Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Enmanuel Valdez is starting at second base and is hitting leadoff for Friday's series opener at Great American Ball Park against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds and right-hander Brady Singer. Valdez will get a shot at leadoff with outfielder Oneil Cruz (finger) sitting out for the second straight game. The Pirates continue to experiment at the top of their batting order early in the 2025 season. The left-handed-hitting Valdez has started his first season with the Bucs by going just 3-for-17 with a double, triple, two RBI, a run scored, one walk and five strikeouts in seven games played. It will be his first start at the keystone this year with Adam Frazier in right field on Friday. Normally, Valdez will be a bench player for the Pirates, although he'll have deep-sleeper appeal in DFS on Friday in the leadoff spot against a pitcher he's never faced.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder/designated hitter Andrew McCutchen will start on the bench for Friday's series opener against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Adam Frazier is making the start in right field and will hit eighth against Reds right-hander Brady Singer. Bryan Reynolds (triceps) continues to serve as Pittsburgh's designated hitter, leaving the 38-year-old McCutchen as the odd-man out. The former MVP has gotten off to a .267 (8-for-30) start at the plate in his 17th big-league season, and he's added a homer, two doubles, five RBI and two runs scored in his 10 games played. Cutch should start to see more regular playing time as the DH whenever Reynolds is able to return to left-field duties. Frazier will be a low-upside DFS option at the bottom of Pittsburgh's lineup. He has hit .286 with one RBI in seven career at-bats against Singer.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz (finger) remains out of the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Cruz was hit by a pitch on his finger on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals and will sit out for the second straight day as a result. It's not considered a very serious injury, though, so fantasy managers should hopefully get Cruz back at some point over the weekend in Cincinnati. With Cruz out, Jack Suwinski is making another start in center field and will hit sixth against Reds right-hander Brady Singer. Suwinski will be a poor DFS play on Friday night. He's gone 3-for-25 in the early going and has never faced Singer in his career. Cruz has started the year hitting only .211 (8-for-38), but he does have two long balls, five RBI, five runs scored and a league-leading seven stolen bases.

The Kansas City Royals announced on Friday that they placed right-handed reliever Hunter Harvey (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to April 8) with a right teres-major strain and recalled right-hander Steven Cruz from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. Harvey was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain, which is the most mild, so he could be ready to return to the Royals' bullpen when his 15 days are up. Veteran Carlos Estevez has settled in as KC's closer early on in 2025, with Lucas Erceg serving as the primary late-inning setup man. With Harvey on the shelf for a little bit, expect John Schreiber to be leaned on more in high-leverage setup spots. Although he won't see many save chances, if any, Harvey is a key member of the Royals bullpen and had tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings with no walks and seven K's in his first six outings this year.

Miami Marlins third base prospect Connor Norby (oblique) will start a minor-league rehab assignment on Saturday, according to MLB.com's Christina De Nicola. It's unclear where Norby will be playing or how long he might be on his rehab assignment, but it's notable progress for a player that hasn't seen game action since suffering a left-oblique strain in late March during spring training. When the 24-year-old is cleared on his rehab assignment, he's expected to be called up to the big leagues to serve as Miami's starting third baseman. The former second-rounder of the Baltimore Orioles in 2021 out of East Carolina hit .247/.315/.445 with seven homers and 17 RBI in 36 games for the Fish last year after being acquired in a trade with Baltimore. Strikeouts could be an issue, but Norby showed enough power/speed in the minors to be worth looking at in mixed fantasy leagues when he returns to the majors.