We’re at the point in the schedule where some aces are making their second start already, while other pitchers lower in their teams’ respective pecking orders are just getting their first chance to show us what they’re bringing to the 2026 season. On Tuesday, we got a bunch of pretty intriguing debuts to dig our teeth into, especially those involving pitchers coming back from injuries. These are always some of the most interesting players to watch in their debuts, because for so many of them, we truly don’t know what to even expect. 

Some of those debuts went well, some not so well, but three stood out for me. So, we’re running back yesterday’s newsletter format to highlight three interesting pitchers who took the mound for the first time Tuesday night. Let’s see where Brandon Woodruff, Shane McClanahan, and Andrew Painter are in their first starts coming off injuries. 

But first: Over on CBSSports.com, Scott White and I had some content for you to take in over the past few days. On my end, I wrote about some early position eligibility updates that are worth knowing, with names like Brendan Donovan, Bo Bichette, and JJ Wetherholt all adding new eligibility in the season’s first week. Head here for more, and then check out Scott White’s breakdown of all 30 bullpen situations across MLB here. Okay, now, to our trio of pitching debuts: 

Brandon Woodruff, Brewers vs. TB: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Woodruff is just a magician, man. He came back from serious shoulder surgery last season, throwing 3 mph lower than he did prior to the injury, and it’s like it didn’t matter at all. He was still arguably just as effective as he had ever been. His season ended with a lat injury, and there were questions about his readiness for the start of this season, and then he goes out here in his first start and dominates again. It defies all logic, but here we are.

As it always does with Woodruff, it started with the fastballs. He threw 49 of them out of his 67 pitches, and the Rays managed just two hard-hit balls off 25 swings against those two pitches. He limited them to just four hard-hit balls on 13 batted balls total while generating eight whiffs – a better number than you’d think, given he only threw the 67 pitches to get there. And everything basically looked just like it did in 2025, from the velocity to the movement profiles, and remember, he had a 3.20 ERA, 32.3% strikeout rate, and 2.22 xERA last season.

So, the performance looks good, which was a minor question for Woodruff, but not the primary one. That one can’t be answered yet. That one is the big one: “Can he stay healthy?” We have no idea. If you want to wait a few starts and try to sell high on Woodruff, I wouldn’t argue with that logic, given his injury history. I think we have every reason to think he’ll be good, and a lot of evidence to suggest he doesn’t have a particularly good chance of making it through anything like a full season. 

If he does manage it, he’s going to be an ace, though. 

Shane McClanahan, Rays @MIL: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Making his first regular-season start in the majors since September of 2023, McClanahan looked pretty good. Did he look like his pre-injury self? No, of course not, and it would be unreasonable to expect that. But he certainly didn’t look bad, either. The velocity was mostly there in the first inning, but once the adrenaline wore off, he settled in around 95 mph the rest of the way – 95 would be nearly 2 mph down from where he was in 2023, but it should be plenty to keep him afloat and let the still very good secondaries take over. 

And they mostly did. While McClanahan had just one whiff on the four-seamer, he had three each on the slider and changeup, a sign he still has a go-to pitch to put away batters of each handedness. Is either pitch likely to be as good as it was before the injury? Again, the answer to that is “no”, and you probably shouldn’t expect McClanahan to be that guy again. There will be flashes, but given all he’s gone through just to get back on the mound, we’re probably looking at a permanently diminished version of McClanahan. 

And that’s fine. You didn’t draft him to be an ace. You drafted him with a pick around 200, in all likelihood, and I don’t see any reason to be disappointed in that after one start. His command should improve moving forward (especially against righties), and McClanahan should be a useful pitcher to have around on your Fantasy team, if not an ace again. 

Andrew Painter, Phillies vs. WAS: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

The fastball was hot early on, and that’s what everyone was focusing on. And it looked fine – he zoned it well and gave up just an 82.9 mph average exit velocity on it. But it probably isn’t the elite pitch it was prior to Painter’s injury, and I’m not sure we should expect it to get there.

But he probably doesn’t need it to be elite to be effective, as we saw here. Yes, it was a very good matchup against the lowly Nationals, but Painter showed off the full arsenal in a way he didn’t really during the spring, throwing his four-seamer and sinker just a combined 45% of the time. That allowed the rest of his pitches to take on a bigger role, and there was a lot to like there, with the slider especially starring with four whiffs. But it wasn’t just the slider, as each of his non-fastball pitches had a CSW% (called-plus-swinging strike rate) over 40%. His command of the secondaries largely looked pretty good to my eyes, though he probably needs to avoid hanging quite as many sliders against a better lineup. 

