We all knew it was coming but that does not mean we have to like it!
Detroit Tigers rookie Casey Mize has not only been the team's best pitcher in 2021 but he is in the running to win the American League Rookie of the Year award.
But according to Tigers manager AJ Hinch, Mize will only pitch about 3 innings per outing over his next few starts as the team limits his innings as part of their load management plan for him.
On Friday night, that load management started as Mize tossed just three innings against the Chicago White Sox.
Prior to the game, Hinch said that Mize would continue to pitch every fifth day but that he would be limited for the next few games.
From Detroit News:
“We're looking at his couple of starts before the All-Star break as a critical time for us to back off of him a little bit,” Hinch said. “Then he has the All-Star break and we'll be pretty careful coming out of the break, and then hopefully that will allow him to ramp back up and pitch a complete season.
“I don't know what we're going to decide in September but we're going to be very proactive on how we're going to handle our young pitchers.”
“None of us wanted this day to come,” Hinch said. “He's been on such a roll. But we have to be proactive and smart about what we're doing with his workload.”
As a fan, it will be hard to see our best pitcher being pulled after three innings but the future sure does look bright!
