Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson and outfielder Jake McCarthy are both out of the lineup on Monday against left-hander James Paxton and the Los Angeles Dodgers. As a result, rookie infielder Blaze Alexander is the DH and is batting leadoff, while outfielder Randal Grichuk is in right field and hitting sixth in the batting order. Pederson is hitting a nice .296 (16-for-54) to begin his first season with the D-backs, but he's been afforded just three at-bats against left-handers. Alexander has really impressed so far in his first season in the big leagues and will be a pretty attractive DFS option in the leadoff spot on Monday. Grichuk will be more of a deep sleeper in daily lineups, but he does have a homer and two RBI while hitting .267 against Paxton in 15 career at-bats.

Arizona Diamondbacks rookie infielder Blaze Alexander is serving as the designated hitter and will bat leadoff on Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers and left-hander James Paxton. Alexander will serve as the club's DH instead of Joc Pederson with the veteran left-hander on the mound in the series opener in Arizona. The 24-year-old former 11th-round pick in 2018 has been great for the Snakes so far in 2024, hitting .322 (19-for-59) with three home runs, 13 RBI and 10 runs scored in his first 20 major-league contests. In his last seven games, he's gone 9-for-24 (.375) with a homer, five doubles, nine RBI and four runs scored. Against left-handers, he's gone 12-for-32 (.375) with two home runs and six RBI, so it's easy to see why he's hitting leadoff against Paxton on Monday.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera will not start in the team's series opener against the Detroit Tigers. With Willson Contreras starting behind the plate and Paul Goldschmidt starting as the designated hitter, Herrera will take a sit for the second time in three days. The young catcher was off to a hot start at the plate but has since cooled down. He is hitless over his last 15 at-bats with six strikeouts. The 23-year-old doesn't have much fantasy value right now, considering he is behind Contreras on the depth chart.So, he is likely only a fantasy option in extremely deep formats.

Miami Marlins left-hander Ryan Weathers had a tough outing on Sunday in the 12-9 loss to the visiting Washington Nationals, although he wasn't saddled with the loss. In just four innings of work, Weathers surrendered five hits (one home run) and six earned runs while walking three and striking out three to raise his season ERA to 4.55. In addition to the three free passes, the 24-year-old southpaw hit three batters but was given a no-decision thanks to the Fish going up in this contest 7-0. It was by far Weathers' worst outing of the season to this point and he's allowed nine earned runs now in his last 9 2/3 innings. The good news is he has the perfect bounce-back opportunity up next when he's scheduled to take on the Oakland Athletics next weekend.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman delivered a clutch hit during Sunday's game against the Boston Red Sox. The Cubs trailed 4-1 in the eighth inning, but Tauchman had an answer for that. After two singles, Tauchman came up and blasted a three-run home run to tie up the ballgame. Unfortunately for Cubs fans, the Red Sox would win this game in the bottom of the ninth. Tauchman is slashing .294/.429/.500 with three homers, 10 RBI this season.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson (shoulder) will start his minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Carlson has yet to make his season debut with the Cardinals due to a sprained left shoulder that he suffered in spring training, but he's getting closer and is now ready to play in live games. The 25-year-old switch-hitter could need extended minor-league action before the Cardinals are comfortable activating him from the 10-day injured list, but when he does return to the big-league roster, he could see pretty regular playing time in center field since Tommy Edman (wrist) is still sidelined. Right now, rookie Michael Siani has been seeing most of the starts in center for the Red Birds.

New York Mets outfielders Harrison Bader and Starling Marte are both out of Saturday's lineup. As a result, Tyrone Taylor will play in center field and bat seventh, and DJ Stewart will man right field and bat fifth. Bader has put up a solid .267 AVG during his first month in Queens but will get a breather since he has not registered a hit in his past three games. Marte, who has been off to a great start with a .288 AVG and four home runs, will miss his first game of the season. Both Taylor and Stewart have a tough matchup today as they will face Sonny Gray, who enters Saturday with a dominant 1.04 ERA and 0.87 WHIP, and both will be popular fades in DFS.

