higashioka will cover behind the plate and bat ninth versus right-hander Colin Rea. Fantasy managers who have Campusano rostered should adjust their lineups ahead of first pitch.

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Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith is out of the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. It's a bit odd to see Smith taking a seat against a left-handed starting pitcher. There was no reported injury and Smith did start in three of the four games of their series against the Colorado Rockies. This appears to be a routine rest day for the 29-year-old catcher. Austin Barnes will do the catching and bat ninth versus left-hander Patrick Sandoval.

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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (back, thumb) won't make his season debut on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals. There was speculation that Scherzer would be getting the ball this upcoming weekend. Instead, right-hander Jon Gray will get the starting nod against the Royals on Saturday. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Scherzer hasn't suffered a setback and could possibly start on Sunday. Fantasy managers will have to stay tuned for more updates.

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Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams (wrist) is back in the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Colorado Rockies. The 23-year-old is back on the field after missing each of the last two games due to a wrist issue. He was dealing with a cyst near his wrist but it feels good enough for him to play on Friday. He'll return to the leadoff spot and serve as the shortstop against right-hander Dakota Hudson. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly.

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Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon (hamstring) has been placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday. The veteran outfielder will miss some time after battling a lingering hamstring issue over the last week. This is bad timing with Blackmon hitting over .300 in the last two weeks. In a corresponding move, outfielder Sam Hilliard has been recalled from Triple-A. The Rockies will likely use a committee approach to fill the void. Sean Bouchard will cover right field and bat seventh on Friday.

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Detroit Tigers infielder Jace Jung (wrist) has been placed on the 7-day injured list on Friday. This comes a day after Jung was scratched from Thursday's game due to wrist soreness. There was some speculation that Jung was getting called up, but in fact it was injury related. The 23-year-old will remain in Triple-A, but it shouldn't be long before he's back on the big league roster. The organization hasn't given a timetable for his return but hopefully it won't be much longer than a week.

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Colorado Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones (illness) is back in the team's starting lineup on Friday against the visiting Washington Nationals and rookie left-hander DJ Herz, playing left field and batting sixth in the order. Fantasy managers will now have Jones back after he missed the last two games due to an illness. The 26-year-old left-handed hitter broke out with a 20-20 campaign in 2023 in his first year in Colorado, but this year couldn't have started any worse for Jones. Not only has he missed significant time due to injury, but he hasn't swung the bat well at all when he's been on the field. Jones is currently hitting .194 (21-for-108) with a homer, five doubles, nine RBI, three steals and 39 strikeouts in 126 plate appearances. On the bright side for Friday's matchup is the fact that Jones has looked slightly better against lefties this year.

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Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon (hamstring) remains out of the starting lineup on Friday against the visiting Washington Nationals. Sean Bouchard will make another start in right field and will hit sixth against Nationals rookie left-hander DJ Herz. Blackmon will be out of the lineup for the third straight game due to right-hamstring tightness. If he is unable to make an appearance in the weekend series against the Nats, there's a good chance Blackmon will need to go on the injured list. The veteran outfielder has lost a lot of his power and only has three home runs on the year while batting .266 (59-for-222) with 26 RBI, five stolen bases and 34 runs scored. Bouchard will be a deep DFS sleeper at the bottom of the Rockies' lineup. In 81 at-bats, he has 16 hits for an average under the Mendoza Line with one dinger, seven RBI and four thefts.

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Miami Marlins left-hander Jesus Luzardo (back) will not end up making his next scheduled start on Saturday against the visiting Seattle Mariners, according to sources. Luzardo dealt with back tightness in his last start against the Washington Nationals on June 16, when he allowed two earned runs on five hits (two homers) while walking three and striking out two in a loss in five innings pitched. The 26-year-old showed diminished velocity due to the injury and threw only 77 pitches. If Luzardo isn't able to pitch in a series against the Philadelphia Phillies next week, he'll be a strong candidate to land on the injured list. The Peruvian left-hander has gone 3-6 on the year with an uneven 5.00 ERA and 1.24 WHIP while also recording a career-low 21.2% strikeout rate in 66 2/3 innings over his 12 starts for the Marlins.

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Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell said on Friday that catcher Tyler Stephenson (undisclosed) is dealing with an undisclosed injury and is listed as day-to-day. Stephenson is not in the starting lineup on Friday against the visiting Boston Red Sox. Instead, Luke Maile will be the backstop and will bat ninth against Red Sox right-hander Kutter Crawford. The Reds called up minor-league catcher Austin Wynns for Friday's game for extra catching insurance with Stephenson banged up. Friday's game will be the second straight missed game for the 27-year-old Stephenson. We should have more information on what exactly is bothering the Reds' starting catcher, but for now, fantasy managers need to keep him out of their lineups. Stephenson is currently slashing .245/.324/.399 with six homers, 22 RBI and 27 runs scored for the Reds in 188 at-bats in 2024.

