Friday Lineup Card: Young Again

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

Projected Starters - A look at Friday's matchups (all times Eastern)
Astros (Dallas Keuchel - L) at Cubs (Matt Garza - R), 2:20 PM
Rockies (Tyler Chatwood - R) at Nationals (Stephen Strasburg - R), 7:05 PM
Rays (Roberto Hernandez - R) at Yankees (David Phelps - R), 7:05 PM
Mets (Jeremy Hefner - R) at Phillies (Cole Hamels - L), 7:05 PM
Twins (Samuel Deduno - R) at Indians (Scott Kazmir - L), 7:05 PM
Orioles (Jason Hammel - R) at Blue Jays (R.A. Dickey - R), 7:07 PM
Red Sox (Jon Lester - L) at Tigers (Doug Fister - R), 7:08 PM
White Sox (Hector Santiago - L) at Royals (Jeremy Guthrie - R), 8:10 PM
Braves (Julio Teheran - R) at Brewers (Wily Peralta - R), 8:10 PM
Rangers (Derek Holland - L) at Cardinals (Tyler Lyons - L), 8:15 PM
Reds (Johnny Cueto - R) at Diamondbacks (Wade Miley - L), 9:40 PM
Pirates (Gerrit Cole - R) at Angels (Jered Weaver - R), 10:05 PM
Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw - L) at Padres (Clayton Richard - L), 10:10 PM
Athletics (Bartolo Colon - R) at Mariners (Hisashi Iwakuma - R), 10:10 PM
Marlins (Ricky Nolasco - R) at Giants (Tim Lincecum - R), 10:15 PM

Day Game After Night Game: CHC

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Brandon Crawford, SS, SF - (Finger) Was out of the lineup Thursday, but was available off the bench.
Carlos Quentin, OF, SD - (Shoulder) Remained out of the lineup Thursday.
Dexter Fowler, OF, COL - (Finger) May opt for another X-ray.
Derek Norris, C, OAK - (Groin) Was out of the lineup Thursday after taking a foul tip to his groin Wednesday, but told manager Bob Melvin he could play if needed.
Trevor Crowe, OF, HOU - (Shoulder) Left Thursday's game with an apparent right shoulder injury.
Jason Hammel, P, BAL - (Illness) Confirmed as Friday's starter against the Blue Jays.
Josh Willingham, OF, MIN - (Knee) Started in left field Thursday and went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
Jason Bay, OF, SEA - (Hamstring) Remained out of the lineup Thursday, but hopes to return in a day or two.
Matt Tuiasosopo, OF, DET - (Ribs) Scratched from Thursday's lineup with a mild intercostal strain.
Jon Niese, P, NYM - (Shoulder) Left Thursday's game in the fourth inning with an apparent shoulder injury.

Players on the DL
Ryan Braun, OF, MIL - (Thumb) May sit out as long as a month to give his sore thumb ample time to heal.
Bryce Harper, OF, WAS - (Knee) Resumed baseball activities Thursday, with some running and a batting practice session.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, COL - (Ribs) Could begin light baseball activities as soon as Monday.
Clay Buchholz, P, BOS - (Neck) Threw long toss off flat ground Tuesday and is now scheduled to toss a bullpen session Saturday.
Chase Utley, 2B, PHI - (Oblique) Played eight innings at second base and went 0-for-4 in his first rehab game with Double-A Reading on Wednesday.
Chris Narveson, P, MIL - (Finger) Gave up two earned rusn over five innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday.
Jeanmar Gomez, P, PIT - (Forearm) Pitched five hitless innings in his second rehab start for Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.
Ted Lilly, P, LAD - (Neck) Expected to return relatively soon from his latest injury, perhaps as early as next week.
Fernando Salas, P, STL - (Shoulder) Threw a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.
Luis Ayala, P, ATL - (Personal) Set to join Triple-A Gwinnett and begin a new rehab assignment.
A.J. Burnett, P, PIT - (Calf) Has yet to throw off a mound.
Chris Heisey, OF, CIN - (Hamstring) Expected to return to the Reds on Tuesday in Oakland.
J.J. Putz, P, ARI - (Elbow) Gave up one run in one inning of rehab work at Triple-A Reno on Wednesday.
Wilson Ramos, C, WAS - (Hamstring) Has resumed baseball activities.
Ryan Mattheus, P, WAS - (Hand) Was able to play catch Thursday.
Aaron Hicks, OF, MIN - (Hamstring) May begin his rehab assignment as soon as Monday.
Neftali Feliz, P, TEX - (Elbow) Will throw his second 25-pitch bullpen session Friday.
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY - (Hip) Has made significant progress in his rehab, leading some within the organization to speculate he could begin playing in rehab games shortly after the All-Star break.
Francisco Cervelli, C, NYY - (Hand) Not expected back from the DL until mid-July.
Wei-Yin Chen, P, BAL - (Oblique) Threw a three-inning simulated game Thursday at the club's spring training facility.
Clayton Mortensen, P, BOS - (Groin) Began a rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A Pawtucket.
Alex Avila, C, DET - (Forearm) Expected to head out on a rehab assignment this weekend.
Kevin Youkilis, 3B, NYY - (Back) Underwent successful surgery Thursday.
Angel Pagan, OF, SF - (Hamstring) Could potentially return to the Giants before the end of this weekend.
Pablo Sandoval, 3B, SF - (Foot) Rehab has been moved back up to Friday.

Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Called Up
Roy Oswalt, P, COL
Jose Alvarez, P, DET
Duke Welker, P, PIT

Sent Down (to Triple-A, unless otherwise noted)
Avisail Garcia, OF, DET
Alex Presley, OF, PIT
Deunte Heath, P, CHW
Chris Volstad, P, COL (designated for assignment)
Jeff Francis, P, COL

Released
Kelly Shoppach, C (from SEA)

Closer Watch
Pittsburgh - With Jason Grilli unavailable after having pitched three of the previous four days, and top setup man Mark Melancon in a similar boat, manager Clint Hurdle gave the ball to Tony Watson to close out Thursday's 5-3 win over the Reds. Watson didn't allow a hit or a walk over two innings, and picked up his second save of the season in the process, but continue to expect the save chances to be few and far between for the left-hander. Needless to say, Grilli's job is secure, as he was a perfect 25-for-25 in save chances prior to Wednesday, and Melancon is the obvious choice to take over the ninth-inning job if anything were to happen to Grilli. Melancon owns a 0.99 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP and a 39:4 K:BB over 36.1 innings so far this season.

Texas - After striking out Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Moss swinging to begin the ninth inning of a one-run game Thursday, Joe Nathan gave up back-to-back singles to Josh Donaldson and Seth Smith, but Donaldson was thrown out at the plate to end the contest. It earned Nathan his 22nd save of the season, and while he's come close to blowing saves in his last two outings, the right-hander continues to find a way to get the job done. Tanner Scheppers has pitched well in the setup role (1.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP), and Joakim Soria (elbow) just began a rehab assignment, but Nathan has blown just one save this year and he doesn't appear to be in danger of losing his title as closer anytime soon.

Other Recent RecommendationsNick Franklin, Marlon Byrd, Mike Zunino and Joaquin Benoit

$300 Weekly Draftstreet Freerolls

Draftstreet will be running weekly freerolls for Rotowire fans throughout the entire MLB season. This free contest will be Pick 'em style drafting. The way Pick 'Em leagues work is you have 8 tiers of players and each tier will have players to choose from. All you have to do is select 1 player from each tier. There's absolutely nothing to lose and it takes 5 minutes to build a team.

CLICK HERE to sign up now!

Oh, and don't forget to take advantage of DraftStreet's 30% deposit bonus (up to $150). Simply enter the code ROTOWIRE in the Promo Code box when making your first deposit.

CLICK HERE to sign up for free and join the $300 Freeroll on DraftStreet.com.

DraftStreet Value Picks
SP - R.A. Dickey, TOR ($9,587)
C - Carlos Ruiz, PHI ($5,053)
1B - Justin Morneau, MIN ($5,786)
2B - Rickie Weeks, MIL ($5,322)
SS - Elvis Andrus, TEX ($5,711)
3B - Kyle Seager, SEA ($5,612)
OF - Yoenis Cespedes, OAK ($5,928)

Register for a free account at DraftStreet.com and start playing daily fantasy sports games today!