Fantasy Baseball Today: Jesus Luzardo and Alex Cobb notch double-digit Ks, Shane Bieber concerns and more

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Tuesday’s action featured breakout offensive games from the Braves (16 runs) and the Giants (13 runs) and a few noteworthy performances with a lot of strikeouts from two late-round targets and sleepers from the offseason. It also featured another Shane Bieber performance that should at least raise concern. We’ll dive into all of Tuesday’s action below.

But first, in case you missed it on Tuesday Scott White broke down every bullpen in baseball in search of hopefully finding you the next source of saves in his bullpen report. Scott also took a deeper dive into what to make of recent velocity dips — whether or not to sound the alarm on any of them. Chris Towers delivered a few more players to consider adding off waivers. Check back later on CBSSports.com/Fantasy/Baseball for a trade values breakdown from Chris Towers and another set of waivers from Scott.

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. 

Starters who racked up double-digit strikeouts

After a dominant spring, Marlins reclamation project SP Jesus Luzardo was pitching with fire in his debut on Tuesday. Luzardo went five innings and allowed just two hits, one walk, one run while striking out 12. Outside of one blemish when he allowed a triple, Luzardo was unhittable in this one. Kudos to those who drafted him in the later rounds and had the idea to start him for Week 2. Luzardo threw his curveball on 50% of his pitches, and they accounted for 12 of his 18 total swinging strikes. He threw this pitch just 29% of the time last season. Luzardo’s fastball was also up 1.7 MPH compared to last year. These are both excellent signs moving forward.

There’s just something about what they’re doing over in San Francisco with these reclamation pitching projects, and from his performance on Tuesday it looks like the Giants found another in SP Alex Cobb. Like Luzardo, Cobb carried over a dominant spring in his debut where he struck out 10 in just five innings of work. He allowed four hits, two walks and two earned runs. What made Cobb’s debut so interesting was that he used his splitter and sinker on 95% of all pitches. With that said, his velocity is up — 1.8 MPH on his fastball (now 94.5 MPH) and 2.1 MPH up on his splitter.

A decent DFS tip

Stacking players on the highest-scoring team in baseball for that day is an excellent way to build a DFS lineup. So the next time you see a slate that features Patrick Corbin on the mound, stack your roster with hitters from the opposing team. Not to be too harsh to Corbin, but he’s allowed 14 hits in 6.2 innings in two starts so far with a 10.8 ERA, and that’s coming off a brutal 2021 season.

More interesting pitcher debuts

Patrick Sandoval, SP, Angels: I’ve been excited all week for Sandoval’s debut because he’s my most-rostered starter (he was just always there late in drafts) and he didn’t disappoint. Sandoval used all five of his pitches at least 18 percent of the time in this one and held the Marlins scoreless through four innings. Sandoval got himself in and out of trouble in the second inning but was otherwise excellent. He ultimately finished with three walks and three hits allowed to go along with six strikeouts.

Matt Brash, SP, Mariners: Brash made his debut and threw 5 1/3 innings allowing four hits, one walk, two earned runs and striking out six. He threw first-pitch strikes to 17 of 21 batters, and that was made possible with a fastball that averaged 96.3 MPH. The only concerning thing about Brash’s outing were the 10 hard hit balls he allowed. That’s something to keep an eye on. He’s 71% rostered, and that number should be higher.

More ‘Surprise Bags’

If you’re in a categories or Roto league, you’re always looking for speed. So why not get acquainted with which players are stealing bases, when and how many they’ve stolen. We’ll do that every morning here and highlight those players who grabbed a surprise bag — one you weren’t expecting to see their name under the stolen base stat line of a box score.

Some notes from Tuesday: Luis Robert is breaking out in front of our eyes in the early going as a legitimate threat for a 30-30 season as the floor. Voit is the definition of a ‘surprise bag’ winner — as R.J. White noted, Voit’s stolen base on Tuesday was the first of his career and his first in almost 1,300 plate appearances.    

• Luis Robert, OF, White Sox 2 (4)
• Myles Straw, OF, Guardians 1 (3)
• Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pirates 1 (1)
• Surprise bag: Stephen Piscotty, OF, Athletics 1 (1)
• Starling Marte, OF, Mets 1 (1)
• George Springer, OF, Blue Jays 1 (1)
• Tyler Wade, 3B, Angels 1 (1)
• Cody Bellinger, OF, Dodgers 2 (2)
• Chris Taylor, 2B/SS/OF, Dodgers 1 (1)
• Whit Merrifield, 2B/OF, Royals 1 (2)
• Thairo Estrada, SS, Giants 1 (1)
• Steven Duggar, OF, Giants 1 (1)

News and lineup notes from Tuesday

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 into the podcast to hear the FBT crew expand on the news and notes below.

• White Sox SP Lucas Giolito was officially placed on the IL with that left abdominal strain. He said he feels significantly better and he’s optimistic that he’ll require a minimum-length stay.
• Padres SP MacKenzie Gore has been added to the Padres taxi squad, so there is a chance he could start Friday if Blake Snell can’t go.
• Rockies 3B Ryan McMahon was not in the lineup Tuesday due to calf soreness.
• Nationals DH Nelson Cruz late scratch with a tight groin. He was replaced by Lane Thomas.
• White Sox OF A.J. Pollock was placed on the IL with a strained right hamstring, but he expects it to be a near-minimum stay.
• Reds OF Tommy Pham exited Tuesday’s game after colliding with his teammate Nick Senzel in the outfield. X-Rays on his left hand were negative.
• Angels 2B/SS David Fletcher was placed on the IL with a left hip strain. Andrew Velasquez started at shortstop.
• Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said that he expects C Danny Jansen to miss several weeks with a left oblique strain.
• Rangers SP Jon Gray expects to return from the 10-day IL when first eligible April 19.
• Phillies RP Corey Knebel was placed on the COVID IL Tuesday as they await his test results. He could return quickly if he tests negative. 
• Twins reliever Jorge Alcala went to the IL with right elbow inflammation.
• Reds RP Lucas Sims began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Tuesday.
• Red Sox SS Trevor Story is doubtful to play Wednesday as he deals with an illness.
• Tigers OF Robbie Grossman left Tuesday’s game with right groin tightness.
• Mets SP Taijuan Walker was placed on the IL with right shoulder bursitis. 
• Rays SP Luis Patiño was placed on the IL with an oblique strain. Josh Fleming will take his spot in the rotation.
• Phillies OF Odubel Herrera started a rehab assignment Tuesday.
• Reds SP Luis Castillo threw a bullpen session Tuesday. The team remains optimistic he’ll be able to return by the end of the month.
• Diamondbacks SP Zac Gallen is expected to make his season debut Saturday against the Mets.

Lineup notes

• Blue Jays 3B Cavan Biggio has now sat three games in a row in favor of Santiago Espinal.
• Even with A.J. Pollock out, White Sox OF Andrew Vaughn was out of the lineup again Tuesday against Matt Brash.
• Mets 1B/OF Dominic Smith has started just two of six games, including Tuesday against a right-handed pitcher.