Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (back) could face live hitters by the end of this week. His recovery from back stiffness seems to be going well, with the next step after batting practice likely to be a minor-league rehab assignment. If all goes well, he should be able to return by the end of April. He'll be looking to build on his breakout 2024 season, where he posted a 3.46 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 150 innings. Once healthy, he will most likely take Taijuan Walker's spot in the rotation.

Washington Nationals third base prospect Brady House blasted his first home run of the season in a 2-for-3 day at the plate for Triple-A Rochester on Thursday. Aftergoing hitless in four at-bats in the first game of the season, the former 11th-overall draft pick has three multi-hit games in his last four, now slashing .350/.381/.600 on the young season. The Nats' top offensive prospect showed well in limited Grapefruit League play earlier this spring, going 7-for-21 (.333) with one stolen base and a 4:4 BB:K but was sent to Triple-A to begin the 2025 campaign. With a strongshowing at the highest level of the minors, fantasy managers should expect the6-foot-4 slugger to be in D.C. later this season. Power-needy managers in NL-only and deeper leagues could consider rostering him, but problematic chase and strikeout rates could be a drain on batting average once he gets to the majors.

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo looked solid on Thursday, allowing one unearned run over 6 innings in a 0-1 loss to the Brewers. He allowed four hits and struck out four. It was his second quality start in a row, and he now holds a 1.42 ERA and 0.71 WHIP on the season. The 6'6" lefty has dominating stuff when everything is working in sync, and he'll look to carry this early-season success into his next start, which is currently set to be against the Giants.

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly got hit hard by the Yankees in a 7-9 loss on Thursday, allowing nine runs on nine hits and three walks in 3 innings. It hasn't been a great start to 2025 for the veteran, who has looked shaky in both outings so far. In his first start of the season, he held the Cubs to one run, but issued four walks compared to only one strikeout. He'll look to get things going in his next start, tentatively scheduled to be against the Orioles.

Los Angeles Dodgers catching prospect Dalton Rushing had a forgettable day at the plate on Thursday for Triple-A Oklahoma City, going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts. That makes nine punchouts in 21 plate appearances (42.9 percent) for the Dodgers' top-ranked offensive prospect. The formersecond-round draft pick hasn't had an overly high strikeout rate in the past, having come into the year with a 21.4 percent rate, so hopefully this is just the process of knocking some rust off at the beginningof the year. The 24-year-old is coming off a 26-home run campaign in 2024 and was solidly on a trajectory for a 2025 MLB debut, however, it might be a little later in the season than originally expected. The Louisville product is blockedfor playing timeat catcher with Will Smith locked up long-term, but Los Angeles had the 5-foot-11 backstop getting outfield reps lastyear in order to give him and his bat multiple paths to the big leagues. Assuming he gets back on track and debuts in 2025, he should have value in two-catcher leagues (with both C and OF eligibility on Yahoo) so long as he's getting regular at-bats.