Happy Thursday, everyone! It's NFL Draft day and I'm excited for that but we also had another exciting and noteworthy day on the Fantasy Baseball front on Wednesday. Of course, the biggest news of the day came when the Cardinals decided to option down 3B Jordan Walker before the month of April came to a close. We are just a month removed from Walker ingesting a helium balloon to the moon when it came to his draft stock. He was everyone's favorite sleeper and then he quickly became everyone's favorite breakout pick when his ADP skyrocketed hundreds of picks. By the time the final 2023 drafts were had, Walker was creeping into the seventh- and eighth-round range and he even came off the board at the back end of Round 6 in a home league I play in where one manager always has to get the next best rookie.

This was certainly unexpected news on the Fantasy front, but you had to get the feeling something odd was going on in St. Louis as Walker sat game after game leading up to Wednesday. Prior to being optioned down, Walker sat his last two games and a report surfaced that he was making adjustments to his approach so that he can get the ball off the ground and stop chasing so much. That makes sense, but it doesn't exactly add up perfectly considering Walker started the season with a 12-game hitting streak and was scuffling a bit as of late but was still batting .274 with five extra base hits and two homers. Why would the Cardinals have him on the Opening Day roster if they were going to have such a short leash with him?

The Fantasy Baseball Today team broke down on the podcast what to do with Walker now, but I would imagine those managers who invested the most in him are going to have a tough time viewing this as a sunk cost asset, and I can understand that. For those managers, Walker will ride the bench until further notice.

The Walker news was depressing, but we had a more positive development as Guardians pitching prospect Tanner Bibee made his debut against the Rockies . Bibee looked excellent in delivering 5 2/3 of one-run ball. He allowed six hits and didn't walk a batter while striking out eight Rockies on 91 pitches. Bibee's command was notable. He used the following pitch-mix: 44% slider, 40% four-seam (95 MPH AVG), 9% changeup, 8% curveball. 

The expectation is the Guardians will stick with Bibee for at least the next few days. They haven't nailed down their exact plans just yet, but Bibee will be heading on the road trip. He's 34% rostered and worth stashing on your benches and claiming off your waiver wires now. Remember, benches are all about upside!

Scott White broke down some of the players you should be looking to grab off your waiver wire now here. Here's a look at a few players I rushed to scoop up myself:

Josiah Gray, SP, Nationals: "Josiah Gray's latest start Tuesday at the Mets was by far his best of the season. He struck out nine over seven shutout innings, piling up 20 swinging strikes. What's odd about the performance is he went back to using his fastball prominently (45 percent of the time) after treating it like a secondary pitch in his first few turns. Historically, it's been hit hard, and so turning to it again is a dangerous move for a pitcher who allowed a league-high 38 homers last year. It yielded just an 83.5 mph average exit velocity Tuesday, though, and Gray has now allowed just one home run in his past four starts. If he can keep it going, whether relying on the fastball or not, there's clearly upside to dream on."

Jarren Duran, OF, Red Sox : "Jarren Duran's third try at sticking in the majors is so far going as well as it possibly could. The latest triumph came Tuesday, when he went 3 for 4 with his fifth double and first home run, which just so happened to be a grand slam. The exit velocities have been more impressive than those we've seen in the past (with all four of Tuesday's batted balls exceeding 96 mph and two exceeding 106), and yet Duran's best attribute remains his speed. His strikeout rate is a bit bloated, and he has yet to start against a left-hander, both of which keep him out of the discussion in three-outfielder leagues. But in five-outfielder leagues, there may be something to see here."

Griffin Canning, SP, Angels : "You'd be forgiven for not knowing much about Griffin Canning after he missed most of the last two years with back issues, but he showed good bat-missing skills when he was first breaking in for the Angels in 2019. And now he's showing them again through three starts this year. The overall results have been so-so, mostly because he has yet to go six innings, but after collecting his first win Tuesday with five solid innings against the Athletics , his swinging-strike rate now sits at 16.7 percent. That's like Gerrit Cole-level, a mark that would put Canning in rare company if he can sustain it. And he probably can't, but again, he's shown big swing-and-miss ability before, with his slider and hard changeup standing out in particular. It's time to take him seriously again."

• Max Muncy is expected to rejoin the Dodgers on Friday against the Cardinals.
• Aaron Judge is OK after an injury scare on a slide into third base. Apparently both of his hands got jammed into the dirt. 
• Yu Darvish is on track to start Sunday against the Giants in Mexico City. 
• Tim Anderson will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A this weekend.
• Taijuan Walker exited his start due to right forearm tightness. 
• Triston McKenzie could begin throwing in the bullpen as early as this weekend. He's eligible to come off the IL on May 29.
• George Springer left after getting hit by a pitch on his right hand. X-rays came back negative.
• Speaking of which, Javier Baez's x-rays came back negative after also being hit by a pitch, this time on the left hand.
• Josh Jung's x-rays also came up negative after he was hit by a pitch on his left hand.
• Austin Hays is set to miss multiple games with a bruised right hand. He was hit by a pitch on Tuesday.
• Kenta Maeda left his start early Wednesday and will now undergo an MRI on his right elbow.
• JD Martinez has missed two straight with back tightness.
• Mike Yastrzemski was scratched Wednesday due to left side tightness.
• Chase Silseth was recalled by the Angels.