Still, on the whole, I think you have to be pretty pleased with this as an MLB debut. I don’t think Painter is immediately ready to be an ace like his line suggests – again, this was a pretty bad Nationals lineup. But I do think he looked like he belonged, and like someone you’ll be happy you have around moving forward.  

Now, let’s get to everything else you need to know from Tuesday’s action around MLB:   

Wednesday’s top waiver-wire targets

Here’s who we’re looking to add coming out of Tuesday’s action: 

Kodai Senga, SP, Mets (83%) – Senga might belong with that first trio – frankly, his roster rate is too high to belong here, too – except the vibes for him this spring were actually pretty positive, even if it was never really reflected in his price. He spent the offseason reworking his mechanics and saw a velocity spike, which stuck in his first regular-season start – he averaged 97.4 mph with his four-seamer, the highest mark for a start in his career. And it wasn’t just empty velocity, as he limited the Cardinals to two runs over six innings while striking out nine. Yeah, he walked three, which has always been the biggest issue for Senga, even when he’s good. But he looked absolutely electric and needs to be rostered in all Fantasy leagues after this one. He’s not far in CBS Fantasy leagues, but on Yahoo, he’s only 65% rostered, so go check your league, just to be sure. 

Jose Fernandez, SS, Diamondbacks (1%) – I have no idea where Fernandez is supposed to play. He started at third base Tuesday, but I can’t imagine the Diamondbacks are going to bench Nolan Arenado in his first week after trading for him this offseason. But they might need to find a spot for this kid. He went 3 for 4 in his MLB debut with two homers, and while he hasn’t typically put up huge numbers in the minors, he did hit 17 in 122 games at Double-A last season in a mild breakout, and then he had a huge spring where he was putting up big exit velocity readings consistently. The infield is pretty much full here … unless the Diamondbacks want to try him at first base, a position he played nine times in Double-A and a spot that is currently being manned by Carlos Santana. Why not see if there’s anything more than a hot streak going on here? It probably isn’t real, but what do the D-Backs have to lose?

Riley O’Brien, RP, Cardinals (41%) – The Cardinals bullpen has been messy so far this season, with Ryne Stanek somehow getting two save chances so far. Well, Stanek worked the seventh Tuesday, a role more befitting his skill set. And O’Brien worked the ninth, shutting the Mets down in order for his first save. O’Brien is probably the best pitcher in this bullpen, and eventually, that guy usually emerges from the quagmire to be the closer. I’ll bet on that here. 

Max Scherzer, SP, Blue Jays (34%) — You can’t ask for a softer landing than the Rockies on the road, so apply the proper number of grains of salt here. But Scherzer looked pretty good, even if his spring velocity gains weren’t there. But he still looked more or less like he did last season, when he had a workable 3.95 ERA (and 3.83 xERA). I don’t think Scherzer is someone who needs to be rostered in all leagues, but he should be useful against the right matchups – unfortunately, the next one is against the Dodgers, so you’ll have to figure out for yourself whether he’s worth adding when you shouldn’t be starting him. 

Jose Soriano, SP, Angels (63%) — That’s two solid starts in a row for Soriano against pretty good lineups. He’s gone six shutout innings in both, and while he walked four in his first start, he limited that to just two in this one. We have seen Soriano switch up his pitch mix a bit this season already, fading his splitter a bit more and leaning on his four-seamer more than his sinker in this one. I’m not sure these are the types of changes that will fundamentally change Soriano as a pitcher, and the Angels defense isn’t likely to help him out much, so I tend to chalk this up mostly to “He had a couple of good nights.” But the raw tools have always been there, so I’m open to the possibility that Soriano is starting to figure it out with new hitting coach Mike Maddux.  

Ryan O’Hearn, 1B, Pirates (43%) – O’Hearn has always been a pretty good hitter, but his Fantasy appeal has been limited due to the fact that he’s rarely been a true everyday player. That’s changing in Pittsburgh, and while this is probably just a hot start, eight hits in his first five games (including his second homer Tuesday) is worth taking note of. We know who he is for the most part, but the opportunity to play every day could make O’Hearn matter more than we’re used to. 

