Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith went 4-for-5 in Friday's 12-2 victory over the Blue Jays, with two of his four hits going for extra bases, including a double and his second home run of the season. The 2023 All-Star also drove in three runs and scored three times. This was the second straight game Smith has recorded four hits, raising his season slash line to .376/.413/.527 and putting himself in position as the third-highest-scoring backstop for fantasy thus far. The Dodgers face Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi on Saturday night. Smith is hitting a scorching .520/.581/.680 against lefties so far this season and is 1-for-3 off Kikuchi in his career.

Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez was 3-for-4 with a grand slam, stolen base and two runs scored during Thursday's 6-4 win over the Boston Red Sox. Ramirez smoked a ball to right field in the second inning after battling through a 10-pitch at-bat against Chase Anderson. The five-time All Star is now slashing .260/.271/.471 with five homers, 23 RBI, three stolen bases and 18 runs scored. He has had a more aggressive approach at the plate this season which has resulted in only two walks through 24 games. Despite the lower than normal OBP, Ramirez seems to be recovering nicely from a slower start to the year and remains one of the best third-base options in fantasy.

The Toronto Blue Jays placed outfielder Kevin Kiermaier (hip) on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with left-hip flexor inflammation and recalled utility man Addison Barger from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move. Kiermaier was injured in Tuesday's contest and will now miss at least the next 10 days. Considering the 34-year-old's injury history, it wouldn't be a surprise if he missed more than the required 10 days on the IL. Kiermaier will be eligible to return on May 4. Daulton Varsho is moving to center field and batting cleanup on Wednesday, while Barger will make his major-league debut in left field while hitting eighth against Kansas City Royals right-hander Alec Marsh. Barger, who hits from the left side, is likely to see some playing time against right-handed pitching and is worth a deep-league pickup for his power upside.

Right-hander Kevin Gausman will be starting for the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday in the second game of their four-game series against the Kansas City Royals. Gausman struggled to begin the year with his velocity, but in his last start against the Yankees, the right-hander had success, as he went five innings and allowed just one run on four hits while striking out six. Gausman is 0-2 with an 8.16 ERA this season and will face a Royals lineup that is slashing .237/.306/.405.

Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez is out of the team's starting lineup on Sunday as they take on the visiting Oakland Athletics. In Ramirez's absence, Gabriel Arias will start at the hot corner and bat eighth in the batting order against A's right-hander Ross Stripling. Ramirez, a five-time All-Star, has gotten off to a bit of a slow start by his standards this year, going 22-for-92 (.239) with three home runs, 18 RBI, one stolen base and 15 runs scored in his first 21 games played and 95 trips to the plate. Fantasy managers shouldn't be too worried, though, and he should be back in action on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox after a scheduled off day on Monday. Arias is hitting .302 (13-for-43) with a homer, seven RBI and a steal in the early going, but he's never faced Stripling in his career.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith is not in the starting lineup Saturday against the New York Mets and right-hander Jose Butto. It's a predictable absence as the Dodgers and Mets played a night game on Friday but will get together for an afternoon clash on Saturday. Smith went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a run scored on Friday but the Dodgers took a 9-4 loss despite his efforts. The 29-year-old has come out of the gate hot this season, hitting .356 with a homer, five doubles, and an .861 OPS across 81 plate appearances, good for fourth-most among big-league backstops. The Dodgers have surprisingly dropped four of their last five entering Saturday's contest.

Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien had a great day at the dish on Thursday, leading the team to a 9-7 win over the Detroit Tigers. Semien went 3-for-6 with a homer and a double while scoring a pair of runs and knocking in one. With the big performance, the 33-year-old bumps up his slash line to .286/.355/.464 on the season. He also has 16 runs scored, three homers, 17 RBI, and a stolen base. While the counting numbers are great, his power and speed have left a little to be desired so far, but those should pick up as the season goes on.

