Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker (hand) left the team's Cactus League game early on Thursday against the San Francisco Giants after being hit on the hand by a pitch. He'll presumably be taken for X-rays, and we'll have the results of those X-rays when they become available. Hopefully, the 32-year-old avoids any breaks in his hand is just dealing with a contusion. When healthy, Walker is a top-10 fantasy first baseman for the reigning National League champions. In the last two regular seasons in the desert, he's hit .250/.330/.487 with an .817 OPS, 69 home runs and 197 RBI in 317 games played. Walker also managed to steal a career-high 11 bases in 2023 as a cherry on top. Check back for an injury update on Walker later on Thursday.

San Francisco Giants infielder David Villar is once again in the team's Cactus League lineup on Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, starting at first base and batting cleanup. This is already Villar's fifth game in spring training, and so far he's gone 2-for-7 with two doubles and a run scored in Cactus League action. The 27-year-old is battling for a utility infield role in camp entering the 2024 season, so even if he makes the Giants' Opening Day roster with a strong spring, he's unlikely to see consistent playing time. A horrendous start in the big leagues in 2023 got Villar sent back to the minors, where he hit 36 home runs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in 2022. Villar has struck out over 30% of the time in the big leagues while rarely squaring the ball up.

Chicago White Sox relief pitchers Jimmy Lambert and Joe Barlow are both dealing with shoulder soreness in camp. Lambert will be sideline for 10 to 14 days, while Barlow could be out even longer. Lambert has not pitched since making his Cactus League debut on Feb. 25 and is going to be out for some time. Both Lambert, 29, and Barlow, 28, will most likely open the 2024 regular season on the injured list, which is more bad news for an already bad and shallow White Sox bullpen. Lambert picked up his first career save for the Pale Hose in 2023 in his fourth year with the team, but he also had a 5.26 ERA and 1.62 WHIP with 20 walks and 41 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings over 35 appearances (one start). Neither Lambert nor Barlow are worthy of fantasy consideration.

Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington said that he'd like to see catcher Logan O'Hoppe catch roughly 125 to 135 games this year. The Angels are fully expecting O'Hoppe to be their regular backstop in 2024 despite the fact that he missed almost four months in 2023 with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Still, the offensive upside is very intriguing for fantasy managers in single-catcher setups, as O'Hoppe managed to club 14 long balls and drive in 29 runs in only 199 plate appearances over 51 games in 2023. Nine of the 24-year-old's home runs came in the final month of the season. Because of his weak defensive skills, O'Hoppe could eventually become a full-time designated hitter, but for now, he has top-12 upside at the weak catcher position for his power alone.

Updating a previous report, Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (illness) was scratched from Thursday's Grapefruit League lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates because he was under the weather. Mountcastle is fine and should be back in the lineup in spring training games soon. The 27-year-old right-handed-hitting first baseman missed a month of action in 2023 due to a bout with vertigo, but this illness doesn't appear to be related to that, thankfully. After a rough start last year that was likely a result of his vertigo, Mountcastle started raking and finished by hitting .270/.328/.452 with 18 home runs and 68 RBI for the first-place O's. He has gone hitless through his first six spring at-bats and will look to get going when he returns to the lineup, most likely at some point this weekend.