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It's never a sure thing that a pitcher will come back from Tommy John surgery at full strength, especially when they first return. Just look at Sandy Alcantara's struggles in his first season back for proof of that in 2025. 

Guarded optimism should be the approach we take with pitchers coming back from elbow surgery – we should be open to the possibility that they'll return and look like themselves, but it's always best to get some confirmation of that before you add them to your roster. And we got a couple of examples of how it can go right Wednesday, with two former Fantasy stalwarts making their first starts since 2023 after undergoing elbow surgery.

Before we get to everything you need to know from Wednesday's MLB action, let's zoom in on how those two pitchers looked in their first starts – and spoiler alert, both look like high-priority waiver-wire targets already: 

Tony Gonsolin, SP, Dodgers (47%) – Gonsolin had a nice soft landing spot for his season debut against the Marlins, and he took full advantage, striking out nine over six innings of work without allowing a walk. He did allow three earned runs, but there was some pretty suspect defense in the outfield to allow at least one of those runs, and it's not like there was a lot of loud contact – he had just an 83.4 mph average exit velocity allowed on 15 batted balls. Sure, it was just the Marlins, but I don't really care who you're going against, 17 swinging strikes on 77 pitches is a pretty bonkers number. Gonsolin's velocity wasn't quite back to where it was pre-injury, so maybe this was just a fluke. But it was impressive enough to buy back in on a player who had a sub-3.00 career ERA prior to an injury-riddled 2023 season. 

Lucas Giolito, SP, Red Sox (43%) – Giolito also looked quite good in his first game back from injury, limiting the Blue Jays to three runs over six innings with seven strikeouts and a couple of walks. His fastball velocity was basically right where it had been prior to the injuries, and he generated five swinging strikes with it while adding four more on his changeup. The command wasn't great, but he made it work, and that command should get better as he gets more reps under his belt.

I'd rather bet on Gonsolin than Giolito, but both look well worth adding in most formats if you're chasing upside at SP. He's been good more recently (2022 for Gonsolin vs. 2021 for Giolito) and is further removed from his elbow surgery (Aug. 2023 vs. March 2024), but both showed enough in their returns to be worth adding in most leagues. Here's who else we're looking to add coming out of Thursday's action: 

Thursday's top waiver-wire targets

Kevin Ginkel, RP, Diamondbacks (5%) – Justin Martinez needed to be bailed out in Wednesday's game by Ryan Thompson, but with the Diamondbacks talking about a possible IL stint to address his persistent shoulder woes, I would guess Ginkel is more likely to emerge as the team's closer once he gets his feet wet. He made his season debut Wednesday after overcoming his own shoulder issue from the spring, and there was a velocity dip here, so maybe they won't trust him in the ninth. But he was mentioned alongside Martinez and A.J. Puk as a closer option before his injury, so I imagine he'll get a chance if Martinez does have to miss time. If not Ginkel, I would guess Shelby Miller would get a chance ahead of Thompson, as he's been the primary setup guy. 

Masyn Winn, SS, Cardinals (56%) – All of a sudden, Winn's numbers look more or less like we expected in a lot of ways. The overall strikeout rate is still a bit elevated, but after his two-homer game Wednesday, he's now hitting .260/.345/.425 through his first 20 games. You'd like to see a better batting average and fewer strikeouts, but there's good news there: Since going 0 for 18 with six strikeouts in the first five games of the season, Winn is hitting .366 with a 22% strikeout rate. The breakout may be happening after all. 

Noah Cameron, SP, Royals (6%) – I mean, look, he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, so we can't say too much bad about this start. It was certainly a success, especially for a first career start. But it didn't exactly make me think we need to run out and add Cameron. He had eight swinging strikes on 79 pitches, but none of his pitches really looked great, and his command was pretty iffy – five walks to just three strikeouts, with just a 58% strike rate. It's not even clear if Cameron is going to stick around moving forward, so I'd only really be looking to add him in deeper leagues based on this one. 

Chris Martin, RP, Rangers (28%) – The Rangers' lack of trust in Martin is kind of strange. They never really mentioned him as a closer candidate this spring, and despite a dominant start to the season (18 strikeouts in 14.2 innings with a 1.84 ERA), he has pitched almost as often in the seventh inning as in the eighth, including in Wednesday's start. But they've gotta give him the ninth inning at some point, right? Luke Jackson continues to be mediocre, and he blew a tied game in the ninth inning Wednesday, giving up four runs to push his ERA to 6.55. He just isn't good enough to be a closer for a contender, but Martin might be. Maybe they give Robert Garcia a chance first, but I still feel like Martin has to end up the closer in Texas before long, right?  Needs. Like I said, I'm skeptical, but with Giolito's return set for next Thursday, I'm open-minded. For exactly one start.