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman will make his third start of the season against the Colorado Rockies at the Rogers Centre this evening. The ace pitcher was dealing with shoulder fatigue earlier in the offseason, which prevented him from seeing time in Spring Training and delayed his season debut. He threw four one-run innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in his first start but struggled mightily in his second against the New York Yankees, where he allowed five earned runs. Gausman's velocity dipped in that start but did not express much concern. The 33-year-old should have an excellent opportunity to deliver a quality start against a Rockies team that has the sixth most total strikeouts, making him a fantastic option in DFS.

The Tampa Bay Rays granted right-hander Jake Odorizzi (hamstring, shoulder) his release on Thursday. The veteran of 11 major-league seasons signed a minor-league deal with the Rays in mid-March and made two rehab starts with Triple-A Durham in hopes of getting back to the big leagues. Odorizzi missed all of the 2023 season while recovering from shoulder surgery and will now be looking for another opportunity with another organization in 2024. In his two minor-league starts with Durham, the 34-year-old didn't look good, giving up seven runs while walking five and striking out only two in 5 1/3 innings while being bothered by a hamstring injury. Even if he's healthy and gets a shot elsewhere, it's looking like an uphill battle for Odorizzi to get back to the majors this year.

Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu and outfielders Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers are all sitting out on Thursday against the Kansas City Royals in the series finale. Jon Singleton is at first base and batting sixth, Mauricio Dubon is in center field and batting ninth, and Yainer Diaz is serving as the designated hitter and hitting fifth in the order versus Royals right-hander Brady Singer. Just like last year, the 37-year-old Abreu has been ice-cold offensively in the early going for the 'Stros, going 3-for-37 (.081) with no home runs, one RBI and 13 strikeouts in his first 41 plate appearances. He could use a day off. If the veteran first baseman continues to struggle, Houston could give him more frequent days on the bench. None of Singleton, Dubon or Diaz have ever faced Singer in their careers.

Robbie Grossman will be leading off and playing right field for the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday in Chicago's road game against the Cleveland Guardians. Grossman has struggled this season as he has yet to record a hit in 11 at-bats while striking out three times but has walked twice. Grossman signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox and had his contract selected after hitting .400 with two home runs and five RBI in Triple-A.

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher/outfielder Henry Davis and outfielder Michael Taylor will start on the bench on Monday for the series opener against the visiting Detroit Tigers. Joey Bart will do the catching for the Bucs and will hit ninth, while Jack Suwinski is in center field and batting cleanup against Tigers right-hander Reese Olson. This will be Bart's second start in the last three games, and he could see more time behind the plate with Davis starting off his second MLB season just 4-for-30 at the plate. It helps Bart's cause that both Yasmani Grandal (foot) and Jason Delay (knee) are currently on the injured list. This will be Taylor's third straight game starting on the bench. Suwinski is just 6-for-34 (.176) in the early going but will have elevated DFS sleeper appeal in the cleanup spot on Monday.

Fantasy managers might be worried about right-hander Kevin Gausman after his disastrous first start of the season against the New York Yankees on Saturday in which he allowed six runs (five earned) in just 1 1/3 innings, but Gausman isn't too worried after the velocity on all of his pitches was down three to five mph. The 33-year-old All-Star blamed it more on the cold weather in the Bronx more than anything, and fantasy managers must remember that Gausman got a late start to the 2024 season due to right-shoulder fatigue that he dealt with in spring training. "It's just about locating a little bit better," said manager John Schneider. Gausman's velocity was down early in the year in 2023, too, so this shouldn't be a sign of bad things to come in 2024 for Toronto's ace.

Chicago White Sox outfielder Robbie Grossman will get a chance to serve as the team's leadoff hitter with both Luis Robert Jr. (hip) and Eloy Jimenez (groin) on the injured list. The White Sox brought Grossman up from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, and he's started two of the three games since. The 34-year-old veteran switch-hitter went 0-for-5 in the leadoff spot on Sunday in the loss to the Kansas City Royals, but manager Pedro Grifol said that Grossman will get more opportunities there. Andrew Benintendi will be the biggest loser fantasy-wise after being dropped to the fifth spot in the order on Sunday. Grossman can be a decent source of runs and on-base percentage now that he'll be hitting leadoff and playing often with Robert and Jimenez sidelined, making him worth a pickup at least in AL-only fantasy leagues.

