Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) is not in the starting lineup on Friday for the game at Camden Yards against the Houston Astros. This shouldn't come as a surprise to fantasy managers after Mountcastle was removed from Thursday's contest early due to wrist soreness. For now, the 27-year-old should be considered day-to-day. Check back on Saturday to see if he's able to return to the lineup. With Mountcastle on the bench on Friday, the left-handed-hitting Ryan O'Hearn will play first base and bat fifth against Astros right-hander Hunter Brown. Any extended time missed by Mountcastle because of his wrist injury will result from more starts at first base for O'Hearn. He is hitting a strong .272 (93-for-342) with 12 home runs, 48 RBI and 50 runs scored in 110 games played. O'Hearn is two homers shy of tying his career-high.

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams and second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. are both retreating to the bench on Friday against the division-rival Atlanta Braves at Truist Park with Braves All-Star left-hander Chris Sale toeing the rubber. Nasim Nunez will man shortstop and hit ninth, while Ildemaro Vargas will start at the keystone and bat sixth against Sale. DFS managers will probably want to avoid both Nunez and Vargas as low-cost deep sleepers in this matchup. Abrams has been a first-time All-Star in 2024 actually has had versus splits; he's hitting .291 (44-for-151) against southpaws this year, although only four of his 18 home runs have come against them. Garcia, meanwhile, is hitting .262 (22-for-84) against lefties but has yet to go deep against them this year. Garcia is also having a breakout campaign, already setting career-highs in homers (15), RBI (63) and steals (20) in 112 games.

The Houston Astros are hoping to have outfielder Kyle Tucker (shin) back in early September, general manager Dana Brown said on Friday on MLB Network. To put it lightly, fantasy managers have been extremely perplexed as to why Tucker has been out since early June with a shin bruise. Brown said that Tucker has been increasing his baseball activities lately, but the 27-year-old still feels soreness in his right leg "when he has to sprint or do anything at a quick pace." He is going to need to run the bases before the Astros give Tucker the green light to start a minor-league rehab assignment, so if he can't run the bases soon, Tucker's absence could stretch into the middle of June. Fantasy managers shouldn't outright drop one of the best players in the game (when healthy), but he's also running out of time to make an impact.

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (elbow) is returning to duties at third base and will hit second on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles and rookie left-hander Cade Povich at Camden Yards. Bregman missed the team's whole series last weekend against the Chicago White Sox and a few games earlier this week with soreness in the back of his right elbow before serving as the designated hitter the last two contests. The 30-year-old is feeling good enough to give it a go on defense on Friday, but he admitted that his elbow injury is going to require maintenance the rest of the year, so the Astros could be using him at DH occasionally. Fantasy managers just want Bregman to stay hot with the bat, as he's gone 20-for-61 (.328) with six home runs, five doubles, nine RBI and 13 runs scored in 14 games in August. When Bregman is used as a DH, rookie Shay Whitcomb is likely to get another start at third.

San Diego Padres left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta (thigh) will start a minor-league rehab assignment with Single-A Lake Elsinore on Friday night. Peralta threw a successful live batting practice session on Tuesday and has now been cleared to start a rehab assignment. The 33-year-old southpaw is attempting to return from a strained left groin that has kept him on the sidelines since before the All-Star break on July 9. The Dominican reliever probably won't need more than a handful of outings on the farm before the Padres have him rejoin their big-league bullpen. Given all the additions to their bullpen at the trade deadline in late July, Peralta is likely to operate in more of a low-leverage role upon his return. In his 41 appearances out of the bullpen this year, he's been shaky with a 4.50 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and only 20 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched.