Detroit Tigers: Playing the hypothetical game with the 2020 season

The Detroit Tigers are off to a hot start, which might be enough to fuel a run in 2020, but be realistic and take a look at some of the hypothetical scenarios.

Given the way things have started, the Detroit Tigers have turned some heads, but things are going to change. Even in a 60-game season, the Tigers rotation is not going to stand up to the other organizations it will be matched up against.

Do not get me wrong, looking at things optimistically, and trying to be optimistic about this hot start is tremendous, but reality has to set in at some point. This is the same Tigers who lost more than 100 games in 2019, while only making a few offseason changes to the roster.

While they have gotten hot, and the 60 game season is close to a third of a regular season, but they still have to compete with teams like the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays. But, given the way things have gone, why not take a look at some hypotheticals and offer some answers.

Detroit Tigers Hypothetical #1: Casey Mize being called up versus not, and other prospects for that matter.

One of the things that the Tigers fanbase has been advocating is the calling up of top pitching prospect Casey Mize. For this hypothetical, I propose that the Tigers should not call up any of the youngsters.

Before continuing, let it be known that service time is horrible, it is stupid, and is an imperfect aspect for prospects that keeps them from making debuts more often than not. But, given this is a 60-game season where players could get sick, teams could suffer an outbreak, and prospects may only get a limited playing time there’s no reason to call them up.

Sticking with Mize as the example for all of the top tier prospects, calling him up burns a year of eligibility when he may not get more than four starts. This is not worth it for the long haul, even though it is only one season, why waste the season on a shortened COVID-19 ridden season.

The Tigers should keep any of their top tier players out of the big leagues to avoid ruining future years of the rebuild for a few starts in a season that is a toss-up. Yes, the winner still gets a ring and a banner, but the fluke Tigers would have to make it that far first.

Bottom line: save Mize and save the service time given the uncertainties that constantly change with the 2020 Tigers season.