Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is not in the starting nine when the Astros travel to Minnesota to face the Twins on Thursday afternoon. Diaz has been behind the dish in each of the past three contests but will cede duties to Victor Caratini this afternoon. Caratini will bat in the six-hole. Over his past three contests, Diaz tallied just one hit across 11 at-bats and struck out twice through five total games. Diaz has tallied just two hits and held a 1:4 BB:K. Fantasy managers should expect Diaz to return to the starting nine on Saturday afternoon when they continue this three-game set against the Twins. Caratini has seen four at-bats and tallied one hit. He is best to leave out of your DFS lineup this afternoon facing Minnesota right-hander Joe Ryan, who allowed one run across five innings in his last start.

Houston Astros outfielder Jake Meyers is out of the starting nine for the third-straight contest on Thursday evening. Meyers has been kept on the bench for the past three contests after starting three of the first four games of the campaign in center field. Instead, the Astros will give Mauricio Dubon the starting nod in center field. Through his first 10 at-bats of the campaign, Meyers has tallied two hits and added an RBI. He has struck out four times. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status in case he is dealing with an injury. Last season, Meyers appeared in a career-high 148 contests in Houston and held a .219/.286/.360 slash line with 13 long balls and 11 stolen bases. Dubon is not worth targeting in DFS this afternoon, facing Joe Ryan, who allowed just one run in his first start of the campaign.

The Tampa Bay Rays are hopeful that first base prospect Xavier Isaac (elbow) will be ready to rejoin Double-A Montgomery in a few weeks as he builds his throwing program, according to MLB Pipeline's Sam Dykstra. Isaac is currently on the seven-day injured list at Montgomery due to a left-elbow injury that cropped up early in spring training. The 21-year-old left-handed-hitting first baseman is the team's No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and was taken in the first round (29th overall) in 2022. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder hit .264 (97-for-367) with 18 home runs, 78 RBI, 15 stolen bases and 65 runs scored in 102 games with High-A Bowling Green and Montgomery, but he did strike out 54 times in 133 plate appearances after moving to Double-A. There's lots of raw power with Isaac, but his elbow injury will set him back early on in 2025, and he's unlikely to be an option for a big-league promotion until next year.

Cleveland Guardians shortstop prospect Angel Genao (shoulder) sprained his right shoulder during drills in spring training and won't return until June, according to MLB.com's Jim Callis. Genao, who is ranked as the team's No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline, is on the injured list at Double-A Akron to begin the 2025 season. The 22-year-old switch-hitting Dominican shortstop really impressed in 2024 by slashing .330/.379/.499 with an .878 OPS, 10 home runs, 71 RBI, 25 stolen bases and 72 runs scored in 110 total games with Single-A Lynchburg and High-A Lake County. The 5-foot-9, 150-pounder has excellent bat-to-ball skills and control of the strike zone, but unless he adds some size, his power output down the road might leave plenty to be desired, especially if he sticks at the shortstop position. Genao is at least another year away from a potential MLB debut, and his shoulder injury will set delay his timeline.

New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells will retreat to the bench for Thursday's series finale at Yankee Stadium against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. Rookie J.C. Escarra is doing the catching for right-hander Carlos Carrasco and will hit ninth in the batting order against Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly. Wells will get his first rest day after starting in each of the team's first five games of 2025. The 25-year-old left-handed-hitting backstop has started his third year with the Yankees by going 4-for-17 with two home runs, a double, three RBI, three walks and three strikeouts in 20 plate appearances. The 29-year-old Escarra will be appearing in just his second major-league game on Thursday and starting his first-ever game in the big leagues. Fantasy managers setting DFS lineups will want to avoid him against Kelly.