Liam Hicks, C, Marlins () – I think this is just a hot streak for Hicks, but even with the newfound depth at the catcher position, we’re always on the lookout for helpful No. 2 catcher options. If you waited a long time for your second option, consider taking a look at Hicks, who is playing alongside Agustin Ramirez pretty much every day (Hicks was at first base Tuesday), and he’s off to a scorching start, somehow leading the majors with eight RBI in his first four games. He has a good approach at the plate and might be a rare, helpful source of batting average from a No. 2 catcher, if nothing else. 

Tuesday’s standouts

Logan Gilbert, Mariners vs. NYY: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 – Eight runs in 10.2 innings isn’t the opening you hoped for from Gilbert, but I don’t really see any reason to be concerned here. The velocity dip from his first start was gone, and he was back to 2025 levels. He managed 14 swings and misses in this one. There was a lot of hard contact (92.6 mph average exit velocity), and it seems like Gilbert is still finding the feel for that new cutter of his. But that pitch has solid characteristics and should be a weapon for him. I’m just not worried about this at all right now. 

Hunter Brown, Astros vs. BOS: 6 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K – And here you’ve got me regretting that I don’t have Brown on any of my teams. After showing some shaky command in his first start of the season, Brown locked in for this one. He looks as good as he did last season, when he was a top-10 starter in baseball. I don’t really see any reason he shouldn’t be one yet again. 

Jacob deGrom, Rangers @BAL: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K – Coming back from being scratched with a neck issue, deGrom looked no worse for the wear, despite the crooked number in the ER category. His stuff looked electric, and he generated 14 swinging strikes on 79 pitches, 10 of them coming on the slider. As with the first couple of pitchers here, I see no reason to be worried whatsoever about deGrom. 

Max Fried, Yankees @SEA: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K – It’s just so much fun to watch Fried operate when he’s pitching like this. Even with his velocity still down a bit across the board, Fried just carved the Mariners up with his deep and varied arsenal, just like he did the Giants in his first start. He goes about it differently than nearly any other ace, but the finesse approach works for him, and he’s clearly locked in to start the season. 

Logan Webb, Giants @SD: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K – That’s two shaky starts in a row for Webb, though in different ways – he was too hittable in his first start against the Yankees, and his control was shaky in the second. Beyond the results, I don’t really see any reason to be concerned with Webb, and given the long track record of success, I’m going to bet on him figuring it out. That being said, it could continue to be a tough start for Webb, who gets the Mets and Orioles in his next two starts. He gets a reprieve with the Nationals after that, but then has to face the Dodgers. Yeah, April is gonna be tough, though I’d still likely just keep Webb in my lineup and ride it out. The upside is too high. 

Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers vs. CLE: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K – Ohtani hasn’t done much with the bat so far this season, so he turned around and put in an ace performance in his first start of the season. It’s a neat trick if you can pull it off, but of course, he’s the only person in the world who can. His velocity was down a bit in this one, but only to the level he was at in 2023, when he had a 3.14 ERA and 33.2% strikeout rate. It’s a bit of a shame you probably won’t get much out of Ohtani’s pitching side in weekly leagues where he is only one player, which is remarkable because he might just be a top-10 pitcher. I don’t ever want to stop being impressed by this. 

Bubba Chandler, Pirates @CIN: 4.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 6 K – Yeah, the command was a problem for Chandler in Spring Training, and it was a problem here. There’s no questioning the stuff, and he has certainly shown stretches of good command, most notably early and then late last season. But that was the biggest flaw in Chandler’s game as a prospect, and it looks like an issue right now. But the thing about command is, it tends to be an issue right up until it isn’t, and the Pirates are surely looking into any mechanical tweaks to get him right. I remain bullish that he’ll figure it out and be an impact arm. 

Tanner Bibee, Guardians @LAD: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K – Honestly? I expected a lot worse. 

Casey Mize, Tigers @ARI: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K – The former top prospect has spent much of his career tinkering, and he made some tweaks for this one, throwing his splitter a bit more and tweaking his breaking ball (Statcast calls it a “slurve”) to generate more two-plane movement. The latter wasn’t all that effective for him, though, and it was the splitter that carried the day, generating nine whiffs on 17 swings. I don’t think it’s particularly likely that this represents a new normal for Mize, but it’s possible the bigger breaking ball helps him take another incremental step forward. 

Janson Junk, Marlins vs. CHW: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K – Well, this is moderately interesting, I suppose. Junk’s velocity was up 1.8 mph on his fastball without seeming to impact his outlier control, which could lead to a tick up in performance here. I don’t think there’s a ton of upside with Junk, but the stuff looks better than before, and he gets decent matchups against the Reds (in Miami) and then at Detroit for a two-start week next week. He’s an intriguing streamer, though certainly not a must-add pitcher. 