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, shortstop Gavin Lux and outfielder Josh Outman, who all hit left-handed, are out of Saturday's lineup against left-hander Yusei Kikuchi and the Toronto Blue Jays. Enrique Hernandez will play third and bat sixth, Miguel Rojas is at shortstop and hitting eighth, and rookie Andy Pages is in center field and will bat seventh for the Blue. Muncy is hitting a modest .258 (23-for-89) this year with five home runs and 18 RBI, but he's gone just 5-for-25 (.200) with one homer and 10 strikeouts against lefties. Lux has struggled in general, hitting .183 (13-for-71) and has yet to go deep. Outman's fantasy stock has really fallen as he's fallen into a platoon with Pages. Hernandez is the DFS play to consider with a .256 career average and 55 homers in 1,417 plate appearances against southpaws. He's also hitting .308 in 13 career at-bats against Kikuchi.

Boston Red Sox middle infielder Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) will play back-to-back minor-league rehab games with Triple-A Worcester on Saturday and Sunday and has at least a chance to be activated from the injured list for the start of a series against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. So far on his rehab assignment, the 23-year-old has gone 5-for-22 with two doubles and two stolen bases. Before hurting his hamstring, Grissom was projected to be Boston's regular second baseman. That should still be the case once he's finally able to return from the IL at some point next week, especially given all of the Red Sox's injury woes so far in 2024. With 15/15 potential at the plate, Grissom is a must-add off the waiver wire if he's available in your fantasy league.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that right-hander Walker Buehler (elbow) will make another minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City next Tuesday. If all goes well, Buehler will then be activated to make his 2024 debut with the Dodgers. The 29-year-old hasn't pitched in a major-league game since 2022, but he got up to 86 pitches in 4 1/4 innings in his latest rehab start on Wednesday at Oklahoma City despite giving up five runs (three earned). His numbers on his rehab start have been nothing to write home about -- a 4.86 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 16 strikeouts and nine walks in 16 2/3 innings -- but the most important thing is that he's healthy. Buehler could have some ups and downs early on with LA, but if he can show any of his pre-injury form in 2024, he has the potential to be a huge fantasy asset down the stretch.

Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez wants to ease catcher Keibert Ruiz in now that he's returned from a bad case of influenza that caused him to lose 18-20 pounds. It will also give the skipper the opportunity to keep catcher Riley Adams' bat in the lineup on a regular basis after he posted a .793 OPS when he caught 11 of the last 13 games with Ruiz out. "We're definitely going to use him," Martinez said. "One, let him catch. And two, we can also DH Keibert like we've done in the past and let him continue to catch. He's done a great job. He's learned a lot over the years. He's really coming into his own. It's good to have him, to watch him play and to watch him get better every day he's out there." As long as the 27-year-old continues to play several times a week, he'll be valuable in two-catcher fantasy leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn is getting the day off on Friday versus the New York Mets on the road. It's a standard rest day for Winn after he started the previous nine games. He's off to a great start in 2024 with a .313/.385/.418 slash line with an .803 OPS, no home runs, three doubles, two triples, six RBI, four stolen bases and nine runs scored in his first 23 games in his first full season as the team's starting shortstop. Despite the strong start, he's barely hitting over .200 in his last nine contests, so the rest day is warranted. The 22-year-old should be back in there on Saturday. Veteran Brandon Crawford is at the 6 and is batting eighth on Friday against Mets right-hander Jose Butto. Crawford will be facing Butto for the first time in his career.

Kansas City Royals outfielder Hunter Renfroe finds himself on the bench again on Friday against the Detroit Tigers. This will be the second straight game that Renfroe will be starting on the bench. In his absence, the left-handed-hitting Adam Frazier will make the start in right field for the Royals and will hit eighth against Tigers right-hander Reese Olson. The 32-year-old Renfroe has hit just .149 (10-for-67) with two home runs, 10 RBI, five walks and 16 strikeouts in his first 72 plate appearances in 2024 and is quickly losing playing time in Kansas City's outfield rotation. Frazier, also 32, hasn't been much better, going 11-for-55 (.200) with no homers, four RBI and one stolen base in 22 games. He's never faced Olson in his career.

