Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz (elbow) looked sharp during his fourth minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, giving up one run on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts over four innings. This was Baz's fourth start in the minors as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery, so there's an outside chance that his next appearance will come in the major-league rotation after tossing 76 pitches on Wednesday. In all likelihood, however, Baz will throw in one more rehab game before likely rejoining the Rays in early June. For his big-league career, the 24-year-old former top prospect sports an encouraging 4.02 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while punching out 48 and walking 12 through 40 1/3 frames (nine starts) for Tampa Bay. Baz is worth stashing in the majority of competitive fantasy leagues with his return on the horizon.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried threw his second complete game of the season in Wednesday's victory on the road over the Chicago Cubs, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits with a season-high nine strikeouts en route to his fourth win of the year. Fried needed 105 pitches to go the distance in Wednesday's masterful performance, carrying a bid for a perfect game into the sixth inning before Ian Happ's leadoff double broke it up. Even though it's been an up-and-down campaign for the 30-year-old star left-hander, he owns a strong 3.38 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 48:20 K:BB with a career-best .197 average against through 10 starts overall (58 2/3 frames) for the Braves in 2024. Monday's series opener at home against the division-rival Washington Nationals marks Fried's next projected start. He gave up two runs over 9 1/3 innings (two starts) with a 9:1 K:BB against Washington in 2023.

Oakland Athletics infield prospect Cooper Bowman went 1-for-4 on Tuesday for Double-A Midland, extending his hit streak to 17 games. The 24-year-old hit just .152 over his first 21 games with three extra-base hits (two HR), but during the 17-game hit streak he is slashing .357/.451/.629 with 11 extra-base hits (four HR). What has been a constant is his speed, having swiped eight bags during the initial slump and 11 during the breakout, for a total of 19 already on the season. Last season, the former fourth-round draft pick stole 35 bags at Double-A and 47 at High-A the season before. MLB.com's prospects list has an ETA of 2024 for Bowman, but he'll probably make a stop at Triple-A first. Zach Gelof has been unable to recreate the success he had in 2023, so there's certainly an opportunity for someone to fill the offensive void. It might be Nick Allen at first, but later in the year it could be Bowman.

After a 2-for-4 night at Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday, Cleveland Guardians infield prospect Juan Brito has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, going 18-for-52 (.346). Not only that, six of the games have been multi-hit efforts, and 10 of his 18 hits during this stretch have gone for extra bases (six doubles, four homers). Brito is the Guardians' sixth-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com's top prospects list, and they have Brito with a 2024 ETA. The Guardians are winners of six straight and sit atop the American League Central standings, but no thanks to Brayan Rocchio's offense, their current shortstop, which seemingly would be Brito's clearest path to playing time. Brito has played second, third, and short this season, but Andres Gimenez and Jose Ramirez have him blocked at second and third. Brito's hot stretch is nice, but for fantasy, he is probably off the season-long radar, as his power and speed potential aren't impactful enough to warrant a roster spot at this point.

Atlanta Braves pitching prospect AJ Smith-Shawver will be recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to make his 2024 debut on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The 21-year-old right-hander is the Braves' top prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and he could have a shot to stick around as Atlanta's No. 5 starter if he impresses in the series finale. He's worth a speculative pickup in redraft fantasy leagues for his upside and high-end prospect pedigree, but he also hasn't looked very good in the minors this year, posting a 6.10 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with 17 walks and 35 strikeouts in 31 innings over eight starts for Gwinnett. Smith-Shawver made six appearances in his MLB debut in 2023 and had a 4.26 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 20:11 K:BB in 25 1/3 frames. He has an electric pitch mix but is still a work in progress. The young righty will face a Cubs team that ranks 17th in OPS (.691) that has the ninth-most strikeouts in the league.