Detroit Tigers: Matthew Boyd adds stellar second outing in resurgent start

The Detroit Tigers are hoping to see Matthew Boyd bounce back in 2021, and that has been the case so far in his first two starts. The Tigers may have lost to the Minnesota Twins in Wednesday’s contest, but Boyd got another solid start registered in the books before he departed the game.

Boyd has had two great outings with the Tigers so far in 2021, they may not have been masterful outings, but he has looked pretty good nonetheless. As the Tigers have gotten into the 2021 season, they have been looking to see Boyd become the ace once again and be the go-to guy.

With a new pitching coach controlling the staff, Chris Fetter has been able to work with this staff, and improvements have clearly been made with some guys. With Boyd, the biggest thing has been getting him back to the level he was at, where he was garnering trade interest left and right.

Not that Boyd is going to get moved (more on that later), but if he could be that dominant once again, the Tigers might be able to start seeing a few more tallies in the “W” column even during a rebuild, where stealing a win here and there is huge.

The Detroit Tigers have seen two resurgent starts from Matthew Boyd so far in 2021.

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Last year, Boyd was not his best and frankly struggled greatly on the mound. In 2020, Boyd would make 12 starts for the Tigers, where he had a 3-7 record, a 6.71 ERA, and a 1.48 WHIP.

He would strike out 60 batters over 60.1 innings pitched, but he would hit five batters, walk 22, and allow 45 earned runs by way of 15 big flies.

The best way to describe Boyd’s 2020 season is putrid. But as the 2021 season kicks off and starts getting going, Boyd is looking to change that narrative.

In his first start of the season, Boyd would pitch 5.2 innings, allowing three hits, and walking four while only striking out two, but he did not surrender a run and tallied a win.

He took the mound again on Wednesday, where he threw seven innings, allowing seven hits and being tabbed for three runs. However, he did strike out eight batters on the day and has looked like a much better pitcher than he showed during the 2020 season.

Overall, in 2021, Boyd has pitched to a 1-1 record over 12.2 innings pitched, striking out 10 batters. He features a 2.21 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP for the Tigers this season. These numbers are likely to go up, but Boyd’s successful start could be an indicator of good things to come for the southpaw as the 2021 season continues.

As was mentioned above, he garnered a lot of trade interest early on in the 2019 season before the midseason struggles shifted his trade value greatly. If the opportunity does present itself, Tigers General Manager (GM) Al Avila might be apt to make a move.

While it may be early to start this rumor monster, but if Boyd garners a return, maybe this is the summer where Avila finally pulls the trigger and makes the deal. For now, keep an eye on Boyd as he looks to piece together more good starts early on in the 2021 Detroit Tigers season.