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Happy Wednesday, everyone! What an exciting night it was in Major League Baseball on Tuesday, but especially for Yankees 1B Anthony Rizzo, who did something for the first time in his career. Rizzo went yard not once, not twice, but three times. Rizzo now leads the league with eight home runs in a bounce-back very few Fantasy prognosticators saw coming (maybe we should've had him in that profit pocket). 

It was also a big night on Tuesday for several starting pitchers drafted in the second, third and even fourth tiers during the early spring drafting season: Mets SP Chris Bassitt, Angels SP Patrick Sandoval, Marlins SP Sandy Alcantara, Giants SP Carlos Rodon and emerging ace Logan Gilbert of the Mariners. We'll get to these standout pitching performances below. We also want to touch on a couple other big hitter performances including one from a waiver wire sleeper that is most likely still available in the majority of your leagues. He keeps on hitting -- and contributing in all categories -- so it's time we paid him his respect.

That's all the good news. The bad news is that Royals 3B/SS Adalberto Mondesi didn't make it through April without having to leave a game midway with an injury. We'll dive into a late-night update we got on Mondesi's injury and more below. But first, make sure you're all caught up on all of the great content the Fantasy Baseball Today team is delivering over at CBSSports.com/Fantasy/Baseball. Scott White provided an update on some key closer situations in his bullpen report. He also dove into several players off to slow starts that you want to make sure you do NOT drop hastily -- including Bobby Witt Jr. who collected a pair of hits on Tuesday.

And of course, as always, you can follow to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify. 

Mondesi injury update

There is cautiously optimistic news on the oft-injured speedster who left Tuesday's game with a knee injury. Royal manager Mike Matheny said the initial check on Mondesi's knee was "encouraging" and there is apparently no structural damage. He tweaked his left knee while trying to retreat back to the first base bag on a pickoff attempt. He will be re-evaluated on Wednesday morning and should be considered day-to-day for now. I would just warn you that we heard similar manager-speak last year from Matheny and ultimately Mondesi's absence lingered a lot longer than expected.

It's time to seriously consider Wendle

Marlins 3B/SS Joey Wendle isn't exactly your typical rush-to-the-waiver-wire-to-scoop hitter, but it's time to start taking his red hot opening to the 2022 season seriously. Wendle filled up the stat sheet again on Tuesday night by slamming a three-run homer and adding a stolen base to boot. He also walked, added a single and another run to his box score. Wendle has been arguably the Marlins best hitter this season, and while it might be a stretch to think he can keep up anywhere near this pace, if you're searching for a Mondesi replacement -- or any kind of help in the middle infield or corner infield -- Wendle makes a lot of sense. Entering Tuesday, he was just 21% rostered in CBS leagues.

Other standout hitters

Willy Adames, SS, Brewers: The most-targeted double-digit round middle infielder by the FBT crew is starting to really get going and cracked a double dong Tuesday while going 4 for 5. He now has four homers on the season.

Charlie Blackmon, OF, Rockies: Charlie old reliable banged two home runs on Tuesday and is once again returning value.

Mike Trout, OF, Angles: Trout went 2 for 3 with a home run and a double and he's now up to five homers on the season.

Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros: After a disastrously slow start to the season, Tucker is finally getting going with his third homer on Tuesday. This one came off a lefty. He also got caught stealing, which is ultimately a good sign.

Ace-like performances

Patrick Sandoval, Angles: Seven shutout innings with just two hits and one walk allowed. It's his first time going past four innings this season and he did it with a 38% called swinging strike rate and just one free pass.

Logan Gilbert, Mariners: Another outing, another shutout for Gilbert. And this time he struck out seven in just 5 2/3 innings. Gilbert has allowed just one earned run through his first four starts with 22 strikeouts and just four walks.

Sandy Alcantara, Marlins: Drafted in that second tier of starters on the verge of breaking out, we might be seeing that come to realization for Alcantara now. This is his third quality start in a row and he allowed just six hits and one earned run in six innings in a win over Washington. His fastball velocity was all the way up to 98.3 mph, and he brings his season ERA under 2.00.

Chris Bassitt, Mets: The trade to New York put Bassitt on many breakout lists, and he hasn't disappointed thus far. On Tuesday, he threw six shutout innings and allowed just two hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

Carlos Rodon, Giants: A sleeper for NL Cy Young, Rodon continues to deal. He picked up his third win on Tuesday while going six innings and allowing just three hits, two walks and one earned run. And of course -- more than a strikeout per inning -- nine to be exact.

News and lineup notes

Every night the Fantasy Baseball Today team dives into all of the happenings around the MLB from top performers to injuries, trades and more. The podcast is a must listen for any diehard, if I do say so myself. Tune in to the podcast to hear the FBT crew expand on the news and notes below.

  • Phillies OF Bryce Harper played catch Tuesday for the first time in a week and will continue to exclusively play DH until at least May 3. 
  • White Sox RP Liam Hendriks is considered day-to-day due to back spasms. He reportedly slipped in the dugout between the 9th and 10th innings Sunday.
  • White Sox OF Luis Robert is expected back from his groin injury on Wednesday.
  • OF Mitch Haniger and RP Paul Sewald are with the Mariners but haven't been activated off the COVID IL yet.
  • Reds 2B Jonathan India was activated off the IL Tuesday, leading off.
  • Rockies 3B Kris Bryant was scratched from Tuesday's lineup due to a stiff back. 
  • Pirates OF Bryan Reynolds and Cole Tucker were placed on the COVID IL.
  • White Sox OF Eloy Jimenez underwent surgery Tuesday to repair his torn hamstring tendon. He's expected to miss 6-8 weeks. 
  • Astros 2B Jose Altuve took part in all running drills prior to Tuesday's game. He's on the IL with a strained left hamstring. 
  • Padres S Blake Snell is scheduled to make a minor-league rehab appearance at High-A Thursday. He's on the IL with an adductor injury. 
  • Blue Jays OF Teoscar Hernandez felt good after taking batting practice  Tuesday, saying he no longer feels his oblique strain at all.
  • Nationals 1B Josh Bell was back in the lineup after tweaking his hamstring this past weekend.
  • Blue Jays OF Lourdes Gurriel was out of the lineup due to hamstring tightness.
  • Yankees OF Aaron Hicks was placed on the paternity list and will miss the next three games.
  • Rays C Mike Zunino left Tuesday's game with a left biceps strain, but Kevin Cash said he expects Zunino to avoid the IL.
  • Reds manager David Bell said Hunter Greene will start on either Friday or Saturday at the Rockies.
  • Reds SP Luis Castillo will make two additional minor league rehab starts before joining the Reds' rotation.
  • Guardians OF Steven Kwan was out again Tuesday with that hamstring injury. He's now missed two games in a row.
  • Angels OF Brandon Marsh was back in the lineup Tuesday after dealing with an illness. Going up against a RHP meant Jo Adell was on the bench with Taylor Ward leading off once again.
  • Twins C Gary Sanchez could be placed on the IL Wednesday with an abdominal injury he said still didn't feel right.
  • We've talked about it a lot recently but Ken Rosenthal and Eno Sarris of The Athletic reported that batted ball distances have decreased most in the 20 stadiums with newly-installed humidors. This seems to lend itself to Scott's theory that offense will go up as temperatures and humidity rise in the coming months.