Brandon Williamson, Reds vs. PIT: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K – Circumstances pushed Williamson into the rotation in his return from Tommy John surgery, and it was legitimately shocking to see him throw 92 pitches in less than five innings. So much for kids’ gloves, right? Williamson was at one point a pretty interesting young pitcher, and there could be some upside here. But he’ll have to show more than this, obviously. 

German Marquez, Padres vs. SF: 3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K – I thought there might be some intrigue here with Marquez finally getting out of Colorado, but his first start couldn’t have gone much worse. The velocity was down across the board, and Marquez had just two swinging strikes on 65 pitches, so he’ll need to show us something before anyone looks at him as even a low-end streamer. 

Dennis Santana, RP, Pirates – I don’t really know what to make of Santana’s usage so far. He has yet to record a save in four appearances, and he came into Tuesday’s game in the eighth inning. Sure, there was a runner on first, but the Pirates were leading by three, so it’s not like it was the highest leverage moment possible – though it wasn’t exactly mop-up duty, either. He got out of the inning after allowing a single, and then Gregory Soto came on to close it out. Now, the good news here for Santana is that Soto allowed a single and issued a walk, a hit by pitch, and a wild pitch before getting out of a self-inflicted jam that turned a five-run ninth-inning lead into an adventure. This was Santana’s second appearance in the eighth inning, but he also appeared in the ninth in a tie game in two other situations, so it’s not like they’re avoiding him in key moments. I still suspect Santana is the closer here, for what it’s worth. 

Jordan Romano, RP, Angels – It seems pretty clear Romano is the closer here as long as he can hold onto the job. The Angels left Drew Pomeranz in to face Pete Crow-Armstrong to open the ninth inning, but once the lefty was out of the way, Romano came in to shut the door for his second save. In any league where you are chasing saves, Romano is worth rostering. 

Oneil Cruz, OF, Pirates – Credit to Cruz, who has caught a lot of flak from me. His defense remains a mess, but he had a couple of hits off a lefty Tuesday, including a 444-foot homer in the fourth inning. He added another homer off Pierce Johnson later in the game for his first big game of the season. He has also struck out 10 times in 23 plate appearances, so there’s plenty to be skeptical about here. But let the acknowledgement be as loud as the criticism, as the kids say.

News and notes

Cody Ponce was placed on the IL with a sprained right ACL. He’s expected to miss significant time, but there was no official timeline, making him a pretty obvious drop in leagues with no IL spots. What a bummer. 

We have another prospect extension: the Mariners signed Colt Emerson to an eight-year, $95 million extension. The deal includes a club option for a ninth year and can top $130 million if all incentives are reached. It’s a record contract for a player yet to reach the majors, and it’s our second in a day for a player who doesn’t appear to be that close to making his debut. It’s an interesting trend – do two instances make a trend? – because in the past, teams would typically do these kinds of pre-debut extensions on the verge of the promotion to the majors, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Still, I suspect we’ll see Emerson before long, though with JP Crawford beginning a rehab assignment this week after missing the start of the season with shoulder pain, it’s not clear where a spot is going to come from right now. But life finds a way … 

Zach Eflin left his start early due to right elbow discomfort. Manager Craig Albernaz said Eflin is likely headed to the IL, which is crushing for a guy who has worked so hard to come back from back injuries over the past couple of seasons. 

Carlos Rodon experienced right hamstring tightness earlier this week. He was supposed to go on a rehab assignment soon, but this might delay him a bit. 

Corbin Burnes threw a 20-pitch bullpen on Tuesday as he works his way back from TJ surgery. The expectation is that he’ll be back in the second half. 

Seiya Suzuki will begin a rehab assignment during Chicago’s upcoming road trip, so we’re probably about a week to 10 days away from him being ready to return from his knee injury. 

Jorge Polanco was out of the lineup Tuesday as he works through that Achilles soreness. He was the DH Monday, so hopefully this doesn’t keep him out too much longer. 

Merrill Kelly will make a minor-league rehab start Friday at Triple-A.

Lourdes Gurriel has progressed to playing in simulated games. He’s working his way back from a torn ACL.

Quinn Priester is scheduled to throw a 20-pitch bullpen before heading to the Brewers’ spring facility to continue building up his throwing program.

Anthony Volpe will take live BP on Wednesday, as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery.

The Brewers optioned catcher prospect Jeferson Quero back to Triple-A after acquiring outfielder Luis Matos.