Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho will take the day off on Friday against the visiting Cleveland Guardians at Rogers Centre. Myles Straw will draw into the lineup in center field and will bat eighth against Guardians left-hander Logan Allen. The left-handed-hitting Varsho will be rested against the southpaw after returning from the injured list earlier this week. In his first three games played in 2025, the 28-year-old has gotten off to a good start, going 3-for-10 with two home runs, three RBI, two runs scored, three walks and four strikeouts. The two homers are especially encouraging after Varsho had offseason shoulder surgery. Fantasy managers should expect him to return on Saturday against righty Gavin Williams. Although Straw is hitting .304 (14-for-46) this year, he's a low-upside DFS option on Friday and has never faced Allen in his career.

Los Angeles Dodgers infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman (ankle) remains absent from the team's starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the hosting Atlanta Braves. Edman sat out of Wednesday's series finale against the Miami Marlins after tweaking his ankle on Tuesday and won't be back on Friday despite having a scheduled off day on Thursday. The 29-year-old's injury isn't considered very serious, though, and manager Dave Roberts said he expected Edman to return in one of the first two games of this weekend's series. Fantasy managers will want to check back on Saturday to see if he's active. Veteran Miguel Rojas will start at second base again and will hit ninth on Friday against Braves right-hander Grant Holmes. DFS gamers should look elsewhere, as Rojas has very little fantasy upside at the bottom of the lineup. He's gone 12-for-44 (.273) this year with no homers, two RBI and two runs scored as a backup infielder.

Tampa Bay Rays left-handed-hitting second baseman Brandon Lowe will head to the bench on Friday against a left-handed pitcher in the series opener in the Bronx against the division-rival New York Yankees. Curtis Mead will start at the keystone and hit eighth against Yankees southpaw Max Fried. Lowe has just two hits and six strikeouts in 22 plate appearances against lefties on the year, which is why he's on the bench against one of the better lefties in the game. The 30-year-old veteran hasn't been much better against righties, either, going 21-for-90 (.233) with four home runs and 15 RBI in 95 trips to the plate. Since April 23, Lowe has gone 5-for-33 with a homer, two RBI and 11 K's in 36 plate appearances over eight games. Mead is hitless in just two career at-bats against Fried and has gone 6-for-37 (.162) on the year with no homers and two RBI.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker is not in the team's starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the visiting New York Mets at Busch Stadium. This marks the third time that Walker has started on the bench in the team's last seven games. Lars Nootbaar is in right field and is batting leadoff, while Brendan Donovan is starting in left field and hitting third against Mets right-hander Clay Holmes. The 22-year-old Walker might need to pick it up offensively to avoid losing even more playing time going forward. He's batting just .206 (21-for-102) on the year with two homers, nine RBI, nine runs and two steals while striking out 33 times and walking eight times. Walker has gone just 4-for-31 with two RBI and 10 K's in his last nine games. Both Nootbaar and Donovan have swung the bat well through the first month of 2025 and will be solid DFS plays on Friday.

Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said that the team is "hopeful" they'll see right-hander George Kirby (shoulder) back with the team by the end of May. Dipoto said the plan for Kirby is to make "at least two, maybe three" minor-league rehab starts. Kirby could start his rehab assignment as early as this weekend if he's feeling good, so his 2025 season debut is on the horizon. The 27-year-old was forced to start the regular season on the injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder that initially cropped up in spring training in March. Although fantasy managers would like to see more with Kirby's strikeout rate, his impeccable control alone makes his rosterable in all leagues when he's healthy. He was a first-time All-Star in 2023 in his second MLB season and went 14-11 with a 3.53 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 179:23 K:BB in 191 innings (33 starts) a year ago.