Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that Jones would make “at least one” more start, but he is eligible to come off the injured list on May 25th. He threw only 52 pitches in his last outing, so the team would likely try to push him closer to 65 on Saturday, and then he could return with a pitch count around 75 pitches. However, it doesn’t seem like the Pirates feel they have to rush him back. His return could depend on how he pitches on Saturday and how other Pirates starters, like Carmen Mlodzinski, look over the weekend. Regardless, we’re only one or two weeks away from Jones returning, so now is the time to stash him in fantasy leagues.

It’s his shortest start of the year, as he completed six innings each of his first seven times out. Tonight, though, he needed 88 pitches to get his 15 outs. It’s the fourth time this season that he’s gone without allowing a run, and his ERA now stands at 0.73 in 49 innings. Ohtani also had a nice night offensively while both pitching and DHing for the first time since Apr. 22. Along with the leadoff homer in the first, he walked and scored a second run. He’s 13-for-27 with two homers, four doubles, 10 RBI and seven walks in his last seven games. Ohtani’s next mound outing will probably come next Wednesday against the Rockies.

It’s happening for Griffin. He ignited rallies in the fourth, sixth, and eighth innings by starting each with a single and scored a run in all three. Plus that, he had the hardest hit ball in this game at 111.2 mph on his second inning single. Again, it feels like it’s all coming together for the 20-year-old Griffin. He now has a hit in 18 of his last 20 games and raised his .213 batting average and .573 at the start of this stretch to a .278 BA and .738 OPS after this game. We’re still waiting on the power with just three home runs through 43 games played, but he looks like the budding star we expected to see.

Harrison’s magical season continued with possibly his best start to date. It was one strikeout off his season-high from last month, but was the first time he completed seven innings. He simply blitzed the Cubs with high fastball after high fastballs. That pitch forced 13 of his 19 total swings-and-misses, routinely sat around around 96 mph, and peaked at 98 mph. That is a slight velocity jump compared to his season averages and it beautifully set up his slurve. Funny enough, he only threw two total changeups, a pitch he’d used 17% of the time against right-handed batters heading into this start. It didn’t matter though as again, that fastball and slurve were more than enough. To this point in the season, his 1.77 ERA is the lowest in the National League and he has a 59:14 strikeout to walk ratio across 45 2/3 innings. We could have a league-winner on our hands, folks. Harrison is scheduled to face the Cardinals next time out.

Sale is on another level right now. The Marlins squeaked out a run via a sac fly in the first inning and from that point forward he faced just two batters over the minimum. His slider was especially lethal, forcing 14 of his 18 swings-and-misses as the Marlins helplessly flailed at it low and below the zone. Apart from an odd blow-up against the Angels in early April, Sale has allowed two or fewer runs and completed at least six innings in every start this year. In total, he has a 1.89 ERA plus 72 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 62 innings this season. He’s still firmly one of the best few pitchers in the game and is scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Red Sox and Reds with both starts coming on the road.

Ohtani returns to two-way status after three consecutive starts where he pitched exclusively since April 22. The 31-year-old generational talent recently snapped out of an extended funk at the plate, hitting .429 (12-for-28) with one homer, nine RBI and one steal over his last seven games. The Dodgers have made an effort to reduce his massive workload by giving him time off from hitting while pitching recently, so it’s notable that he’s in the lineup for a pivotal showdown against San Diego.

This was always a potential outcome. The decision was made to perform a full reconstructive procedure after surgeons discovered UCL damage while performing an elbow operation to address his preexisting fracture and loose bodies. The 31-year-old right-hander’s absence is a hit to Toronto’s rotation depth since there was a slight possibility he would pitch again later this season. He’s likely to miss a significant portion of next year given the timing of the procedure.

There are zero guarantees here, but it sounds like Tong is an option to pitch at some point during New York’s upcoming three-game series against the Marlins that gets underway on Friday night. The 22-year-old top pitching prospect was scratched from his scheduled start for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday to keep him available. Tong was hit hard in his first taste of the majors last year, but offers sky-high strikeout upside, which makes him an interesting low-risk pickup for fantasy managers. There should be a definitive update on the Mets pitching plan later this week.

Hinch basically dismissed any internet speculation that Skubal was going to jump back into Detroit’s rotation next week without a rehab assignment after undergoing an innovative NanoScope procedure earlier this month to remove loose bodies from his elbow. The 29-year-old fantasy ace has already completed a bullpen session and could be ready to make a minor league rehab start by the end of May or early June. It’s a bit unclear how many tune-up outings he’ll require, but it’ll be at least one. It doesn’t sound like his return is imminent, but he’s definitely going to make it back to Detroit faster than anticipated at the time of the surgery.

Brown threw 22 pitches in a live batting practice earlier this week. He reportedly touched 96 mph, but there’s no word on his command or secondary pitches. Still, it seems like, if his shoulder responds well, Brown will begin a rehab assignment this weekend. He’ll likely need to make at least three starts, but that should put him on track for a mid-June return.