Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander did not have his good stuff in Tuesday's 10-3 loss to the Yankees. Verlander pitched five innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits (including three home runs) and three walks with two strikeouts. The veteran pitched well in his first three starts but this one brought his ERA all the way up to 4.43, and his 6.04 K/9 rate and 4.03 BB/9 rate leave room for improvement. Verlander should have an opportunity to find it in his next scheduled start, which is a favorable matchup at the Tigers.

Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien collected a season-high five RBI in Tuesday's 15-8 win over the division-rival Oakland Athletics, also smacking a solo home run in the victory. It was a massive day at the plate for Semien, who went 4-for-5 with an RBI single plus a two-run double as part of a 10-run blitz in the second frame by the Rangers, and he added another run-scoring single in the fourth for good measure. The 33-year-old All-Star infielder is now slashing a solid .266/.314/.449 with six homers, nine doubles, 27 RBI, and 27 runs scored in 158 at-bats as Texas' everyday leadoff man. Before a tasty three-game weekend set against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field begins on Friday, Semien gets two more cracks at his former Athletics team in Wednesday's doubleheader. In 18 games versus Oakland since 2023, Semien is batting .329 with four long balls, 15 RBI, and three stolen bases.

Chicago Cubs left-handers Drew Smyly (hip) and Jordan Wicks (forearm) were both scheduled to throw bullpen sessions on Tuesday. Wicks went on the injured list over a week ago with a strained left forearm but is already good to throw off a mound, so it sounds as though his injury isn't very serious. However, the 24-year-old southpaw could need a minor-league rehab assignment before the Cubs feel comfortable returning him to their starting rotation. Smyly, 34, is recovering from a right-hip impingement and has already missed several weeks. Because Smyly is a reliever, he may not need as lengthy of a rehab assignment before rejoining Chicago's bullpen. In a starting role, Wicks is more attractive in fantasy in deeper leagues. He had a 4.70 ERA with a 1.52 WHIP and 28 K's in five starts before his injury.

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada told SportsTalk790 that there is no timetable for first baseman Jose Abreu to return to the big-league roster. Abreu was sent down to the Florida Complex League on April 30 to help with his swing. Before being optioned, Abreu struggled at the plate, slashing .099/.156/.113 with zero home runs and three RBI. With Abreu in the minor leagues, Houston has been starting Jon Singleton at first base. Singleton is slashing .258/.329/.435 this season with three home runs and eight RBI. If Abreu does return to the MLB, he will need to prove he can produce offensively to be an everyday player for the Astros once again.

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar earned his third save of the season in Monday's 3-1 win over the Mariners. Thielbar came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by two and delivered a 1-2-3 outing with two strikeouts. Closer Jhoan Duran was called upon to face the top of the order in the eighth inning, so Thielbar got the save opportunity. The 37-year-old veteran has gotten off to a rough start this season with a bloated 6.14 ERA in 7 1/3 innings pitched. His fantasy value will remain limited if he continues to pitch poorly, as it seems unlikely that he would earn high-leverage situations.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish turned in another good start in Monday's 6-3 win over the Cubs. The veteran pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Darvish's strikeout numbers are still down relative to his career average, but he is 2-1 through seven starts with a 2.94 ERA, an 8.02 K/9 rate, and a 2.94 BB/9 rate in 33 2/3 IP. He will face a tough matchup in his next scheduled start against the Dodgers. Fantasy managers in weekly lineup leagues won't have a choice, but those in daily leagues may consider sitting him despite his strong start to the season.

Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez belted his seventh home run of the 2024 regular season in Monday's 2-1 win over the division-rival Detroit Tigers, helping lift his team to victory. Ramirez's go-ahead blast came in the eighth inning, and it was his second homer in as many days after going yard in Sunday's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels. It's been a much-needed rebound for Ramirez, who was mired in a 3-for-28 dry spell over eight games prior to Sunday. The 31-year-old perennial All-Star is still slashing a disappointing .230/.278/.432 on the season, but he does have seven bombs, 28 RBI, 23 runs scored, and five stolen bases covering 139 at-bats (34 games) for the Guardians. Ramirez will try to solve his woes against the Tigers during the final two contests of this three-game series, as he's batting just .167 (9-for-54) with three round-trippers and six RBI across 14 games versus Detroit since 2023.

