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Nathan Eovaldi's success always feels ephemeral. There's never been any question about his talent, and in 2025, he took it to a completely different level, carrying a 1.73 ERA and 26% strikeout rate (both the best marks of his career in a full season) through his first 22 starts.

But of course it couldn't last, and now Eovaldi's season is likely over. The Rangers announced Eovaldi has a strained rotator cuff and will go on the IL for the second time this season and the 12th time in his career – he missed a month with an elbow issue back in May and June. 

This injury comes from totally out of nowhere – Eovaldi just tossed consecutive seven-inning outings and hasn't seen a noticeable drop in fastball velocity recently – and it comes at the worst possible moment for Fantasy players. It's too late to get Eovaldi out of the lineup for this week's matchups, which could leave you with a zero for a playoff matchup. And it leaves a big hole in your rotation for the final four weeks of the Fantasy season. 

The silver lining to this dark cloud is that this is a pretty good time to be in need of pitching. Nolan McLean is still available in more than a quarter of CBS Fantasy leagues coming off two excellent starts to open his MLB career, and Kyle Bradish made his long-awaited return from Tommy John surgery last night and is available in more than 40% of leagues – and we'll have more on how that debut went shortly. And there are other interesting pitchers across many rostership ranges, like Parker Messick (28% rostered), Ian Seymour (16%), Bubba Chandler (68%), Ryan Bergert (21%), and Luis Morales (12%), so there should be someone worth adding in your league.

But the most interesting pitcher you should be looking for is one who hasn't even made his MLB debut yet, but will this Friday. The Mets are calling up top prospect Jonah Tong from Triple-A, and he gets a nice soft landing spot against the Marlins Friday. And he could be one of the last real difference makers to emerge on the waiver wire this season.

Tong earned his way to the Mets' postseason push after "dominating the minor leagues," in the words of Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. Tong is in the midst of a massive breakout season, with a 1.43 ERA and absurd 40.5% strikeout rate across 22 starts at Double-A and Triple-A this season, and he's done all that despite turning just 22 two months ago. And, with less than an inning more than last season's total on his ledger, there should be basically no workload concerns for him down the stretch.

Tong's value is going to come from how well he pitches, in other words, and there's so much to get excited about here. And it starts with his delivery, which is clearly indebted to Tim Lincecum, and which is going to give hitters fits because they just don't see the ball coming out from that angle very often. But this isn't just a "funk and deception" profile – Tong has legit high-end stuff. 

Tong has seen his fastball velocity tick up this season, to an average of 95.7 mph in his two Triple-A starts, and it's the kind of high-carry fastball that should play incredibly well at the top of the zone for whiffs. And while his big, loopy mid-to-high 70s curveball is going to generate some highlights, it's actually the changeup that has emerged as Tong's second-best pitch, a mid-80s floater with screwball-type movement that, again, plays up because of his freakish delivery and arm angle. Eno Sarris noted in The Athletic just this week that Tong has flashed the best stuff at Triple-A since his promotion. 

Another reason to be optimistic about Tong's chances of making an immediate impact is that the Mets didn't have to do this right now. They have other options they could turn to at Triple-A, most notably Brandon Sproat, who turned his season around over the past few months. That's notable because Tong didn't have to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid the Rule 5 draft this offseason. They're choosing to accelerate his timeline because they think he gives them the best chance to lock up a playoff spot. That doesn't guarantee he'll be good, but David Stearns is smarter than me, and if he's pushing Tong this aggressively, I think that's a reason to believe he's going to be good.

And I think he will be. There are no guarantees, and his complicated delivery and diminutive stature does raise some questions about how Tong might fare. But the stuff should play, and if he can manage to keep repeating the delivery, there's a lot to love about the skill set here. Tong could be an absolute difference maker down the stretch, and I'm viewing him more or less a must-add pitcher even though there are no guarantees as of now that he'll remain in the rotation. There's a chance he struggles and gets sent down, but if he pitches like I think he could, he's probably going to force the Mets' hand as they hang on to a 2.5 game lead for the final wild card spot. 

After all, he already has forced their hands. Why bet against him at this point? 

Here's what else you need to know about from Tuesday's action around MLB: 

Wednesday's top waiver-wire targets

Kyle Bradish, SP, Orioles (59%) – Although if you can only add one pitcher, Bradish probably takes precedence over Tong now that we've actually seen him pitch. Because, believe it or not, he actually one-upped Shane Bieber's phenomenal return from injury last week. He got through six innings, allowing just two solo homers, while striking out 10. He generated 15 swinging strikes on 81 pitches, and while his velocity was down a little bit from last season, it was within 0.5 mph on his fastballs. Bradish had a 2.81 ERA and 9.6 K/9 between 2023 and 2024, and he looked like he still has that ace upside in his first start of the season. You couldn't have asked for more from Bradish, and while he probably won't be this good every time out, seeing him pitch like this confirms that the high-end outcomes are back. He might just be an ace. 

Parker Messick, SP, Guardians (29%) – Messick is a tier and a half below Tong and Bradish in terms of excitement, but he's still someone Fantasy players should be looking at if they need pitching help. He doesn't have the pure stuff of some other recent callups, but he's got that ineffable leftiness (for lack of a better word) that has helped the likes of Matthew Boyd, David Peterson, and Noah Cameron have found success with this season. He's got one excellent swing and miss pitch, his changeup (which generated six whiffs Tuesday), and a funky delivery that allows his fastball to play better than its ~93 mph average velocity would make you think. He has struck out 12 in 13.2 innings while allowing one run and one walk, and he's lining up to be a two-start pitcher next week, making him at least a strong streaming option. And he might be more than that. 

Luke Keaschall, 2B, Twins (72%) – Keaschall slowed down a bit since his blazing start coming off the IL, but he's now back up to five hits in his past four games, and he's hitting .329/.395/.521 with three homers, two steals (on four attempts), and 23 combined runs and RBI in 19 games since coming off the IL and hasn't really showed any signs of struggling with major-league pitching yet. He's a viable starter in all formats right now. 

Ryan Walker, RP, Giants (30%) – With Randy Rodriguez placed on the IL with a sprained right elbow, the Giants are back where they started, with Walker as the presumptive closer. And, while he did already lose the job back in late May, he's been pretty great since, sporting a 2.84 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 31.2 innings since, with the peripherals to match. Despite his earlier struggles, Walker has a 2.79 ERA for his career and should be good enough to get the job done down the stretch, albeit for a team that isn't winning many games. You may not be able to count on much more than five or so saves from Walker, but if you need them, that'll help.