Fantasy Baseball

It sounded like a precautionary move when Carter left Friday’s contest in the fifth inning following a phenomenal defensive play in left field the prior inning. He’ll undergo further evaluation and possibly imaging this weekend to determine the severity of the issue. The 23-year-old was 0-for-2 at the dish prior to leaving the contest at Fenway Park.

Adames was back at shortstop and hitting sixth following a brief one-game hiatus due to lower-body discomfort. The 30-year-old infielder is hitting .275 (33-for-120) with eight homers and 23 RBI over his last 30 games, despite some recent struggles at the dish.

Kirk reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances in his return to Toronto’s lineup following a 10-week absence recovering from thumb surgery. The 27-year-old backstop’s return provides a huge lift for the Blue Jays, who got a strong performance from rookie Brandon Valenzuela during his layoff.

Pederson was one of the few bright spots for the Rangers during a one-sided affair at Fenway Park as he collected a pair of hits following a one-game absence due to hip discomfort. The 34-year-old was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the late stages of the contest with the outcome no longer in doubt. He should be fine for the remainder of the weekend series in Boston.

Schanuel was held out of the lineup for the second consecutive contest as he continues to manage an ongoing ankle issue in addition to a calf issue that cropped up earlier this week. It doesn’t sound like he’s in any danger of requiring a trip to the injured list.

Mayer returned to Boston’s lineup after sitting out Wednesday’s series finale against Tampa Bay with neck and back spasms. The 23-year-old was just starting to show some real signs of life with a couple extra-base hits, including a home run, earlier this week. He’ll continue to bat near the bottom of the Red Sox’ lineup until further notice.

Wilson walked and scored a run in the sixth inning and finished hitless in three at-bats during his return to the lineup following a nearly five-week absence recovering from a shoulder injury. The 24-year-old shortstop figures to bat towards the bottom of the order, but it wouldn’t be a complete shock to see him get a chance in the leadoff spot ahead of Nick Kurtz.

Braves manager Walt Weiss told reporters that Strider experienced shoulder and elbow soreness, which led to his early exit from the fourth inning of Friday’s start against the Mets after just 68 pitches. He experienced a significant velocity drop prior to exiting, which is never a good sign, especially for a pitcher with two elbow surgeries already on his resume. He was charged with seven runs on six hits, including three home runs, in the abbreviated outing. He struck out three and issued one walk. He’ll undergo imaging to determine the exact nature of the injury. There should be a definitive update on his status at some point this weekend. It seems highly unlikely that he’ll make his next start against the Giants on Thursday. The logical choice to fill his rotation spot would be top prospect JR Ritchie, who threw five scoreless innings following Strider’s departure.

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.

Hader did well to shut the door here after the Astros scored nine runs in the first inning, but needed to use seven pitchers to finish off the Royals. He didn’t allow a baserunner despite needing 20 pitches and seeing six foul balls in a one, two, three inning. His fastball has held firm between 95 and 96 mph and his swing-and-miss stuff has thankfully been at his normal elite levels through five outings so far this season.