Detroit Tigers: Spencer Turnbull deserves the reins in the starting rotation

The Detroit Tigers should see that Spencer Turnbull is dominating on the mound and deserves to be the ace of the staff.

While the Detroit Tigers continue to watch Matthew Boyd implode start after start as the supposed “ace” of the staff, there is a question begging to be asked. Why is Spencer Turnbull not taking the role of the ace on this pitching staff, especially given that the Tigers are playing so well?

It does seem like letting Boyd drop into a fourth or fifth starter role to try and figure things out would be beneficial for him. His horrific statistics and diminishing trade value make it hard to pitch him to a contender looking for pitching depth.

Turnbull, on the other hand. has come out of the gates with a ton of momentum and has been incredible on the mound. After the Tigers got a nice rest in during the would-be series with the St. Louis Cardinals, they could have gone for a reset of the rotation but opted not to.

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It is baffling that the Tigers would not move Turnbull into that top spot, as the ace, to see how he does.

The 27-year-old had a 2019 season where his statistics were not entirely indicative of his performance on the hill, given a 3-17 record (though the win-loss record has little value).

So far in 2020, Turnbull has made a total of three starts, he has totaled eighteen total innings for the Tigers.

During that stretch, Turnbull has allowed only 11 hits, four earned runs, issued seven walks, and accumulated eighteen punch-outs.

In the process of doing so, he has an ERA of 2.00 and a WHIP of 1.00 on the year for the Tigers. This is all while the current “ace’s” numbers are a far cry from what Turnbull has done on the mound.

It seems like the best thing the Tigers could do is go for a re-shuffle of the deck and see if some things change. Granted, the Tigers have a winning record, but seeing if a lower-leverage starting match-up for Boyd helps would be a benefit.

Plus, bumping Turnbull to the number one starting spot would let him face off against some premier big league talent and allow the Tigers to see how he performs in these spots. Frankly, the 2020 season can be written off, whatever happens, happens.

What I mean is that a switch that goes poorly where Boyd really cannot get anything going and now Turnbull falters with pressures as an “ace” really do not hurt the team. Being competitive in 2020 is just a bonus and a good time for the fanbase suffering through a rebuild.

But the way things are going, a switch that allows Spencer Turnbull to get a trial run as the Detroit Tigers ace is a good thing.