St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado provided one of the few bright spots in the team's 11-4 loss to the visiting division-rival Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, going 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, a run scored and a strikeout. Arenado has missed several games over the last week with elbow and forearm injuries, but he's avoided a trip to the injured list and continues to produce modest numbers for his standards in 2024. The 33-year-old All-Star is now up to seven home runs while slashing .258/.313/.378 with a .691 OPS, 34 RBI and 27 runs scored in 283 at-bats. He has hit .260 (20-for-77) with two home runs, three doubles, eight RBI, six walks, 14 strikeouts, one stolen base and five runs scored in 21 games in the month of June.

Chicago White Sox outfielder Dominic Fletcher (shoulder) will begin his minor-league rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League on Friday as he recovers from a sprained left shoulder. Fletcher has missed most of June but has been cleared to resume playing in games as he looks to make his way back to the major-league roster before the All-Star break in mid-July. It's unclear exactly when he'll be able to come off the 10-day injured list, but even when he does, he's probably just going to be a left-handed outfield bat off the bench for the Pale Hose. The 26-year-old former second-round pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019 out of Arkansas has gone just 13-for-75 (.173) this year with no home runs, six RBI and four runs scored for the White Sox in limited playing time.

Houston Astros right-hander Luis Garcia (elbow) was sent to the Florida Complex League to begin a minor-league rehab assignment on Friday. Garcia will be making his first appearance in a game this weekend since having Tommy John surgery last May. Given the nature of his injury and his long layoff, it's likely that he'll spend the full 30 days on his rehab assignment. However, after that, he should return to the big-league starting rotation later in the second half of the season as a much-needed reinforcement for a rotation that has been decimated by injuries this year. The 27-year-old Venezuelan hurler has a respectable 3.61 ERA (3.79 FIP) and 1.16 WHIP with a 25.3% strikeout rate in his four major-league seasons with the Astros since debuting in 2020 over 352 innings and 69 appearances (63 starts).

Seattle Mariners outfield prospect Jonatan Clase had a productive game on Thursday where he went 3-for-5 with a single, a triple, and a home run with one RBI and a stolen base. Clase has now tallied at least one hit in each of his past four games and holds an overall .281/.390/.485 slash line with seven long balls, 27 RBI, 23 swiped bags, and a 37:61 BB:K ratio in 50 games this season. The 22-year-old got a brief taste of the major leagues earlier this season, where he posted a mere .176 AVG in 15 games. However, he showcased his elite speed with two stolen bases during that short window. Clase has a strong chance of returning to the majors later this summer and is worth adding when promoted, as he will provide elite stolen base production.

Washington Nationals top prospect James Wood will be called up from Triple-A Rochester to make his major-league debut on Monday in D.C. against the visiting New York Mets, according to a source. Wood recently returned to Rochester from a stint on the seven-day injured list due to a hamstring injury and he picked up right where he left off offensively by crushing the baseball down on the farm. It's clear the No. 3 overall prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, has nothing left to prove at Triple-A after batting .346/.458/.578 with a 1.036 OPS, 10 home runs, 13 doubles, 34 RBI, 10 stolen bases and 42 runs scored in his 51 games at Rochester. The 21-year-old left-handed slugger is probably already rostered in most fantasy leagues, but if he's available on your waiver, run there immediately and add him. Wood will be an everyday player immediately and has easy 30-homer power.