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Miami Marlins outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. (hamstring) is back in center field and is batting leadoff for the Fish in Friday's contest against the visiting Seattle Mariners and right-hander George Kirby. The Marlins scratched Chisholm from Wednesday's lineup due to right-hamstring tightness, but he's feeling better after a scheduled day off on Thursday and is back in the lineup to start the weekend series against the M's. The 26-year-old needs to be returned to all starting fantasy lineups, even in the tough matchup against Kirby. The native of the Bahamas will bring a seven-game hitting streak into Friday's game. During that streak, he's gone 11-for-23 (.478) with a homer, triple, five RBI, three walks, a steal and three runs scored to raise his season slash line to .266/.333/.446 with 10 homers, 36 RBI and 13 stolen bases.

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Toronto Blue Jays rookie infielder Spencer Horwitz is not in the team's starting lineup on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians. Fellow rookie Orelvis Martinez will make his major-league debut at second base and will bat eighth against Guardians right-hander Carlos Carrasco. Horwitz, the team's No. 16 prospect per MLB Pipeline, made five straight starts after initially being called up but has now found himself on the bench in three of the last seven games. The 26-year-old former 24th-round pick in 2019 out of Radford University has gotten off to a strong start in his first 34 big-league at-bats, hitting .353, although he still has yet to leave the yard and has driven in only three runs. Horwitz is currently in the midst of a four-game hitting streak in which he's gone 5-for-15 with a double and RBI.

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Toronto Blue Jays infield prospect Orelvis Martinez is making his major-league debut on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians and right-hander Carlos Carrasco, starting at second base and batting eighth. The Blue Jays' No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, will be playing for the first time since he was called up from the minors earlier this week. The 22-year-old Dominican has impressive pop for a middle infielder, but he has a tendency to swing and miss a lot and could rack up the strikeouts in the early going in the big leagues. Martinez got the call to Toronto by hitting .260/.343/.523 with an .867 OPS, 16 homers, 46 RBI and 46 runs scored in 63 games for Triple-A Buffalo this year. The power is enticing in fantasy, but it doesn't look like he's going to be playing regularly and could be sent back to the farm at any time.

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Cincinnati Reds outfielder TJ Friedl (hamstring) is back in center field and is batting leadoff for the Reds on Friday against the visiting Boston Red Sox and right-hander Kutter Crawford. Friedl was removed from Monday's game with a tight hamstring and was held out the last two games as well. However, the left-handed-hitting 28-year-old outfielder is now ready to go this weekend and returns to the top spot in the batting order. He's already missed a lot of time due to injuries this year, which has made it difficult for him to get settled offensively. Friedl is currently hitting just .214 (18-for-84) with four home runs, 15 RBI and six stolen bases, but he has a good track record against right-handed pitching and could easily bounce back the rest of the year if he can stay on the field consistently. Friedl has never faced Crawford in his career.

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The Cleveland Guardians recalled infield prospect Angel Martinez from Triple-A Columbus on Friday and placed infielder Gabriel Arias on the family medical emergency list in a corresponding move. Martinez gets his first major-league call-up after tearing it up at Columbus in 17 games with a .333/.438/.550 slash line with a .988 OPS, three home runs, four doubles, 11 RBI and two stolen bases in 74 plate appearances. The 22-year-old Dominican prospect can play second base, shortstop and third base and will likely serve as a utility infielder for as long as Arias is away from the team. Martinez is listed by MLB Pipeline as Cleveland's No. 9 prospect, but he probably won't be worth picking up in the majority of fantasy leagues right now since he could go right back to Columbus once Arias returns.

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Cincinnati Reds infielder Jeimer Candelario (undisclosed) is back in the team's starting lineup on Friday against the visiting Boston Red Sox and right-hander Kutter Crawford, serving as the designated hitter and batting third. Santiago Espinal will handle third-base duties and will bat seventh. Candelario missed the last game due to undisclosed tendonitis, but he's feeling better now and will be available this weekend. The 30-year-old switch-hitter returns to a .251/.307/.482 with 12 home runs, 35 RBI, three steals and 27 runs scored in 247 at-bats in his first year in Cincinnati. In his only career at-bat against Crawford, Candelario recorded a hit. Candelario is hitting .338 (23-for-68) in June with six homers, four doubles and 15 RBI. Get him back into your starting fantasy lineups.

From RotoBaller