Braves manager Walt Weiss told reporters late Friday that Strider will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury and whether he’s dealing with any structural issues. It’s an extremely concerning development given his injury history, which already includes two elbow surgeries. The 27-year-old former fantasy ace experienced a noticeable velocity dip, which lead to his removal from Friday’s start against the Mets in the fourth inning after just 68 pitches. There should be a definitive update on his status later this weekend. Top prospect JR Ritchie, who fired five shutout innings in relief following Strider’s departure, appears to be the most logical candidate to fill his rotation spot.

Lindor progressed to taking live batting practice on Friday for the first time since hitting the injured list with a calf strain back in late April. The 32-year-old shortstop will go through a pair of workouts next week before potentially heading out on a minor league rehab assignment. The hops is that ramping up in a controlled environment will minimize the number of rehab contests he’ll require before returning to New York. It’s an encouraging update for the Mets and fantasy managers alike.

“He got, I’d say, very good news,” Reds manager Terry Francona told reporters on Friday. “He’s about 90 percent healed, which is fantastic.” He added that De La Cruz will continue ramping up baseball activities and that they’ll make a decision on his next steps, including a potential rehab assignment, later this weekend. All signs point to De La Cruz making it back to Cincinnati before the end of June, which is right in line with his initial 2-4 week recovery timeline.

Alvarez is on a different level right now. He became the first Astros player since Jeff Bagwell in 1994 to hit two home runs in the same inning, and Alvarez did so in the first. The second of which was a grand slam that capped off a legendary nine-run top of the first for the Astros where Alvarez drove home six of those runs. Those homers brought him to 24 on the season, which tied Kyle Schwarber for the league-lead. His 1.092 OPS also leads the league by a longshot and his .321 batting average is second in the AL. As of this moment, he’s the clear-cut MVP frontrunner in what’s been a sensational bounceback season after an injury-marred 2025.

This was a jaw-dropping performance. There was never a moment where Misiorowski wasn’t in complete control and he was one Kyle Schwarber single away from throwing a perfect game. That inning ended with a double play so in the end, Misiorowski faced only the minimum 27 batters. He struck out eight of the first nine batters and in the first inning specifically, his fastball averaged 104 mph. Yes, 104 mph. Just completely ridiculous. It only took him 52 total pitches to reach that point too. From there, the Brewers had opened up a big lead and he was more shooting for outs rather than strikeouts, but this was still as dominant a start as we’ve seen from any pitcher in quite some time. Possibly most impressively, he mostly just leaned on that fastball. He threw it 73 percent of the time, it averaged 102 mph, and it forced 23 of his 25 total swings-and-misses. The final five he threw were all at least 103 mph and it looked like he had a few more scoreless innings in him if the game called for it. He didn’t have a single three-ball count. There were only five two-ball counts. It was the most strikeouts ever in a complete game with under 100 pitches, which is commonly known as a ‘Maddux’. He also threw the hardest pitch every recorded by a starting pitcher at 104.5 mph. It’s becoming difficult not to call him the best pitcher in baseball at this point with that kind of velocity, drastically improved command, a 1.34 ERA, and a 131 to 22 strikeout to walk ratio across 96 innings this season. Misiorowski is scheduled to send the Guardians to the buzzsaw next.

Ohtani was removed from Thursday’s game as a precautionary measure due to inflammation in his left knee. The Dodgers have opted to take a very cautious approach here with their two-way superstar and will give him at least an extra night off to rest. Santiago Espinal will fill in as the Dodgers’ designated hitter on Friday and will bat eighth against Anthony Kay and the White Sox.

He’ll be active tonight, batting cleanup behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Kirk fractured his thumb in early April and was only 3-for-20 before going on the injured list, missing a little over two months of the season. Kirk’s ability to hit for average should keep him in the rolodex at catcher in 12-team leagues.

Baldwin will miss the weekend series with the Mets, but could be activated on Tuesday if all goes well. Fantasy managers who have been suffering without the services of the star catcher, who hit .303/.389/.543 with 13 homers and 38 RBI before hitting the shelf, won’t have to wait too much longer.

It’ll be the first trip to the majors for Espino, who three years ago was considered one of the game’s top three pitching prospects before being derailed by injuries. Moved to the pen this year, has a 5.30 ERA and a 29/15 K/BB in 18 2/3 innings for Triple-A Columbus. He’s hasn’t pitched on back-to-back days at any point, he’s worked on one day of rest just once and he’s yet to get more than three outs in an appearance this year, so it’s hard to see how he fits right now. Still, he’s dealt with a whole lot, and it’s great to see him get the opportunity.

Ohtani felt something in his knee during a stolen base attempt on a foul ball earlier in the game on Thursday and the Dodgers wanted to be proactive and give him a few innings off to end the game rather than pushing it. They’ll wait and see how he feels on Friday, but the expectation is that he’ll return to the lineup. Either way, he shouldn’t be looking at any sort of extended absence.