Chicago Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon (back) is penciled in to make his season debut on Thursday in the series opener against the Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field. Taillon started the 2024 regular season on the 15-day injured list but is ready to get his season started. The 32-year-old veteran only threw 68 pitches in 3 2/3 innings in his final minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Iowa last Friday, so nobody should be expecting him to go very deep in his first big-league start of the year. The matchup against Miami is enticing from a streaming standpoint, but Taillon doesn't figure to go deep into this one, making him a pretty low-upside streamer. Now that Taillon is getting ready to return, the impressive Ben Brown could be out of a rotation spot.

Left-hander A.J. Puk (illness) has been confirmed as the Miami Marlins' starter for Thursday's series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. After dealing with an illness in recent days, Puk was back at the ballpark on Wednesday playing catch and working out. The 28-year-old southpaw was pushed back twice in the rotation this week while feeling under the weather. It's good news that Puk is feeling good enough to start on Thursday, but most fantasy baseball managers will probably be wanting to stay away from him against Chicago after he's started the year by going 0-3 with a 5.91 ERA (6.90 FIP) and 2.44 WHIP with a league-leading 14 walks and just eight strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings in his first three starts.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said on WEEI that third baseman Rafael Devers (knee) is feeling good and there's a chance he'll play on Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians as the designated hitter. Devers was removed from Tuesday's contest early due to left-knee discomfort but appears to have avoided a long-term injury with his knee. Fantasy baseball managers will want to check back soon to see if the 27-year-old is officially back in the lineup. If he is, put him back into your lineups against Guardians right-hander Ben Lively, who will be making his season debut. A shoulder caused Devers to miss some games last weekend, and the two-time All-Star has gotten off to a slow start by his standards by slashing .205/.352/.409 with two homers, three doubles, five RBI and five runs scored in his first 12 games in 2024.

Los Angeles Angels infielder Brandon Drury (hamstring) is still out of the team's starting lineup on Wednesday versus the Tampa Bay Rays. Luis Rengifo will start at second base again and bat seventh against Rays right-hander Zack Littell. This will be Drury's second straight game on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury. The 31-year-old said he was available off the bench on Tuesday, so it doesn't sound like a very serious injury. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues will need to check back on Thursday to see if Drury is able to return for the series finale with the Rays. Rengifo doesn't have a hit in three career at-bats against Littell and is a low-cost, low-upside DFS play near the bottom of the Angels' lineup. In his first 42 plate appearances in 2024 Rengifo has 10 hits, no homers, three RBI and four stolen bases.

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand is getting his first day off this season on Wednesday when the team takes on the Seattle Mariners. Spencer Steer is getting the start at first base and is hitting cleanup, while center fielder Stuart Fairchild is batting in the three-hole against Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller. Encarnacion-Strand went 0-for-4 on Tuesday to drop his season average to .192 (14-for-73) in the early going, while he's added two home runs, 12 RBI and seven runs scored. With a scheduled day off for the team on Thursday, he'll get two days to rest before likely returning to action on Friday to face the Los Angeles Angels. Fairchild has had a pretty nice start in 2024, going 8-for-29 (.276) with no homers, three RBI and five stolen bases.