Scherzer is scheduled to face hitters again on Friday in a 40-pitch live batting practice session and could progress to a minor league rehab assignment shortly afterwards. The 39-year-old veteran righty has made a rapid recovery from offseason back surgery, which was originally expected to keep him on the shelf until late June. It might be too optimistic to expect him to make his season debut in early May, but it can’t be completely ruled out at this juncture. It certainly sounds like he’s going to return to the Rangers’ starting rotation at some point next month.

Just a few hours after Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters he needed to continue building up volume in the minors, Skenes delivered another masterful performance, allowing just three baserunners and striking out eight of the 14 batters he faced. He touched triple digits a staggering 34 times on 65 pitches (37 strikes), generating 11 swinging strikes and finishing with a near-elite 37 percent CSW. It certainly feels like Skenes is on the precipice of his highly-anticipated arrival in the big leagues.

McKenzie opted for the rest and rehabilitation route last year instead of undergoing Tommy John surgery, and insists that he isn’t feeling any pain this season. However, his on-field results have been utterly abysmal with a bloated 6.23 ERA, 1.77 WHIP and 5/12 K/BB ratio across 13 innings (three starts). The biggest concerns for fantasy managers are that his fastball velocity (90.9 mph) is down nearly two miles-per-hour from two seasons ago (92.5 mph) when he was completely healthy and he’s walked nearly 20 percent of the batters he’s faced so far. Simply put, McKenzie’s early season performance has been alarming, but there appears to be a possible explanation. Fantasy managers should expect Cleveland to continue carefully managing his workload and hope that his stuff rebounds in the coming weeks.

O’Neill confirmed Thursday to reporters that he’s been diagnosed with a concussion and has been dealing with some dizziness and lightheadedness. He added that he was feeling a bit better on Thursday a few days after a brutal on-field collision with teammate Rafael Devers. He’ll travel with the team this weekend, despite being on the 7-day concussion injured list, and is hoping to be ready to return when first eligible next week. There should be some clarity on his status at some point this weekend or early next week.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora added that he doesn’t think Devers will require a trip to the injured list. It’s an extremely encouraging development for Boston, and fantasy managers, after a precautionary MRI on Thursday confirmed that Devers isn’t dealing with any major structural damage in his left knee. The 27-year-old fantasy superstar will likely require a few additional days off to rest and recover, but doesn’t appear to be facing an extended absence.

Both steals came in the sixth inning. It’s the first multi-steal game for Trout since May 20, 2018 and it’s a flashback to when the 32-year-old was one of the best producers of thefts in the sport. With those pair of swipes he’s up to five on the season, and it’s possible — but far from a guarantee — that Trout is going to be much more active on the bases than he has over the past few seasons. On top of those steals, Trout is now slashing .257/.357/.662 over the first 19 games of 2024.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Thursday that the additional imaging is more for peace of mind than anything else, but an MRI is still an MRI. He added that Devers wasn’t feeling great and had trouble staying on his leg on Wednesday. The 27-year-old was removed from Tuesday’s game against the Guardians when he experienced discomfort in his left knee. We’ll have to wait and see if the MRI revels anything significant, but it adds to the laundry list of injuries the Red Sox are dealing with earlier on this season.

The 25-year-old right-hander punched out seven batters on the afternoon while issuing only one base on balls. The only hit that he allowed came on a solo home run off the bat of Elly De La Cruz in the second inning, aside from that Miller was incredible. He got six swings and misses on 91 pitches on the impressive day, posting a solid CSW of 30 percent. Miller has been outstanding through his first four starts on the season, registering a 1.85 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and a 24/7 K/BB ratio over 24 1/3 innings. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling when he squares off against the Rangers in Arlington on Wednesday.

Judge stepped to the plate to face Blue Jays lefty Tim Mayza with two outs in the ninth inning of a tie ballgame, and wound up coming through with an infield single down the left-field line that scored two runs on the play, putting New York ahead for good in this one. The 31-year-old former AL MVP’s ice-cold start at the dish has been well-documented so far, so he certainly needed a moment like this in a big spot. It was his lone hit in five at-bats, but Judge certainly came through when it mattered most.

Soto also drew a pair of walks, reaching base safely in all five of his plate appearances in this one. The 25-year-old fantasy superstar put the Yankees on the scoreboard in the fifth inning with a run-scoring double off Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman before taking lefty reliever Génesis Cabrera deep for a solo shot -- his fourth big fly of the season -- in the eighth inning. He also drew a pivotal two-out walk in the ninth inning against lefty Tim Mayza to set up ensuing batter Aaron Judge’s go-ahead two-run single.