Fantasy Baseball: Starting pitching dominates Tuesday's Winners and Losers

Howdy all and apologies for missing Wednesday's Fantasy Baseball Today podcast. Queens, New York got hit pretty hard yesterday by tropical storm Isaias and I'm currently without power. I'm actually writing this from my in-laws. Yikes! Nonetheless, Tuesday was a memorable day for Fantasy Baseball as Jo Adell made his major league debut while Jesus Luzardo made his first career start. There was actually a ton of action outside of that so let's jump right in.

Also check out Chris Towers' take on the hottest talent on the Wednesday Waiver Wire.

THE LATEST IN THE WORLD OF FANTASY BASEBALL

According to reports, Astros closer Roberto Osuna needs Tommy John surgery. It's unclear whether Ryan Pressly is definitely the next man up for saves, but it would make sense. He's still available in over 50% of CBS leagues and needs to be added everywhere.
Remember when we were all worried about Mike Trout missing a bunch of time during his paternity leave? Me neither. Well, he returned Tuesday night and promptly homered in his first at-bat. If you drafted Trout at a discount, kudos to you.
Austin Meadows made his season debut Tuesday night for the Rays, leading off and picking up two hits. He should slot right back into your lineups as a top-20 outfielder, regardless of format.
In an odd turn of events, Juan Soto was activated Tuesday but was not in the Nationals lineup. Apparently they plan on easing him into action. News flash, Nationals: Time is of the essence this season.
Starting Thursday, the MLB will reduce rosters from 30 to 28 and they will remain that way for the rest of the season. Originally the plan was for rosters to reduce to 26 two weeks from now but the MLB has opted against that, likely with positive COVID tests still looming.
The St. Louis Cardinals have been cleared to resume play this Friday, which is good news if you started your Chicago Cubs this week. For the Cardinals, Paul DeJong and Yadier Molina have tested positive for COVID while Carlos Martinez also landed on the IL.

Tuesday's Biggest Winners

I've mentioned the name already, but Jesus Luzardo looked fantastic in his first career start. He pitched five shutout innings against the Rangers while striking out five. Luzardo got his pitch count up to 76 I would assume he gets that number over 80 in his next outing. While his status was once bleak, the breakout seems imminent.
Let's stick with prospects and move over to Dustin May, who was the talk of Twitter last night because of this pitch. He wound up limiting a hot Padres offense to just two runs over six innings, while striking out eight. I remain skeptical because he once again relied on just two pitches … but they're nasty pitches.
I don't fool around with Rockies pitchers in Fantasy, but three starts in it's time to throw some love German Marquez's way. He's yet to allow more than two runs in any start, striking out a season-high nine against the Giants last night. Two of his starts have been on the road, but continue to ride Marquez while he's hot.
Tyler Mahle was ridiculous Tuesday night against Cleveland, going pitch-for-pitch with Shane Bieber. Mahle allowed just one hit over six innings while striking out six. His pitch mix doesn't look much different this season but his velocity is up just a tad. His next start is scheduled against the Royals, which is a great matchup.
In the Marlins' return to action, Pablo Lopez looked very impressive. In five innings of work, he allowed just two hits while striking out seven against the Orioles. Lopez went heavy on the changeup in this one, which makes sense. Last year his changeup was his best pitch. He's worth a look in deeper leagues.

Tuesday's Biggest Losers

It's sad to say, but Madison Bumgarner might just be done. It was a tough matchup against the Astros on Tuesday night, but he was tagged for eight runs (seven earned) over 4.1 innings pitched. Even more troublesome was his fastball velocity, which once again sat at just 88 MPH. We're getting close to drop territory.
Speaking of drop territory, it's time to have the Joe Musgrove conversation. Every year I talk myself in and every year he disappoints. He got roughed up yesterday in a tough matchup against the Twins, but he isn't himself right now. Usually known for his stellar control, he walked five batters in this start plus his fastball velocity was down. If you want to drop Musgrove, I don't blame you.
Let's see how many days in a row we can get Craig Kimbrel on here. I'll admit I thought the Cubs had a very quick hook with him last night, but how can you blame them? Kimbrel entered the ninth with a three-run lead, allowed a single to Salvador Perez, struck out Franchy Cordero and then gave up a frozen rope double to Adalberto Mondesi. He was pulled after that. My guess is we will not see him in a high-leverage situation for quite some time.