Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez homered for the third consecutive game on Thursday. This one was a particularly notable homer as it was his 45th of the year. He is now tied with Reds legend Johnny Bench for the most home runs by a catcher in a single season. Bench set the mark over 50 years ago in 1970. Perez has been absolutely on fire over the last two months. 24 of his 45 home runs on the year have come since July 24. He's tied with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the MLB lead in home runs and he leads the majors in RBI with 112.

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Mychal Givens threw a scoreless ninth inning to save a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. Givens struck out two and walked two in the outing. The save was Givens' eighth in 10 opportunities this year. Overall, Givens has a 3-3 record, 2.85 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 51 strikeouts over 47 1/3 innings of work. He has a firm grip on the closer's role in Cincy and is worth an add by any fantasy gamer in need of saves over the final few weeks of the season.

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle turned in an excellent start in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. Mahle threw six shutout innings while allowing five hits, walking one, and striking out four. The veteran hurler picked up the win, improving his record to 12-5, to go along with a 3.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 192 strikeouts over 165 1/3 innings of work. Mahle draws another matchup against Pittsburgh next time out and should remain active in all fantasy formats as a result.

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Michael Chavis (elbow) will start a rehab assignment for Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. The 22-year-old was placed on the 10-day injured list two weeks ago with a right elbow strain. Chavis has only played in six games for the Pirates since being acquired at the trade deadline but has played well, hitting .364/.364/.591 over that span with one home run, two RBI, and four runs scored on eight hits.

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jesse Winker (ribs) could be back in the lineup on Friday against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reported Thursday. Winker has been rehabbing with Triple-A Louisville as he bounces back from an intercostal strain that sidelined him back in August. The 28-year-old lefty was having his best season yet prior to injury, slashing .307/.395/.560 with 24 home runs, 71 RBI, and 77 runs scored on 129 hits. Plus, he's hitting .294/.368/.706 with two home runs against the Dodgers this season.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco (hamstring) could be activated off the injured list at some point over the team's current 10-game homestand. Manager Kevin Cash told the media he hasn't ruled out activating Franco on his first day of eligibility next Tuesday, but that he also thinks that would be too soon. The 20-year-old rookie has found his groove at the big-league level, slashing .285/.347/.463 with seven home runs, 36 RBI, two stolen bases, and 49 runs scored on 70 hits. Fantasy managers should keep an eye out for updates as the homestand progresses.

New York Yankees relief pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga (shoulder) will start throwing on Friday, manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Thursday. The 26-year-old right-hander was placed on the injured list on September 5 with a strained rotator cuff. There is still no exact timeline set for when he will return, so fantasy managers should keep an eye out for updates. Loaisiga is having his best season at the major league level, tallying a 9-4 record with a 2.25 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 66:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 68 innings pitched.

New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu is not in Thursday's lineup against the Baltimore Orioles. The team has made no indication that the 33-year-old veteran is injured, so he is likely getting a scheduled day off. LeMahieu has been solid at the plate as of late, slashing .320/.379/.440 through his last seven games with one home run, two RBI, and five runs scored on eight hits. Hopefully, for fantasy managers, he can keep this streak alive to finish off the season.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Wood has a "good chance" of being activated from the COVID-19 injured list and making his next start against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, according to Giants manager Gabe Kapler. Wood has been out since late August after testing positive for COVID-19. He had bad symptoms from the virus, but he has since recovered and tested negative. The Braves are a tough matchup for Wood to return to, so fantasy managers may want to add him for future starts, but keep him on the bench on Saturday, assuming he's able to go. Over 23 starts on the year, Wood has gone 10-4 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi (foot) has been diagnosed with a mid-foot sprain. He told reporters on Thursday that he was optimistic he'd be able to return to the rotation after the minimum 10 days. He landed on the injured list this past Tuesday, so he'll be first eligible to return on Friday, September 24. The initial fear was that he could have suffered a Lisfranc injury, which would have sidelined him for the rest of the year. Based on the encouraging news Thursday, there's a chance Odorizzi could still make two starts before the season is over. He currently has a 4.22 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 22 games (21 starts) on the year.

Detroit Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo is heading to the bench for Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Robbie Grossman is leading off in the game and starting in the outfield alongside Derek Hill and Eric Haase. Baddoo has been the team's primary leadoff hitter for a big chunk of the season, but he hasn't been producing much over the past few months. He slashed .200/.200/.280 in August and has a .239/.340/.435 slash line so far in September. The 23-year-old rookie has 14 stolen bases on the year, but he hasn't so much as attempted a stolen base since late July.

Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Shane Baz could make his MLB debut in Friday's game against the Detroit Tigers, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin also suggested that the Rays could roll with a bullpen game on Friday or move Luis Patino up a day from Saturday to Friday. Baz is the team's top overall prospect based on MLB.com's prospect rankings. The 22-year-old right-hander has split the 2021 season at Double-A and Triple-A. Over 78.2 innings, he's posted a 2.06 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP while averaging 12.9 K/9. If the Rays do indeed call him up, he likely wouldn't pitch too deep into Friday's game, but he could very well deliver some strong ratios against a weak Tigers lineup.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows is out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game on Thursday as the team prepares to face Tyler Alexander and the Detroit Tigers. Kevin Kiermaier, Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena are manning the outfield for the game. It's a bit surprising to see Meadows sitting out two consecutive games without any news of an injury. He's certainly been struggling a bit lately as he's slashed just .206/.200/.500 over his first nine games of September. We'll see if he's back in the lineup for Game 2 of the team's series against the Tigers on Friday.

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (arm) is not going to make his scheduled start against the Oakland Athletics on Friday. Ohtani reportedly felt sore after playing catch on Wednesday. According to beat reporter Jeff Fletcher, the team still hopes that he will pitch again this year. There have been no talks of shutting him down at this point. Additionally, Angels manager Joe Maddon stated that Ohtani isn't scheduled to see a doctor due to the soreness. Maddon believes that it could just be late season fatigue. The Angels' two-way star has made 21 starts on the year and has gone 9-2 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.

Baltimore Orioles first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini (oblique) and catcher Pedro Severino (leg) are out of the starting lineup once again on Thursday. Mancini is dealing with oblique and abdominal injuries. He was originally slated to start Wednesday's game, but was eventually scratched. This will be his third time out of the lineup over the past four games. Severino, meanwhile, injured his leg in Tuesday's game and this will be his second straight game on the bench. Austin Wynns is catching on Thursday while Cedric Mullins is slotting in at designated hitter and Ryan McKenna is manning center field.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Daniel Lynch (calf) was removed from his start against the Oakland Athletics after two innings due to left calf tightness. Joel Payamps entered the game in the third inning to take over. Lynch struggled over the two innings he was able to pitch on Thursday, allowing two hits, one walk and three runs (one earned) while striking out one. We don't know anything about the severity of the injury at this point, but we should get an update from the team after the game. Going into Thursday's game, the rookie left-hander had started 12 games on the year, posting a 5.37 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (hand) has been scratched from his start against the Texas Rangers on Thursday. Luis Garcia, who was originally slated to pitch on Friday, will now start Thursday's game instead. Valdez reportedly suffered a small cut on his left hand (his throwing hand) on Wednesday. He is being considered day-to-day. The 27-year-old left-hander has struggled so far in September, giving up eight earned runs over 11 innings. He has a 3.26 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over 19 starts on the year.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Steven Duggar isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the San Diego Padres and right-hander Pierce Johnson. Duggar is batting .268 with a .341 on-base percentage, eight home runs, and six stolen bases in 273 plate appearances this season. Kris Bryant started Wednesday's game in left field and will move over to center field on Thursday to start in Duggar's place, with Darin Ruf entering the lineup in left fielder. Fantasy managers searching for streaming help should consider adding Ruf, who is hitting second against the Padres. The 35-year-old is batting .278 with a .399 on-base percentage and 15 home runs in 286 plate appearances this season.

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey will be on the bench for Thursday's matchup with the San Diego Padres and right-hander Pierce Johnson. The veteran is batting an even .300 with a .389 on-base percentage and 18 home runs in 401 plate appearances this season. However, it'll be Curt Casali getting the start behind the plate against the Padres. Fantasy managers are probably better off looking elsewhere for streaming help at catcher. In 212 plate appearances this season, Casali is batting .212 with a .313 on-base percentage and five home runs.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Brandon Marsh is batting leadoff against the Chicago White Sox and right-hander Reynaldo Lopez on Thursday. It'll be a tough matchup with Lopez on the mound, but Marsh is hitting .333 with a .362 on-base percentage, two home runs, and a stolen base in his last 69 plate appearances dating back to August 24. If this becomes a regular occurrence and Marsh hits leadoff on a daily basis, it'll only boost his fantasy value and upside down the stretch as hitting leadoff for the Angels generally means hitting in front of Shohei Ohtani.