Detroit Tigers: Who Is The Number One Starter?

May 26, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (37) pitches in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Fans expected to have The Detroit Tigers  to have one of the best rotations in baseball. What was not expected was just how good some of the other Tigers starters would be. While Justin Verlander has not been his Cy Young self, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez have had Cy Young type starts to the season. That said which Detroit Tigers starting pitcher can Jim Leyland and the count on to win with their backs are against the wall.

• Anibal Sanchez – His best game came two starts ago when he was 2 outs away from a no-hitter. Sanchez has been durable this season lasting 6+ innings in 9 of his 11 starts. He has also had his strike-out pitch working this year. On April 26th he set a Tigers team record for strikeouts in a game at 17 and has averaged 8.09 strikeouts per game. He does have problem with consistency however and has not won back to back starts since April 14th.
• Max Scherzer – He is 7-0 and should really be 9-0 if it wasn’t for lack of run support. Scherzer has been a strikeout artist this season reaching double digits in 4 of his 11 starts. He has pitched deep into games as well pitching at least 7 innings in 7 of his 11 starts. Scherzer’s ERA is a little lofty at 3.42 but he has been the stopper for the Tigers this season; coming up big when the Tigers need his most.
• Justin Verlander – It has been a unusal season for the former Cy Young award winner. Verlander has had trouble finding his velocity and his control this season. That struggle has caused his pitch count to rise early in the game. As a result, JV has yet to pitch into the 8th inning this season. On May 16th Verlander was touched up for 8 runs in 2.2 innings and pushing his ERA to 3.17. It has been on the rise ever since topping out at 3.70 after his start on June 1st.
• Doug Fister – Has been great this season posting a 5-2 record and again a victim of the Detroit Tigers sometimes streaky offense. Fister eats innings and gives his team a very good chance to win every time his starts. He lacks the strikeout ability of the Detroit Tigers other starters but gets outs none the less. In fact Fister should be 7-2. He received two no decisions after leaving the game giving up 0 earned runs on April 21st and 2 earned runs on May 3rd.

So which Detroit Tigers Starting Pitcher can fans count on in a must win situation?