Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz (illness) is back at shortstop and is batting in the three-hole for the Bucs in Thursday's series finale against the visiting San Diego Padres and right-hander Randy Vasquez. Cruz was out of the starting lineup for the first two games of the series against SD while being under the weather, but he came off the bench late in Wednesday's 9-8 extra-inning loss and is feeling good enough to start on Thursday at PNC Park. Fantasy managers will want to get the 25-year-old back in all starting lineups, especially since he's been hot offensively since the All-Star break. In 16 games since the Midsummer Classic, the Dominican infielder has gone 18-for-62 (.290) with three home runs, six doubles, a triple, 12 RBI, four stolen bases and 11 runs scored in 68 plate appearances.

Oakland Athletics outfield prospect Henry Bolte went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI on Wednesday evening. Bolte has been in a bit of a slump over the past week, holding a mere .200 AVG. Hopefully this performance can get the former second-round pick back on track. Since making his Double-A debut on July 1, the 21-year-old has posted a modest .233/.313/.388 line with just three home runs. Earlier this season at High-A, he boasted a .278/.393/.519 slash line. Bolte is considered to be the tenth-best prospect in the Oakland system on MLB.com and remains on track for a 2025 major league debut.

San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim (triceps) is back at shortstop and is hitting eighth in the batting order for Thursday's series finale in Pittsburgh against the Pirates and right-hander Luis L. Ortiz at PNC Park. Kim was held out of the starting lineup for the first two games of the series in Pittsburgh due to right-triceps soreness, but the 28-year-old infielder came off the bench on Wednesday to replace the injured Jurickson Profar (knee) in the sixth inning and went 1-for-1 with a walk, stolen base and run scored, so it's not that big of a surprise that he's back in the starting lineup a day later. He hasn't been quite as good as he was in 2023, but Kim is still useful in most fantasy leagues, mainly for his speed (21 stolen bases). The South Korean native is currently slashing .225/.325/.358 with 10 homers, 44 RBI and 58 runs scored in 374 at-bats.

San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar (knee) is back in left field and is batting second for the Padres in Thursday's series finale against the hosting Pittsburgh Pirates and right-hander Luis L. Ortiz. It's great news for fantasy managers after Profar was forced from Wednesday's extra-inning win after he was hit by a pitch in the right knee in the top of the sixth inning. Thankfully, X-rays on the 31-year-old's knee came back negative, and he's good to go the very next day. Fantasy managers will obviously want to keep the All-Star outfielder in their starting lineups. In just two career at-bats against Ortiz, Profar has a solo home run. The veteran switch-hitter is having the best year of his MLB career, slashing .300/.394/.490 with 19 home runs, 71 RBI and five steals in 113 games. His .394 on-base percentage leads the league.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal threw seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out nine in Wednesday's 6-2 victory over the Mariners. It was the lefty's seventh quality start in his last eight outings and 17th of the season which ties him for second-most. The 2024 All-Star is having a phenomenal season, posting a 2.57 ERA (lowest among qualified starters), 0.93 WHIP (second), and 171 strikeouts (second) in 143 1/3 innings pitched. He'll get this same Seattle team at home in his next start on Tuesday next week.