Upside Scenarios, Injury Updates & Ranking Relievers! (4/8 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

April 8, 2026·1 hr 12 min·6 clips

What if Taj Bradley's splittier splitter means he's a real breakout, and Sandy Alcantara is back to Cy Young form?

1. Fantasy Baseball Today is a daily CBS Sports podcast; this episode airs Wednesday April 8 and is hosted by Frank Sample and Scott White, with Chris Towers absent due to illness. 2. Frank and Scott are the primary hosts; Chris Towers is a regular co-host mentioned as being on the ten-day 'IL' with illness. 3. The episode covers players of the night, Tuesday's news and injuries, reliever rankings, and the weekly 'What If Wednesday' upside scenarios. 4. Taj Bradley's start against the Tigers produced one earned run in six and a third innings, ten strikeouts, and 15 whiffs on 104 pitches, with nine whiffs coming on the splitter. 5. The key data point on Bradley is that his splitter is dropping three extra inches more than last season, and its whiff rate has more than doubled — earning the nickname 'splittier splitter' from Frank. 6. Scott confirms Bradley had a nine-start run in 2024 with a 0.89 ERA and 10.6 K/9 before collapsing, and that the splitter backed up in that second-half collapse and is now back to improved form. 7. Sandy Alcantara was two outs away from back-to-back Maddux games — a feat not accomplished since Greg Maddox in 2000 — finishing with eight and a third innings, two runs allowed, 71% strikes, and a 50% whiff rate on his changeup. 8. Scott notes Alcantara posted a 2.70 ERA in his final seven starts of the prior season, entered this season with momentum, and has now been moved into Scott's top 30 starting pitchers. 9. Scott's running Twitter joke — responding 'stud' to any Sandy Alcantara mention — is introduced, along with Frank's reference to a Sandy-from-Greece/Alcantara face-merge image he plans to release on the next complete game. 10. Reynaldo Lopez vs. Jorge Soler brawl: Lopez allowed a Soler home run, hit him with a pitch, then threw near his head; Soler charged the mound; Walt Weiss tackled Soler; Ronald Acuña ran in from right field and turned his hat backwards; Lopez held the baseball throughout the brawl. 11. Cade Horton will undergo season-ending elbow surgery; the exact procedure — Tommy John or internal brace — had not been confirmed at air time. 12. Hunter Brown was diagnosed with a grade two shoulder strain and will not throw for several weeks; typical recovery for a grade two is eight to twelve weeks, placing his return in June at earliest and potentially the second half. 13. Jacob deGrom underwent a precautionary MRI on his right knee that came back clean. 14. Riley O'Brien has recorded each of the Cardinals' last three saves, is 55% rostered, and Frank and Scott rank him ahead of Gregory Soto and Brian Abreu but behind Seawald, Paul Seawald, and Jordan Romano. 15. Jacob Jonas is three percent rostered but has saved games in back-to-back nights for the Rangers, and Skip Schumacher has doubled down on using him in the ninth; his two-year ERA as a reliever is 2.83 with a 1.04 WHIP. 16. 'What If Wednesday' scenarios: Jacob Miziorowski is walking five batters per nine but striking out 15, and the question is whether he can pull a Blake Snell 2023 Cy Young scenario despite the walk rate. 17. Gunnar Henderson's pulled air rate is 33% — more than double his career high of 15.8% — and Frank posits that if it holds at 20%+, Henderson could be a 40-homer MVP candidate. 18. CJ Abrams is batting over .300 with four homers, 14 RBI, four steals, and a 32% pulled air rate; the question is whether he can avoid his annual two-month slump. 19. Gavin Williams allowed one run over five and two thirds innings but issued five walks; in his final five starts of the prior season he threw 66% strikes versus 61% previously, with a 1.74 ERA and 11 K/9, and the question is whether he can recapture that command. 20. Christian Walker is batting .326 with three homers early, 14% strikeout rate, high barrel rate, and Scott raises whether he could be 'this year's George Springer' — a veteran power hitter who rediscovers his best form.

As heard by us

An early-season fantasy check on Taj Bradley, Sandy Alcantara, and the reliever hierarchy.

Fantasy Baseball Today uses its April 8 episode to focus on early-season upside, with Taj Bradley and Sandy Alcantara under the microscope. Bradley's latest outing is treated as his best so far, and the panel seems willing to see real progress there.

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Need help sorting Wednesday's upside swings after Tuesday night's huge slate?

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