Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Ian Gibaut blew the save chance and suffered the loss in a 4-6 loss to the Giants on Thursday. He allowed four runs on three hits and a walk. The Reds were entering the season with a suspected closer committee, but Gibaut was interestingly not on anyone's radar for the role. Scott Barlow, Emilio Pagan, and Tony Santillan were all more favored for save chances, yet they pitched the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings of this game. With so many options, this might be Gibaut's first and last opportunity to close a game for a while.

San Diego Padres shortstop prospect Leodalis De Vries has been assigned to High-A Fort Wayne to begin the 2025 campaign. The Dominican played all of last season at Single-A, where he hit .237 while displaying a blend of power (11 HR), speed (13), and patience (13.9 percent BB%) as a 17-year-old. The switch-hitter received an invite to spring training with the big league club this year, going 2-for-18 with a 3:6 BB:K, however, the 18-year-old was not expected to make the team out of camp and will now have a chance to show what he's got against High-A pitching. MLB's No. 18 overall prospect (San Diego No. 1) is still a long way from a big league debut, not expected to arrive until 2027 per MLB.com, but has the talent to arrive bit sooner than expected.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar launched a two-run home run as part of a 2-for-4 performance in a win over the Twins. He led off in this game against a right-handed pitcher, which is a positive sign for his future fantasy outlook. Nootbaar came into 2025 with some sleeper appeal after slashing .290/.420/.565 in September to close out last season. He posted an excellent 49.5% hard-hit rate and walked at a 12.8% clip in 2024. He has the skills to be a fantasy difference-maker if he can put it all together, and he is worth a speculative add in any leagues where he is available.

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Sean Burke impressed on Opening Day, tossing six shutout innings, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out three on the way to earning the win in the 8-1 victory over the Angels. The righty didn't have a great spring, pitching to a 6.75 ERA with a 9:8 BB:K, but looked more like he did last season when he was put into the rotation in September. In those four September starts, the 6-foot-6 hurler posteda 1.42 ERA (3.32 FIP), 1.00 WHIP, and a 19.7 percent K-BB%. The former third-round draft pick had command issues in the minors (12.5 percent BB%), but always had strong strikeout rates (29.4 percent K%), so if he can limit the walks like he did on Thursday, then he could be a solid back-end pitcher for redraft and DFS whenthe matchup is favorable. Speaking of which, Burke's nextstart should come next Wednesday at home against the Twins, who struck out 11 times as a team on Opening Day.

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Enrique Hernandez (illness) could be available off the bench on Friday, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. He was unavailable for Thursday's contest and has been ruled out of starting on Friday, but manager Dave Roberts said his bench availability for Friday is to be determined. He already got off to a hot start in the Tokyo Series, launching a home run and driving in three runs in the Dodgers' March 18th victory over the Cubs. He figures to be a useful platoon player against left-handed pitchers but will only be fantasy-relevant in the deepest of leagues.