Griffin went 1-for-4 with an 106-mph RBI double to left-center field on Friday during one of the most highly anticipated major-league debuts in years. The Pirates don’t want to put too much pressure on him as he acclimates to everyday life in the big leagues as a teenager, but it feels like only a matter of time before he’s hitting near the top of the lineup. There will be some ebbs and flows production-wise, but Griffin projects as an extremely impactful all-around fantasy contributor during his rookie campaign.

Verlander was set to return to Comerica Park on Sunday night against the Cardinals for his first start in a Tigers uniform since 2017. That’s no longer happening. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer heads to the shelf after being torched for five runs over 3 2/3 innings by the Diamondbacks on Monday in his season debut. It’ll be Keider Montero taking his spot in Detroit’s rotation for now. His return to the Motor City is off to a bit of a rocky start, but the Tigers are probably more concerned with having him available for late-season starts than early-April outings.

Kirk underwent imaging that revealed a dislocation in his thumb, along with a fracture. He’ll meet with a specialist early next week to determine whether surgery is needed. There should be a definitive return timetable following that evaluation. He suffered the injury when he took a foul tip off his hand in the 10th inning of Friday’s extra-inning marathon against the White Sox. It’s a significant loss for the defending American League champions, and fantasy managers as well, since he’s facing a multi-week absence, even if he manages to avoid surgery. The 27-year-old backstop was off to a slow start at the plate, hitting (3-for-20) through five games this season. It’ll be Tyler Heineman handling the catching duties in his absence.

Not great. With MJ Melendez off to a bad start, Nick Morabito would seem to be the likely choice to come up from Triple-A Syracuse if Soto requires an IL stint. Soto left Friday’s game in the first inning after pulling up while running from first to third on a single.

The Kevin Kelly offering hit him near his back elbow. X-rays were negative, though as we saw with Jordan Lawlar, that’s not necessarily everything. James Outman replaced him as a pinch-runner and in center field. He would be his primary replacement if Buxton misses some time.

Horton said after the game that the discomfort that caused him to leave his start against the Guardians in the second inning began in his wrist before he developed tightness in his forearm. That doesn’t really sound like a UCL problem, but we’ll see. The Cubs are certainly going to play things safe regardless. Colin Rea, who allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings after taking over for Horton today, is likely to step into the rotation.

X-rays were negative last night, but a CT scan found the fracture, and he’s expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Adrian Del Castillo is set to come off the IL and replace him on the active roster. Jorge Barrosa and Tim Tawa will get some extra at-bats, and Jose Fernandez will keep playing fairly regularly for now. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will likely beat Lawlar back from the IL, which might result in some playing time questions when Lawlar returns.

A foul tip deflected off the bottom of Kirk’s mitt and left him in a lot of pain, so much so that he walked off without any attempt to stay in. If there’s a break, he’ll probably miss at least a month. Brandon Valenzuela would likely be called up to share time with Tyler Heineman.

Judge’s 387-foot moonshot off Eury Pérez quickly swung an early Marlins lead back to the Yankees, and he also drew a bases loaded hit by pitch to force in another run in the second inning. It was Judge’s first multi-hit affair of the season, and though we can’t predict the future, we’re confident saying it won’t be the last after he hit .331 last season. Fantasy managers can continue to enjoy the ride.

The cure for the offensive slump? More Miles Mikolas. Ohtani homered off the right-hander to open proceedings on a five-run Dodgers third inning, and added a sacrifice fly in the ninth to bring home Alex Call. The superstar has boosted his batting average to .217. We’re expecting that to keep climbing.