The future is finally here for the Detroit Tigers. At least, a huge part of it.
Pitcher Casey Mize made his much anticipated MLB debut tonight for the Tigers against the Chicago White Sox. Mize, Detroit’s first overall selection in the 2018 MLB Draft, had been at the team’s alternate training site in Toledo, Ohio.
His final stat line tonight reads 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K on 73 pitches.
“He’s doing fine. He was out there and he picked fine,” he continued. “We liked the guy, everyone’s liked him…it’s nice to see him up there with us. We all know the kid is a really special talent – he’ll take a few bumps here and there, pretty much every pitcher I’ve been around has taken a few bumps.”
Mize became the first pitcher in Tigers history to throw seven strikeouts without any walks in his MLB debut. However, it wasn’t enough to keep Detroit from dropping their 8th consecutive game, 5-3.
“He’s a polished pitcher, and he handles himself well,” he said. “He’s got a tough mindset, and an assortment of pitches that he can go to. That tells you he’s got the weapons to pitch at this level, no doubt about it. We saw a good pitcher out there tonight and we’re excited about it.”
BONUS CONTENT: How Tigers’ 7 game slide could affect Deadline plans
The Detroit Tigers got off to a better start in the shortened 2020 campaign than almost anyone could have anticipated, going 9-5 out of the gate.
What’s happened since then has been nothing short of a nosedive. They’ve lost seven straight games (including three more to division rival Cleveland, making it 20 consecutive defeats at the hands of the Tribe), and don’t look anything like the team that was raising eyebrows across the league in the early goings of the season.
Of course, injuries aren’t helping anything. Earlier in the week, the team got the news that 1B C.J. Cron would be undergoing season-ending knee surgery. Additionally, pitchers Ivan Nova and and Buck Farmer have gone on the shelf, along with UTIL Harold Castro.
So how is GM Al Avila feeling about the injuries combined with a lengthy losing skid? It wasn’t too long ago that it was considered reasonable that the upstart Tigers could look to bolster their lineup in an attempt to make a playoff run, but now such an idea seems far-fetched.
“Right now it would be hard to call us buyers or sellers,” general manager Al Avila said on Monday.
“We’re in a position where we are still trying to win as many games as we can. We would love to be in the playoffs this year and we’re going to make an effort to get there.
