Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola will be looking to bounce back in his second start of the season Friday versus the Washington Nationals. The veteran was shelled for seven earned runs on a whopping 12 hits, including two homers, with one walk against just three strikeouts across 4 1/3 innings in his season debut against the Braves on March 30. Of course, a matchup with the high-octane Braves is a tough one to begin the season as Nola sees a far better matchup on Friday. He'll take on a Nationals team that ranked 21st with a .309 wOBA last season but their 18.9% K% was the second-lowest in all of baseball. At the same time, the Nats have struck out in an elevated 24.3% of their plate appearances on the young 2024 season.

San Diego Padres right-hander Dylan Cease is in search of his first win as a member of the club when he takes on the rival Giants on the road. The former White Sox ace surrendered three runs (two earned) on two hits and two walks against six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings in his Padres debut against the very same Giants on March 30, taking the loss in the process. The 28-year-old endured a down 2023 season after finishing second in AL Cy Young voting in 2022, tossing a 4.58 ERA across a career-high 33 starts. He should be able to bounce back if his 3.87 ERA ATC projection holds but he also has a history of control issues as evidenced by his 10.4% career BB%, putting a cap on his fantasy value.

Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed reliever Blake Treinen (chest) is still "weeks" away from returning to the team. He has been throwing but needs to build all the way back up after missing so much time at this point. The 35-year-old veteran reliever bruised his lung when he was hit in the chest by a comebacker during spring training, but he was able to start a throwing program a week ago. The Dodgers aren't going to rush Treinen back, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he doesn't make his 2024 debut out of the team's bullpen until early May. In addition to his injury this spring, Treinen missed all of 2023 while recovering from shoulder surgery in November of 2022. Injuries have become a problem, but he can still have value in deep holds leagues for his experience in high-leverage spots when he's healthy.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his "hope" is that outfielder Jason Heyward (back) will return from the injured list when he's eligible next week, but the skipper isn't sure of Heyward's exact timeline yet. Heyward also didn't sound too concerned about his back injury and said it stiffened up on days he was coming off the bench, so the Dodgers decided him going on the IL would be best to make sure it doesn't linger. The 34-year-old is eligible to come back next Saturday, April 13. Until Heyward is able to return, Teoscar Hernandez is likely going to continue playing right field, with utility man Chris Taylor filling in on the other side in left field. In the first four games in 2024, Heyward has gone just 3-for-14 (.214) with two RBI and three runs scored for the Blue.

San Francisco Giants right-hander Alex Cobb (elbow) felt a little elbow soreness while throwing recently. An MRI exam came back clean, but he'll be shut down for a few days. The Giants are being very careful given their rotation depth, and Cobb said he's still ahead of schedule from hip surgery overall. The 36-year-old veteran is officially dealing with flexor-tendon inflammation, but it's not considered serious. He's expected to resume throwing on Monday as he ultimately tries to recover from offseason hip surgery. Cobb should be a member of the back end of San Fran's starting rotation when he's healthy at some point in the first half of the season, but fantasy managers in deep-mixed leagues shouldn't expect a ton from an aging pitcher with a long injury history.