Kansas City Royals starting pitching prospect Chandler Champlain posted another strong outing on Thursday with six shutout innings, only allowing three hits and striking out seven. After posting a hefty 6.27 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in his four starts of the season, the 24-year-old has begun to find his stride. In his recent two outings, he has tossed eleven innings to the tune of an 0.82 ERA and 0.55 WHIP. This is a big step for Champlain as he not only struggled against Double-A pitchers through the early part of this season but posted a disappointing 3.82 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 73 innings at this level last season. The eleventh-ranked prospect in the Kansas City pipeline is projected to make his major league debut in 2025 but could be worth adding in dynasty leagues if he reaches Triple-A by the end of the summer.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that right-hander Pete Fairbanks (arm) is back from his minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham and is likely to be activated from the injured list this weekend. Fairbanks pitched a scoreless inning with Durham on Thursday and has apparently recovered from a nerve issue in his right arm. The 30-year-old former ninth-round pick of the Texas Rangers in 2015 out of Missouri was likely being affected by his right-arm injury early on this year when he posted a bloated 9.00 ERA and 2.29 WHIP with 10 strikeouts in seven innings before landing on the injured list. Fairbanks also had three saves and should return to being Tampa's primary closer once he is reinstated from the IL. If Fairbanks was dropped in your league and he's still available, pick him up immediately.

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop prospect Austin Gauthier was promoted to Triple-A earlier this week and is already producing. In his third game with Triple-A Oklahoma City, the 25-year-old launched a solo shot which was his first at Triple-A and his fifth across the entire 2024 season. Through a small sample size at Triple-A, Gauthier posted an excellent .455/.600/.909 line with a stellar 4:2 BB:K ratio. With the way the 25th-ranked prospect in the Dodger system is swinging the bat, he could be making his major league debut sooner rather than later. Due to how fast he is approaching a promotion, he should be rostered in deeper dynasty formats and could become worth stashing in redraft leagues very soon.

Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco is getting a breather on Friday in the series opener against the visiting Oakland Athletics. Josh Rojas will get the start at the keystone for the M's as a result and will hit leadoff against A's right-hander Paul Blackburn. Luis Urias is at third base and is batting ninth for the M's. Polanco is in need of a little break after recording only two hits in 18 at-bats with seven strikeouts in the recent four-game series this week against his former team, the Minnesota Twins. The 30-year-old Dominican switch-hitter's poor recent stretch has dropped his season slash line to a weak .182/.291/.299 with five home runs, 13 RBI and 14 runs scored in 137 at-bats. Rojas continues to get more playing time around the diamond for Seattle after his .348/.417/.533 start at the plate in 2024.

New York Mets starting pitching prospect Brandon Sproat pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a hard-luck loss on Thursday. He struck out eight and allowed just two hits and three free passes. This was his longest outing of the season. The 23-year-old now has an excellent 1.07 ERA and 1.11 WHIP through 25 1/3 innings in his first professional season. The former Florida Gator has been dominating High-A and is making the case to be moved up to Double-A this summer. However, the Mets may lean on the side of caution for their young prospect, who is not projected to reach the major leagues until 2026.