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado is not in the team's starting lineup on Monday for a series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. With Machado on the bench, Donovan Solano will start at the hot corner and bat sixth against Cubs left-hander Justin Steele, who is making his first start off the injured list. Solano is hitless in two career at-bats against Steele and will be getting his first at-bat of the 2024 season after just being called up from the minors over the weekend. The 31-year-old Machado had started all nine games since returning from the paternity list last month. Since returning on April 26, Machado has gone 9-for-36 (.250) with a home run and nine RBI in 37 plate appearances. Machado will be back in the lineup on Tuesday.

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said on Saturday that right-hander Max Scherzer (back, thumb) is still in a holding pattern until his right-thumb soreness subsides. The Rangers pushed Scherzer's scheduled minor-league rehab start for Double-A Frisco on April 30 back a few days because of his thumb soreness. He traveled with the team to Kansas City on Friday but has yet to throw off a mound since being pushed back. "He's not at a point where he can play catch. Every day he's getting a bit better, but it's slower than he would like. You can't rush it. It's day to day with this thing before he gets on the mound," Bochy said. Scherzer was originally slated to return in late June/early July after having surgery on his back for a herniated disc on Dec. 15, but his timeline has accelerated and he should be able to rejoin Texas' rotation in May, barring any further setbacks.

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander James Paxton recorded his fourth win of the season against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday in a 5-1 victory. Paxton went 6 innings, allowing one run on five hits and two walks while striking out three. He has now recorded back-to-back wins in two starts. The 35-year-old has pitched 32 innings in six starts, holding a 3.06 ERA with a 5.01 K/9 and 6.68 BB/9 rate. His next projected start is against the San Diego Padres, who had already given him troubles earlier this season. Despite surrendering eight walks in last start against the Padres, Paxton has pitched well enough recently to be used as a streamer in most league formats.

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman earned his second win of the season in Saturday's 6-4 victory over the Nationals. The veteran went five-and-a-third innings, allowing no runs on three hits and two walks while striking out eight. After a bumpy start to the season, this was Gausman's fourth straight start of allowing one earned run or less. The 33-year-old now sports a 3.78 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with a 16.0% K-BB%. The 2x All-Star's next start currently lines up next weekend at home against the Twins, the hottest team in baseball and winners of 12 straight.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier (hip) has been activated from the 10-day injured list and will start in Saturday's lineup as the Blue Jays continue a three-game set against right-handed pitcher Jake Irvin and the Washington Nationals. Kiermaier only stayed on the injured list for a minimum of ten days and should be expected to return to his everyday role in center field. The 34-year-old struggled at the plate to open the season with a .193/.246/.228 line but put up a solid .265/.322/.419 line last season, so fantasy managers should expect a nice turnaround. He swiped 14 bags last season and already stole two before being placed on the injured list and remains on pace to smash his 2023 total. Kiermaier remains an AL-only option but could be deployed in a good matchup in DFS.

The Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres have agreed to a trade that sends second baseman Luis Arraez to San Diego in exchange for relief pitcher Woo-Suk Go and three prospects. The prospects San Diego is sending to Miami are outfielder Dillon Head, outfielder Jakob Marsee and first baseman Nathan Martorella. Head is the Padres sixth-ranked prospect, Marsee is their No. 9 prospect and Martorella ranks 13th. Suk Go had signed with the Padres over the offseason after playing in the KBO for the last seven years. Arraez and his .299 batting average will rank second-highest on the Padres behind Jurickson Profar. The move signifies the beginning of a rebuild in Miami, while the Padres continue to make moves to try and make noise in the National League West. It's unclear where the Padres plan on inserting Arraez into their lineup and defensive alignment, but he'll most certainly play every day and hit near the top of the batting order. It's a boost to his fantasy value.