Kansas City Royals left-handed reliever William Smith was brought in for the ninth inning on Friday night with the club holding a 2-1 lead over the visiting Chicago White Sox, but the veteran southpaw was pulled after allowing a hit and walking one in favor of James McArthur, who ended up picking up his first save. Smith did pick up a strikeout and the hold, but it's not a good sign that manager Matt Quatraro gave him the quick hook after he allowed a double and a walk after his strikeout. The 34-year-old wasn't a high-end fantasy baseball closer to begin with, but Smith might already be losing his hold on the closer gig in Kansas City after the first week. Smith already has allowed six earned runs in three innings with a blown save and two losses, so fantasy managers scrounging for saves in the early going should consider picking McArthur up off the waiver wire.

Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien had himself a day in Friday's 10-2 blowout win over the division-rival Houston Astros, getting a hit in all three of his at-bats and bashing a three-run home run during the sixth inning. Semien smacked one 395 feet to deep left center to make the score 10-0 and get the rout fully underway. It was the first homer of the campaign for the 33-year-old fantasy stalwart, who is now slashing .333/.471/.481 with eight RBI and six runs scored across 27 ABs thus far in 2024. Hitting atop one of the most dynamic offenses in baseball, Semien has led MLB in plate appearances in three of the past four years and should serve as head-to-head gem in all fantasy formats. Dating back to 2023, Semien is batting .393 with four bombs, nine RBI, and 14 runs scored in his last 14 games against the Astros and gets Houston three more times this series.

Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu has been dropped down in the lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Texas Rangers. The 37-year-old is regressing rapidly as he is having a horrible start to the season. So far, Abreu is slashing .105/.190/.105 with zero RBI and a 6/1 K/BB ratio in 21 plate appearances. On Friday, Abreu will fall to the seventh spot in the batting order against left-hander Cody Bradford. Fantasy managers should expect Abreu to pick it up somewhat, but it's unlikely that he holds steady fantasy value.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier (back) was scratched from Friday's lineup against the New York Yankees with lower-back tightness. With Kiermaier now out, Daulton Varsho is moving to center field and will bat eighth, while Davis Schneider moves to left field and will hit fifth against Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman. Cavan Biggio enters the lineup at second base and will hit sixth. The 33-year-old Kiermaier should be considered day-to-day for now, but fantasy managers shouldn't be surprised if the veteran outfielder misses more than just one day with this injury. On top of now being hurt, he has just one hit in his first 20 plate appearances in 2024 over six games with an RBI, stolen base and six strikeouts for Toronto.

Chicago White Sox outfielder Robbie Grossman could join the major-league roster within the next week, according to general manager Chris Getz. The White Sox don't expect Eloy Jimenez (groin) to land on the injured list, but he is missing his fourth straight game on Thursday, while Grossman is 3-for-7 with two home runs and five RBI in his first two games down on the farm at Triple-A Charlotte. The 34-year-old veteran switch-hitter has the ability to play multiple outfield positions, which will give the White Sox more versatility. Grossman doesn't provide much fantasy upside in deeper leagues, though, if he's back in the big leagues. He's hit over 20 homers just once in his 11 big-league seasons and slashed .238/.340/.394 with 10 homer and 49 RBI in 115 games in 2023 for the Texas Rangers.

Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien collected two hits, both singles, and an RBI in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Rays. It was Semien's third multi-hit performance in six games, however, he went hitless in the other three games. The 33-year-old is now 6-for-24 (.250) on the young season, with five RBI, three runs scored, and a 5:3 BB:K. The 2x All-Star is still searching for his first home run of the season, but he does have one extra-base hit (a double) so far. It's still very early, but for what it's worth, Semien has an xBA of .318. Look for him to have fewer hitless performances in the future, and surely that first long ball is not far behind.