Fantasy Sports

Scherzer is scheduled to face hitters again on Friday in a 40-pitch live batting practice session and could progress to a minor league rehab assignment shortly afterwards. The 39-year-old veteran righty has made a rapid recovery from offseason back surgery, which was originally expected to keep him on the shelf until late June. It might be too optimistic to expect him to make his season debut in early May, but it can’t be completely ruled out at this juncture. It certainly sounds like he’s going to return to the Rangers’ starting rotation at some point next month.

Buehler needed 26 pitches to get through the opening frame and didn’t make it out of the third inning of this one, departing after just 68 pitches. He struck out three and also issued four walks. The big concern here is that he wasn’t able to sufficiently build up his pitch count and might wind up needing another rehab outing before finally returning to Los Angeles’ starting rotation mix. There should be a decision regarding his next step at some point in the coming days.

Just a few hours after Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters he needed to continue building up volume in the minors, Skenes delivered another masterful performance, allowing just three baserunners and striking out eight of the 14 batters he faced. He touched triple digits a staggering 34 times on 65 pitches (37 strikes), generating 11 swinging strikes and finishing with a near-elite 37 percent CSW. It certainly feels like Skenes is on the precipice of his highly-anticipated arrival in the big leagues.

McKenzie opted for the rest and rehabilitation route last year instead of undergoing Tommy John surgery, and insists that he isn’t feeling any pain this season. However, his on-field results have been utterly abysmal with a bloated 6.23 ERA, 1.77 WHIP and 5/12 K/BB ratio across 13 innings (three starts). The biggest concerns for fantasy managers are that his fastball velocity (90.9 mph) is down nearly two miles-per-hour from two seasons ago (92.5 mph) when he was completely healthy and he’s walked nearly 20 percent of the batters he’s faced so far. Simply put, McKenzie’s early season performance has been alarming, but there appears to be a possible explanation. Fantasy managers should expect Cleveland to continue carefully managing his workload and hope that his stuff rebounds in the coming weeks.

Chapman, who has also received an undisclosed fine, has the ability to appeal the league-issued two-game suspension. The 36-year-old lefty reliever was tossed from the eighth inning of Monday’s showdown against the Mets after recording just one out and allowing three runs.

Moreno returns to Arizona’s lineup for Thursday’s series opener following a brief two-game absence due to a right thumb contusion that he suffered earlier this week when he attempted to block a wild pitch with his bare hand.

There was no chance for the two clubs to get this one in on Thursday evening at a rain-soaked Wrigley Field. It’ll be made up as a split doubleheader on Saturday. Thursday’s original starters -- A.J. Puk and Jameson Taillon -- will presumably be pushed back to Friday’s series opener.

O’Neill confirmed Thursday to reporters that he’s been diagnosed with a concussion and has been dealing with some dizziness and lightheadedness. He added that he was feeling a bit better on Thursday a few days after a brutal on-field collision with teammate Rafael Devers. He’ll travel with the team this weekend, despite being on the 7-day concussion injured list, and is hoping to be ready to return when first eligible next week. There should be some clarity on his status at some point this weekend or early next week.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora added that he doesn’t think Devers will require a trip to the injured list. It’s an extremely encouraging development for Boston, and fantasy managers, after a precautionary MRI on Thursday confirmed that Devers isn’t dealing with any major structural damage in his left knee. The 27-year-old fantasy superstar will likely require a few additional days off to rest and recover, but doesn’t appear to be facing an extended absence.

Leiter allowed eight hits and issued three walks. It was the MLB debut for the second pick of the 2021 MLB Draft, and it wasn’t a particularly effective one. He was hurt by his defense with runs scoring on a play that should have been made by Leody Taveras, but Leiter was in the middle of the plate a lot, and he didn’t full the Detroit hitters. If the 23-year-old makes another start, it will likely come Thursday against Seattle.