Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia is not in the starting lineup in Wednesday's series finale against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Paul DeJong will get the start at the hot corner and will bat sixth against Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee. Garcia will head to the bench after starting each of the team's last five games while going 6-for-19 with a homer, double and two stolen bases. The 24-year-old's playing time against right-handers has dwindled some in the second half of the season, though, since the acquisition of DeJong. Garcia is hitting .239/.287/.347 on the year with seven home runs, 52 RBI and a career-high 32 stolen bases in 129 games in his second full year in the big leagues. He's obviously been useful in all fantasy leagues for his speed, but he also isn't guaranteed a starting spot anymore when the team faces a righty.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (finger) is starting at shortstop and hitting in the two-hole on Wednesday versus the division-rival Cleveland Guardians and right-hander Tanner Bibee at Progressive Field for the series finale with sole possession of the American League Central lead on the line. Witt was hit on the right middle finger in Tuesday's win during a hit-by-pitch in the seventh inning, but strength tests checked out fine, according to manager Matt Quatraro. The All-Star shortstop stayed in the game and seemed OK, and post-game X-rays came back negative. The 24-year-old is in the running for AL MVP this year with how amazing he's been. The matchup isn't great on Wednesday, but Witt is a must-start in all single-year fantasy formats. He currently leads the league in batting average (.346), runs (113) and hits (183) while homering 27 times, driving in 94 and stealing 27 bases in 133 games.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz is making his first career start in center field and will bat third on Wednesday against the division-rival Chicago Cubs and right-hander Kyle Hendricks at PNC Park. With Cruz in the outfield, Isiah Kiner-Falefa is at short and batting leadoff. The Pirates mentioned earlier this week that they were going to ease Cruz into center-field duties earlier this week, with this being the first start of his professional career in that spot. Pittsburgh will roll with Kiner-Falefa and Nick Gonzales up the middle the rest of the way. On days Cruz doesn't play in center, he will be the designated hitter. Already a must-start in all fantasy formats, Cruz's value will only go up with more positional flexibility heading into the 2025 season. In his career against Hendricks in five at-bats, he's hitting .200 with a homer and an RBI.

New York Mets shortstop prospect Luisangel Acuna did a little bit of everything on Tuesday night for Triple-A Syracuse, recording a home run as one of his four hits to go with three RBI and two stolen bases. It was the 11th multi-hit, multi-steal game in the minors for the 22-year-old shortstop who was traded to the Mets in the Max Scherzer deal. Acuna is hitting .263/.307/.673 at Triple-A this season with seven homers, 46 RBI, and 34 stolen bases. The Mets' No. 12 prospect is the younger brother of Ronald Acuna, Jr. He offers a 50-grade hit tool with 60-grade speed. There is a lot of upside with Acuna and fantasy managers could see that soon if he is called up when rosters expand in September or at some point next season.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitching prospect Yilber Diaz was electric in his latest start for Triple-A Reno on Tuesday as he racked up 13 strikeouts for the second time this season with Reno. Diaz allowed four hits and did not issue a walk as he allowed just one run in 6 2/3 innings. Since returning to Reno in August, the right-hander has been lights out with a 2-1 record and 2.82 ERA in four starts with 29 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings, while issuing just four free passes. Diaz made four starts with Arizona in the major leagues and went 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He showed promise while pitching for the Diamondbacks and has been excellent in Triple-A all season. He could get another shot in Arizona when rosters expand.