Cincinnati Reds corner infielder Jeimer Candelario (neck) is back at third base and is batting third for the Reds on Monday against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Lance Lynn. Candelario was scratched from Saturday's lineup with neck stiffness and was also held out of Sunday's contest. It wasn't a serious injury for the 30-year-old, though, as he's back in the lineup to start the week and the series against St. Louis. It's a great lineup spot for Candelario, but he hasn't had much success against Lynn in 13 career at-bats, batting .154 with a .507 OPS. Candelario is hitting just .220 (36-for-164) on the year with five home runs, but he's been much better in May and has two home runs and 10 RBI in his last 20 games played. His poor career numbers against Lynn isn't enough to consider benching him.

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, who has a 15-day hitting streak going, is starting at shortstop and batting leadoff on Monday versus the Cincinnati Reds and left-hander Nick Lodolo, who is making his first start off the injured list. This will be the third time this season that Winn will be in the leadoff spot for the Cards, with most of his at-bats coming in the bottom third of the order. Fantasy managers will be hoping the 22-year-old sticks in the leadoff spot more often, and he could if he continues to square up the baseball. Since his hitting streak started on May 9, Winn has gone 18-for-48 (.375) with two homers, five doubles, eight RBI and two stolen bases in 52 plate appearances. Winn is a must-start in lineups with how hot he's been. Lodolo can rack up the strikeouts, but he could be more vulnerable in his first start off the IL without going on a rehab assignment.

In the first game for the Atlanta Braves on Memorial Day on Monday since learning that All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (knee) will miss the rest of the season due to a full ACL tear, outfielder Adam Duvall is covering for him in right field and will bat sixth against the visiting Washington Nationals and rookie left-hander Mitchell Parker. Duvall hit his fourth home run of the season on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and is now set to see a big playing time increase with Acuna out of the picture entirely for the rest of 2024. The former 11th-round pick by the San Francisco Giants in 2010 out of Louisville isn't going to provide much in terms of a useful batting average, but he still has notable pop in his bat and is worth a pickup in deeper mixed leagues now that he should see more of a regular role moving forward. Duvall is currently slashing .207/.305/.378 with four homer and 11 RBI in 33 games.

The Washington Nationals reinstated outfielder Lane Thomas (knee) from the 10-day injured list on Monday and designated outfielder Victor Robles for assignment in a corresponding move. Thomas is back in right field on Monday and is batting in the two-hole against Atlanta Braves veteran right-hander Charlie Morton in his first game back. The 28-year-old will return for the first time since late April due to a Grade 2 MCL sprain and should be thrown back into starting fantasy lineups because of his impressive power/speed combination. Ignore the fact that he hit only .184/.250/.253 with two home runs to begin the year, as he also had 11 stolen bases in 87 at-bats. The former fifth-rounder by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014 needs to be rostered everywhere and will play regularly for the Nats now that he's healthy again.

The Colorado Rockies placed right-hander Justin Lawrence (arm) on the 15-day injured list on Monday with a right-shoulder strain. In other moves, the Rockies selected the contract of left-hander Josh Rogers from the minors and recalled right-hander Peter Lambert while designating right-hander John Curtiss for assignment. Lawrence hasn't been very good at all for the Rockies in a high-leverage, late-inning role for the Rockies and is now hurt. Overall, he's gone 1-3 with a 5.91 ERA (4.11 FIP), a 1.83 WHIP, two saves, 15 walks and 20 strikeouts in 21 1/3 relief innings in his fourth big-league season. The walks haven't helped one bit, and Lawrence's recent arm injury could explain why he's been even worse recently. At the moment, Tyler Kinley and Jalen Beeks appear to be the team's top options for saves, with Kinley locking down two of the last three saves.