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve went 1-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and stole his seventh base of the season in Friday's 5-3 win over the Mariners. The steal was No. 300 for his career, and along with his 2000+ career hits as well as a career batting average over .300, he joins some of the best names to play the game of baseball in Derek Jeter, Paul Molitor, Willie Mays, and Roberto Alomar. Now slashing .348/.411/.576 on the season, his wRC+ of 185 is fifth-best thus far, and the 33-year-old is the top-scoring second baseman in fantasy aside from Mookie Betts who is eligible at the position.

Kansas City Royals first baseman Salvador Perez went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Friday's 7-1 victory over the Rangers. It was the eighth time he's gone deep this season and the three RBI put him at 30, good for third-most in all of baseball. The 33-year-old is having a fantastic season thus far, slashing .351/.413/.605 with a .438 wOBA and 184 wRC+. After an 86 wRC+ season last year, the veteran has cut down his K% to a measly 10.3% and his Contact% of 83.2% is his best since 2015. The 8x All-Star has hit safely in 25 of the 32 games he's played and has 11 multi-hit efforts. Ranking behind only William Contreras for top fantasy catcher, Perez is looking like an early AL MVP contender and probable All-Star.

Heading into Friday night's series opener against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, San Diego Padres second baseman Xander Bogaerts was hitting just .217/.284/.287 with two home runs, 11 RBI, two stolen bases and 17 runs scored in 141 plate appearances over 32 games. The Friars made a big trade to acquire second baseman Luis Arraez from the Marlins on Friday night, but Bogaerts, who is a superior defender, should remain as the starter at second moving forward. But the 31-year-old four-time All-Star will likely drop further down the batting order with the addition of Arraez. Bogaerts managed to hit 19 homers and steal 19 bases in his first year in SD in 2023, but a lot more was expected from him after he signed an 11-year, $280 million deal last offseason. He's going to need to start making more consistent hard contact at the plate to turn around his slow start now that the calendar has flipped to May.

The Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres have agreed to a trade that sends second baseman Luis Arraez to San Diego in exchange for second baseman Xander Bogaerts, relief pitcher Woo Suk Go and three prospects. The prospects San Diego is sending to Miami are outfielder Dillon Head, outfielder Jakob Marsee and first baseman Nathan Martorella. Head is the Padres sixth ranked prospect, Marsee is their number nine prospect and Martorella ranks 13th. Suk Go had signed with the Padres over the offseason after playing in the KBO for the last seven years. Arraez and his .299 batting average will rank second-highest on the Padres behind Jurickson Profar. Bogaerts had been severely underperforming, hitting for just a .219 BA and a .571 OPS. The move signifies the beginning of a rebuild in Miami while the Padres continue to make moves to try and make noise in the NL West.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout (knee) underwent successful surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee on Friday. The Angels have not given a timetable on the return of Trout, but this injury isn't expected to be season-ending. Regardless, it's a crushing blow to both the Angels roster and fantasy managers. For now, fantasy managers will have to sit tight and hold Trout on an IL spot. Mickey Moniak figures to gain the most playing time in the absence of Trout. He hasn't hit well this season, but possibly more playing time will help him get his bat going again.

Chicago Cubs left-handers Jordan Wicks (forearm) and Drew Smyly (hip) have been cleared to resume playing catch. Wicks just landed on the 15-day injured list this past Sunday with a left-forearm strain, while Smyly has been out for two weeks due to a right-hip impingement. Wicks' injury is obviously a bit less serious, but it's good news for the Cubs pitching staff that both southpaws are ramping back up. It's unclear when either hurler will be able to return to the big-league roster, but when Wicks is ready, he should return to the rotation. The 24-year-old went 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with 28 K's in 23 innings in his first five starts. Smyly has plenty of starting experience, but he figures to return to the Cubs' bullpen when he's activated.

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve turned in a productive game in an 8-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday. Altuve went 3-for-5 with a run, an RBI, and two stolen bases in the win over Cleveland. The veteran infielder has been hot at the plate of late as he's hit safely in eight of his past 10 games and has four multi-hit games to his name over that span. Overall, Altuve is batting .352 with seven homers, 23 runs, 11 RBI, and six steals over 31 games this season.