San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar went 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk in Thursday's loss against the Colorado Rockies. Porfar took Nick Mears deep in the top of the seventh inning for his third homer of the season. The veteran has quietly been having a nice season for the Padres with a .295 batting average and 18 RBI. Profar should eventually regress, but he is worth riding while his bat is hot. For now, Profar is worth rostering, but managers would be wise to test the trade market and try to sell-high on the veteran. Profar will look to stay warm versus the division rival San Francisco Giants and Kyle Harrison on Friday evening.

Chicago Cubs top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong blasted the first home run of his major-league career during Thursday's 3-1 win over the Houston Astros. The 22-year-old came to the plate with a man on in a tie game and smoked a Bryan Abreu offering into the seats. Crow-Armstrong is one of the top outfield prospects in baseball and should see steady playing time with Cody Bellinger (rib) sidelined for a while. Crow-Armstrong was struggling in Triple-A prior to being called up, but his speed and power blend make him worthy of a speculative add in the short-term.

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Trevor Megill tossed a scoreless ninth inning to notch the first save of his career during Thursday's 7-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 30-year-old has been a pleasant surprise out of the bullpen for the Brewers and has been trusted to face the heart of the opponent's order multiple times this season. He has only given up one run in five appearances thus far and has picked up three holds. The Brewers ninth-inning situation has been a bit sporadic with Devin Williams (back) still recovering from injury, but Megill is now in the mix for saves alongside Joel Payamps. Both players deserve to be rostered in deeper leagues, while Megill holds even more value in formats that count holds as a scoring category.

It's unlikely that Boston Red Sox infielder Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) will return from the injured list this weekend, but he's getting close. Grissom continues to rehab in the minor leagues at Triple-Worcester and has played in six games to this point, going 4-for-18 (.222) with no homers or RBI and two stolen bases in 22 plate appearances. The 23-year-old has split time between shortstop and second base on his rehab assignment, but he's expected to operate as Boston's primary second baseman once he's ready to make his debut for the Red Sox. If he doesn't suffer any setbacks over the weekend, Grissom could be reinstated to make his 2024 debut next Tuesday at home against the San Francisco Giants. In deep-mixed leagues, he's absolutely worth a pickup if you need middle-infield help.

Chicago Cubs outfield prospect Brennen Davis went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday. His home run came off Alek Manoah in the top of the third inning. This was the outfielders first game in Iowa this season after returning from an arm injury that he suffered in spring training. Davis, 24, has slowly dropped from the Cubs top prospect over the past few seasons and injuries have been a big reason as he likely would have made his debut sometime in the past two seasons. Davis offers good power potential, but the Cubs have already promoted outfield prospects Alexander Canario and Pete Crow-Armstrong, so for now Davis will continue to swing the bat for Iowa. Outside of deeper dynasty leagues, Davis can be ignored for now.

The Cincinnati Reds moved left-hander Alex Young (back) to the 60-day injured list on Wednesday and claimed outfielder Peyton Burdick off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles in a corresponding move. The Reds sent Burdick to Triple-A Louisville as organizational outfield depth. Young was shut down during spring training in mid-March with lower-back disc degeneration and now won't be able to make his 2024 debut for the Reds until late May. The 30-year-old southpaw reliever went 4-2 last year with the Reds while recording a 3.86 ERA (4.99 FIP), his first career save, a 1.36 WHIP, 20 walks and 50 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings in his 63 appearances out of the bullpen. Young can continue to be ignored in fantasy circles.

Chicago White Sox right-hander Chris Flexen is lined up to start on Friday against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. It will be Flexen's fourth start of the season. The 29-year-old former 14th-round pick by the New York Mets in 2012 has appeared out of the bullpen for the Pale Hose his last two times out and is now sporting a 6.41 ERA (5.75 FIP) and 1.42 WHIP with seven walks and 11 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings pitched. Flexen has been more effective in his two relief appearances than his three starts, and the matchup against Tampa doesn't really make him attractive as a streaming sleeper in deep fantasy leagues on Friday. He'll be making the start on three days of rest. Flexen could be sent right back to Chicago's bullpen once Mike Clevinger is finally ready to make his season debut.