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Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is not in the team's starting lineup for the start of a series on Thursday against the division-rival San Francisco Giants on the road. The 30-year-old will take a seat for a day of rest, with outfielder Jake McCarthy playing left field and batting ninth and Randal Grichuk in right field and hitting eighth versus Giants right-hander Logan Webb. McCarthy is hitting .375 with an RBI in 16 career at-bats against Webb but will have limited DFS upside in the nine-hole. Meanwhile, Grichuk has one hit in his 10 career at-bats against Webb. Gurriel has five home runs and 20 RBI already this year in 18 games played, but he has just one hit (a homer) in his last 16 at-bats over four games, so he could use a little breather here.
Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (thumb) is back behind the plate and is batting sixth in the lineup on Thursday against the San Francisco Giants and right-hander Logan Webb. Moreno injured his right thumb on a wild pitch on Monday against the Chicago Cubs and was scratched from the starting lineup on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The 24-year-old did appear as a defensive replacement late in Tuesday's extra-inning game, though. Moreno is still looking for his first home run of the year while going 11-for-46 (.239) in his first 16 games of the 2024 season. Webb isn't the greatest of matchups for those setting DFS lineups, but don't ignore the fact that Moreno is currently hitting .444 in nine career at-bats against Webb.
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson homered for the second straight game in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Cubs. Pederson came on to pinch hit in the sixth for Blaze Alexander, lining out to first in his initial at-bat before homering in the next at-bat in the bottom of the ninth off of lefty Drew Smyly. Pederson is off to a solid start this season, hitting .333 (11-for-33) with two doubles, two home runs, five RBI, and seven runs scored. Last season, Pederson saw an increase in his BB% by 3.7% over the prior year, up to 13.4%, and it appears he's brought the keen eye into 2024, having walked nine times while striking out just once. The result is a superb .467 OBP thus far.
Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop prospect Tommy Troy went 1-for-4 on Wednesday for High-A Hillsboro. His lone hit would be his first home run of the season. Although he is hitting .188 to start the season, it is nice to see him improving after recovering from a fractured foot this summer. The 12th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Troy offers good bat-to-ball skills to go along with good plate discipline. Troy also plays variety infield positions which should help him ascend throughout the minor league system. For now, the consensus Top-100 prospect is a name for dynasty managers to keep tabs on, but he is a few years away from making an impact in redraft leagues.
Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (thumb) was scratched from Wednesday's starting lineup against the Chicago Cubs in the series finale. Moreno suffered a right-thumb contusion on a wild pitch on Monday night and was then scratched from Tuesday's starting lineup as well before appearing later in the extra-inning win as a defensive replacement. The 24-year-old appears to be not quite comfortable enough swinging a bat to return to action for the Snakes, so Tucker Barnhart will catch again and bat eighth against Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks. Fantasy baseball managers will want to check back on Thursday to see if Moreno is able to return to the field when the team faces the division-rival San Francisco Giants on the road.