The Detroit Tigers are entering 2018 with some serious question marks around their starting pitching rotation. We are going to break down the list of candidates and make some predictions on who ends up taking the mound this year.
The Tigers are coming off of a 10-year run where their starting pitching was pretty solid. As fans, we’ve gotten used to watching Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, and now Michael Fulmer hold down the rotation.
Sure we’ve also had to endure the failed attempts of Anibal Sanchez, Mike Pelfrey, Zack Miner, and Chad Durbin too.
As Spring Training starts to wind down, there are still a lot of questions around who the 5 starting pitchers will be when the season officially kicks off March 29th. There are two spots in this rotation that are guaranteed. One is definitely a surprise:
Michael Fulmer
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Fulmer is a lock to be the ace of this staff coming out of Spring Training, and that should come as no surprise. He’s been battling some swelling in his right elbow but has made two starts so far this spring. He has pitched 5 innings and has given up 2 earned runs, with 7 strikeouts. After his start last week, Fulmer said he’s feeling good:
“It’s all good,” Fulmer said. “Everything is good. Full-go. No problems. Everything felt good,” he said. “The sinker and change-up were good, the slider was hit and miss. I felt like I only made two mistakes. Everything felt crisp.”
The bigger question with Fulmer is will he get traded to a contender at some point this season? Assuming he’s healthy, Fulmer will start Opening Day in Detroit against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Francisco Liriano
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This is one is a surprise, seeing as Liriano just signed with the Tigers in late February. He’s started two games so far this spring, pitching 5 innings with zero earned runs and striking out 7. Liriano is no stranger to Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire, having played for the Twins the first 6+ years of his career. Liriano is 102-99 overall in his 12-year career with 1,642 strikeouts.
Gardenhire said yesterday that they brought Liriano here for a reason:
“Liriano isn’t fighting with anybody. We brought him for a reason. I think we need his veteran experience in that rotation and if he’s healthy and well, I’m sure that’s where he’ll be,” Gardenhire said. “Every once in a while, he’s going to misfire and walk a guy here or there, but he’s going to throw some nasty stuff up there. He did just fine again today.”
The next three spots in the rotation are up for grabs. Here are the names to watch as Spring Training winds down:
Daniel Norris
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I still believe Norris will be in the starting rotation at some point this season. He’s a young left-hander with stuff that can be very good, and those types of pitchers don’t grow on trees. The biggest knocks on him are lack of consistency and injuries so far in his career. He’s appeared in 3 games so far this spring, starting one and pitching out of the bullpen in the other two games. Norris has a 3.60 ERA in 5 innings pitched, along with 6 strikeouts. He’s relying on new pitching coach Chris Bosio to help him achieve the success he badly wants.
“I believe I can be as good as I want to be as a starter,” Norris said. “I gotta trust (Bosio’s) plan. (If) he wants me to throw one inning at a time and learn that mentality, I’ll do it.”
It does appear like Norris could be headed down to Toledo to start the year. He has one option remaining, so he could go down and work on some things before coming back to Detroit.
Matt Boyd
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Boyd is another pitcher who has struggled with consistency. He went through some mechanical changes last year and ended up having some really good outings towards the end of the year. He nearly threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox in September, losing the bid with two outs in the 9th inning. He’s had some good work this spring starting 3 games. Boyd is 2-0 with 8 innings pitched and 8 strikeouts. Boyd is out of options, meaning he has to make the Opening Day roster or be placed on waivers where I’m sure he’ll get picked up by someone.
Mike Fiers
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Fiers signed a 1-year deal in the off-season and I feel reasonably confident that he’ll be in the starting rotation this year. He has had an up and down career, posting a 42-47 record with a 4.15 ERA to go along with 688 strikeouts. In his most recent start this spring, he did get rocked in the 1st inning allowing a leadoff home run to former Tiger Curtis Granderson and walked the bases loaded before Teoscar Hernandez hit a grand slam. After that, Fiers settled down and pitched two more innings. Here were his thoughts after the game:
“There is no back thing, no arm thing, I’m 100 percent — there is no excuse,” Fiers said. “I’ve got to get ahead and throw more strikes.”
Fiers is 1-2 in 3 starts this spring with a hefty 8.59 ERA.
Jordan Zimmermann
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A lot has been written about Jordan Zimmermann and his struggles since signing a massive $110 million dollar contract in 2015. Last season he went 6-13 for the Tigers and posted a 6.08 ERA, the highest of his 9-year career. Zimm hasn’t been much better this spring with a 6.75 ERA in 3 starts over 8 innings. The money that the team has committed to him will most likely keep him in the rotation to start the season, but I would like to see him get demoted to the bullpen if things don’t improve quickly. Money or not, he’s been a disaster in Detroit.
Alex Wilson
Wilson entered Spring Training with a chance to crack the starting rotation. He’s been a valuable member of the Tigers bullpen since coming to Detroit in 2015. Wilson asked for the chance to start, but he wasn’t able to grab ahold of a spot. Manager Ron Gardenhire said a few days ago that Wilson would be going back to the bullpen:
“We called him in and talked to him and told him he’s going back to the bullpen, in the role basically that he was in last year,” said Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire. “He’s fine with that. He appreciated the fact that we gave him an opportunity to get some starts in there. He gets it. He understands.”
Ryan Carpenter
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Carpenter is a guy that’s probably not on a lot of fans radar screens. He’s never pitched at the big league level and signed a deal with the Tigers this offseason. The 6 foot 5 lefty has been very good this spring, posting a 2.70 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched in 3 games including 2 starts. Carpenter pitched in the Pacific Coast League last year, striking out 161 and walking just 39 in 156 innings. I would anticipate Carpenter starting the year in AAA Toledo, but he could definitely make some spot starts for the Tigers as the season goes on.
So we’ve broken down all the contenders for the starting rotation for your 2018 Tigers. Here are my picks for the Tigers 5 starting pitchers come Opening Day:
- Michael Fulmer
- Francisco Liriano
- Matt Boyd
- Mike Fiers
- Jordan Zimmerman
Again, I think there is a chance that Daniel Norris makes the rotation and Jordan Zimmermann starts the year in the bullpen, but we’ll see how the next few weeks play out.
Nation what do you think?
Fiers shouldn’t automatically be given a spot in the rotation because of the major league contract we signed him to. Zimmerman on the other hand, we owe him too much over the next two years to not have him in the rotation. He has pitched better than his ERA has indicated this spring. The 5th spot should be between Norris, Fiers, and Carpenter. Let’s see what they each look like over the next three weeks. If we have to, offer Fiers to some teams still looking for starting pitching and eat 2-3 million of his contract.
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