Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes hit an uncharacteristic bump in the road in Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Cardinals. Skenes pitched six innings, allowing five runs on six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. The 2024 National League Rookie of the Year had two great starts before Tuesday, bringing his season totals to a 1-1 record with a 3.44 ERA, a 9.82 K/9 rate, and a 1.47 BB/9 rate in 18 1/3 IP. Even the strongest players are bound to have off days, and Skenes should be positioned to rebound nicely in his next scheduled matchup, which will be a favorable one against the Nationals.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal picked up his first win of the season in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Yankees. The 28-year-old silenced a tough lineup, allowing four hits and no walks with six strikeouts over six innings pitched. This was the first encouraging start for the 2024 American League Cy Young winner, who struggled by his standards in his first two starts. He is now 1-2 with a 3.78 ERA, an 8.64 K/9 rate, and a 2.16 BB/9 rate in three starts and 16 2/3 IP. Skubal should have a good chance to continue to get back on the right track in his next scheduled start, which will be a more favorable matchup at the Brewers.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans was dealing in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Twins. Ragans pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with 11 strikeouts. He also hit a batter. Unfortunately for him, Pablo Lopez (hamstring) was able to silence the Royals' bats, and they weren't able to pull ahead until late in the game. Ragans has delivered what fantasy managers were expecting through his first three starts, compiling a 2.81 ERA, a 13.50 K/9 rate, and a 2.25 BB/9 rate in 16 IP. He has yet to earn a win, but he has done everything in his power to position himself for them. Ragans will draw a decent matchup in his next start at the Guardians, a lineup that has been mediocre to this point but has not struck out much.

Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Tuesday that starting pitcher Zach Eflin (lat) will be placed on the injured list with a low-grade lat strain and will be shut down from throwing for a week, per the Baltimore Sun's Matt Weyrich. Eflin pitched well in Monday's 5-1 win against the Diamondbacks but was pulled after throwing 73 pitches due to what was reported to be shoulder fatigue. This is a blow to fantasy managers and the O's, as the team is already without Grayson Rodriguez (elbow) due to elbow inflammation. It remains to be seen who they will turn to to fill the rotation spot, although there are no apparent fantasy standouts. The team did sign veteran Kyle Gibson at the end of spring, but he is not fully ramped up and would not be of fantasy interest if he were to join the team and fill in.

Athletics first baseman prospect Nick Kurtz went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored on Tuesday for Triple-A Las Vegas. The home run tied him for the minor league lead with five, and his 15 RBI leads all minor league players. The 2024 first-round draft pick is red-hot to begin the year, now hitting .410 with a whopping 1.375 OPS. With Athletics' first baseman Tyler Soderstrom going on his own power binge to begin the year, it's unclear how Kurtz finds at-bats in the majors, but with the way he's hitting, expect them to find a way. Notably, Soderstrom was removed from Tuesday's game against the Padres due to calf tightness, and it was considered precautionary, but it is a situation worth monitoring. Kurtz remains one of the top prospect stash candidates for fantasy as his call-up appears to be getting closer and closer.