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.
Though the Tigers would ultimately drop the game by a 5-3 final, Mize was happy with the way he competed.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I had a blast out there,” Mize said afterwards. “That’s the most fun I’ve had playing baseball ever.”
“It’s also just where I wanted to complete at the highest level since I was a kid. All of those things, it made it so much fun and pitching well early on, obviously helped it. I really did have a blast and I competed my tail up. Obviously not happy with the total outcome, but I did some things really well tonight that I’m going to build on and use the rest of the year.”
He didn’t feel out of place either, getting into a rhythm and feeling natural amongst his fellow professionals.
“I definitely felt like I belong,” he said.
Mize’s teammate Grayson Greiner was impressed with what he saw from the rookie tonight – and hopes that Mize’s future grandkids don’t just remember him from his debut.
“I think he’s going to be a very good pitcher for a long time,” Greiner said. “Hopefully when he tells his grandkids about his debut, he talks about the catcher a little bit.”
– – Quotes via Jason Beck of MLB.com Link – –
