San Francisco Giants pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt pitched well for Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, allowing two earned runs on six hits and no walks while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. That makes back-to-back seven-inning, seven-strikeout starts for the 6-foot-3 hurler. The performance lowered his ERA to 4.14 on the season to go along with a 1.22 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 37 IP. The Giants' second-ranked prospect will likely make a push for a midseason call-up, although he is not a priority stash candidate at the moment. The 24-year-old owns a 30.2 percent strikeout rate during his career in the minors with solid command, so he has the potential to be a viable streaming or DFS option intheright matchups whenever he arrives.

Boston Red Sox infielder Romy Gonzalez (back) is fine after being involved in a collision in Wednesday's win over the visiting Texas Rangers at Fenway Park, according to manager Alex Cora, but he was pulled after his back stiffened up on him. Gonzalez was down on the ground for several minutes after he tripped and collided with Rangers utility man Josh Smith at first base. Before being replaced at first by Abraham Toro in the seventh inning, the 28-year-old went 0-for-3 at the plate to drop his season average to .308 and his OPS to .785. Gonzalez appeared to avoid a serious injury, but don't be surprised if he's held out of Thursday's series finale against Texas. The BoSox can ill-afford to lose another option at first base with Triston Casas (knee) expected to miss the rest of the season. Gonzalez is off to a strong start at the plate with a .308 average, but he lacks power upside, making him mostly an option in AL-only fantasy leagues.

The Minnesota Twins have scratched right-hander Joe Ryan (illness) from his scheduled start on Thursday in the series finale against the Baltimore Orioles due to an illness, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Bobby Nightengale. Right-hander Bailey Ober will make the start in Ryan's place. It's unclear if Ryan will have his turn in Minnesota's rotation skipped entirely, or if he'll make a start at some point during the team's three-game home weekend series against the San Francisco Giants. After a six-run outing on April 20 against the Atlanta Braves, Ryan has been excellent his last two times out against the Angels and Red Sox, allowing just an earned run with two walks and 19 strikeouts in 13 innings. Ryan should be fine to take the ball this weekend against the Giants, but it represents a downgrade in matchup instead of facing the offensively-challenged Orioles.

San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill went 2-for-4 with a home run, a run, and two RBI in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees. He's picked up right where he left off after missing a month with a hamstring strain, producing two multi-hit games in his first two games back. He's batting .400 over 12 games this season with four home runs and one stolen base. The 22-year-old will look to build on his elite 2024 rookie season and figures to be a top-15 outfielder for fantasy for years to come.

Cincinnati Reds outfielder TJ Friedl hit two solo home runs and walked once in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Braves. This was his first time homering since April 5th, bringing his total to three on the year. He's now slashing .273/.338/.392 and has eight stolen bases as the regular leadoff hitter for the Reds. He is still available on the waiver wire in too many fantasy leagues for a leadoff hitter who plays half of his games in one of the most hitter-friendly venues in the league. He has the potential to steal over 30 bases with enough pop to not hurt you in any other categories.