Detroit Tigers: Things to improve, things to maintain for playoff push
By Matt Snyder
Improve the back of the starting rotation
The Tigers starting rotation has had two big positives in their favor this year. (1) Michael Fulmer has been brilliant in his sophomore season, and (2) they’ve all been healthy.
Beyond that there hasn’t been much consistency. Justin Verlander has not yet found the dominance he regained last year and has seen his strikeout rate fall seven percentage points since last year (from 28% to 21%).
Daniel Norris has shown flashes but hasn’t been able to take the proverbial next step forward. He’s been fine with a 4.38 ERA but he’s gotten himself into trouble the second and third times through the batting order and has managed a quality start (six innings or more with three earned runs or fewer) in just four of his nine starts.
The real problem, however, has been with Jordan Zimmermann and Matt Boyd. Both maintain ERAs above five after nine starts this season, and neither have shown signs that anything better is coming.
Boyd’s performance is more excusable. The Tigers hoped the 26-year-old would be ready for a full season of MLB duty, but he’s been unable to corral his home run rate issues and has seen an uptick in walk rate as well. His 4.90 FIP is in line with the 4.75 FIP he posted a year ago.
Zimmermann, on the other hand, was brought in to be a solid No. 2 or No. 3 starter but hasn’t transitioned to the American League well at all. After posting a 3.32 ERA in seven seasons with the Washington Nationals, Zimmermann’s ERA has been 5.19 in 27 starts with the Tigers. This season Zimmermann has managed just two quality starts.
The Tigers need to get more production out of these final two spots in the rotation. They don’t need dominance, but they do need pitchers who can reasonably keep them in games. If Zimmermann and Boyd can trim their ERAs below 4.50 the rest of the way, it could be enough to keep the Tigers in the hunt.