Chicago Cubs left-hander Justin Steele (hamstring) is slated to throw a bullpen session on Saturday in Chicago and will be re-evaluated from there. Manager Craig Counsell said that Steele had a successful minor-league rehab outing for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday despite giving up three runs on six hits in just 3 1/3 innings pitched. He appears to be progressing well, and there's a chance he's activated from the injured list if everything goes well with his bullpen session this weekend. However, the fact that the 28-year-old southpaw didn't even go four full innings in his last rehab start would suggest that he'll need to make at least one more start in the minors before returning to Chicago's rotation. Regardless, Steele needs to be rostered in all fantasy leagues after breaking out in 2023.

Texas Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (groin) is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on Friday after being forced to leave his start early on Thursday against the visiting Washington Nationals with a groin injury. Manager Bruce Bochy said the club is "being cautious" with the 34-year-old veteran starter, but it doesn't mean the oft-injured pitcher won't require a stint on the injured list and miss a couple turns through the rotation. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect Eovaldi to make his next scheduled start on Tuesday in Oakland against the Athletics, but we should know more on that this weekend. If we had to guess, we'd expect Eovaldi to go on the shelf. Despite his groin injury on Thursday, he tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings with eight strikeouts to pick up his second win of the year. Eovaldi should be stashed in all fantasy formats if he does land on the IL.

Milwaukee Brewers rookie outfielder Jackson Chourio will take another day off on Friday for the series opener against the division-rival Chicago Cubs. Infielder Joey Ortiz is also starting on the bench. Chourio is now on the bench for the second straight game as he tries to get through a slump after a strong start to his first MLB season. The 20-year-old is hitting .140/.196/.233 with no homers or RBI and 12 strikeouts in 31 plate appearances in his last 10 games since April 16 to drop his season line to .206/.257/.351 on the season. The Brewers aren't giving up on the talented Venezuelan outfielder, but hopefully the little break will get him going. Jake Bauers is getting another start in left field and is hitting fifth on Friday against Cubs right-hander Hayden Wesneski.

Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Thursday's loss against the Houston Astros. The stolen base would be the fifth of the season for the 23-year-old. Outside of the basepaths, Rocchio has struggled to swing the bat. On the season, he is hitting a weak .218 and is homerless with four RBI. Despite playing on most days, the Guardians No. 9 prospect just hasn't done enough with the bat to convince managers to roster him. He can safely remain on the waiver wire.

Cleveland Guardians outfielder Will Brennan went 3-for-4 with three singles in Thursday's loss versus the Houston Astros. Brennen has now had multi-hit games in five of his last nine games. His performance on Thursday raised his batting average to .253 on the season and he has four homers, 11 RBI and two stolen bases on the young campaign. Brennan quietly has put together a good season, but he is a platoon player with outfielder Ramon Laureano and that limits his upside. He is worth a look in deeper formats as he continues to swing well, but there are likely players with better upside and opportunity on the waiver wire.