Are The Detroit Tigers Finally Catching On With The Pitching Staff?

In the Detroit Tigers 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, came something specific to note of the pitching staff. The Tigers used an “opener,” and it seems like they may have some sense in the brain, after all, to at least try out the idea when these games are mainly just a development period.

To be very clear and honest, those who are very traditional and do not adapt to the changes in the game of baseball may not enjoy the following piece, but the game of baseball is changing and using an opener is becoming, very much so, commonplace around the league. It’s not to say that it will work every time, it’s not to say that all five starters need to be ditched and an opener should be used every game. That’s just ridiculous to say, but the middle ground needs to be found when this Detroit Tigers team has some assets that could aid in the transformation of this pitching staff.

First are foremost, establishing a clear-cut definition of an opener is key to continue talking about this idea. An opener would be considered as a pitcher who comes in for any length between one batter or three full innings and then a “starting pitcher” would take over for five to six innings.

For example, coincidentally the Tampa Bay Rays have become known for this, and their pitching staff may be one of the most fun to watch due to the versatility within when it comes to guys like Yonny Chirinos who can start for three innings or toss seven shutout innings as well.

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In the victory against the Rays, Daniel Norris took to the mound for the Detroit Tigers where he threw three innings only allowing one hit, walking two, and striking out three. This is the perfect example of what an opener could be, someone who comes in, gets nine outs (hopefully facing only nine batters), and then when the opponent should be “figuring him out,” throwing the starter in there will start the cycle over again.

After Norris’s day was complete, Drew VerHagen took over, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing three hits, walking one, and striking out three. VerHagen proved to be the perfect “middle-man” for the Tigers in tonight’s contest.

Looking at this box score makes me draw a few different conclusions…

• Daniel Norris should be trotted out there in this situation again, used as a “one-time through the order” type of guy or in other words, an opener.
• Drew VerHagen can be stretched out if need be, making him versatile if he can provide consistently good outings and make sure he’s efficient on the mound.
• The Tigers may have finally realized that it’s time to adapt to the new game of baseball and adjust the pitching staff accordingly.

There are five spots in the rotation, not all five players are going to need an opener, but having a versatile pitching staff as the Rays do would only be beneficial for the Tigers future. The Rays have guys like Nick Anderson, Chaz Roe, Diego Castillo, Ryan Yarbrough, and Yonny Chirinos who are all guys who could fit in multiple roles in the bullpen and be versatile openers.

The Detroit Tigers need to explore this; further, I recently wrote about this exact scenario with Nick Ramirez who should be made into a copy of Nick Anderson or (former Rays pitcher) Ryne Stanek who can pitch early in the game or come in late in high-leverage situations.

Some candidates that could definitely be given this opportunity to be an opener are the following…

1. Nick Ramirez- opener or high leverage reliever
2. Gregory Soto– opener or high leverage reliever if he can get his control settled
3. Daniel Norris- opener/one time through the order type of guy
4. Drew VerHagen- the middle-man in an opener, not necessarily a starter, but someone who can come in after a one or two-inning opener is pulled.
5. Tyler Alexander– too early to fully tell, but he could become an opener candidate quickly.

The Tigers tried something today, and it proved that they might be realizing that the opener is not a bad thing and that they can definitely use the strategy more as time goes on.

The Detroit Tigers have plenty of pitching prospects so if someone cannot seem to string together good numbers as a starter. An opener position may be the next best thing. The time to try these things is now, the games mean almost nothing at this point for the Tigers, so it should be a time focused on developing and winning, but understanding that will be hard to do.