Detroit Tigers: Matt Manning will be just fine in due time

The Detroit Tigers called up starting pitcher Matt Manning this season to make his debut in the big leagues. The former ninth overall pick from the 2016 MLB Draft has made his first couple of starts, and things have not been the best.

Manning was drafted out of high school and has taken some time to make it to the big leagues and finally put on a Detroit Tigers jersey. However, he has made it and is finally a big leaguer. The prospect was once thought of as the team’s best pitching prospect or second-best once Casey Mize got into the system.

In a monumental call-up in 2020, both Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal both got their calls to the big leagues and began their careers. Both have sputtered and struggled but are starting to find their footing and find their groove.

With Manning, things have not been the most exciting as he’s made his debut, but things will work themselves out. Mize and Skubal had their struggles, and it’s clear Manning is going to have his. Manning has to iron things out on the fly, which can be hard for any prospect to do.

Detroit Tigers young arm Matt Manning is going to be just fine.

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In 2021 as Manning has made his debut, he has started seven games for the Tigers, totaling 33 innings of work and accumulating a 2-3 record. Manning has pitched to a 6.00 ERA and a 1.42 ERA. He’s allowed 36 hits, walked 11, and punched out 17 so far in 2021.

Manning’s repertoire has increased as he added a slider. As Detroit News writer Chris McCosky put in his title about the righty’s pitch-mix, “Using big-league hitters as a focus group, Tigers’ Matt Manning debuts another new pitch.”

This may not come as a shock, but Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter decided to work with Manning to re-incorporate his slider into his repertoire.

Fetter truly fancies himself a pitcher with a high-spin slider. Still not convinced? See Tigers first-round pick in 2021, Jackson Jobe, and his 3,000 RPM slider.

Nonetheless, Manning is going to be just fine. A few bumps in the road as he finds his way in the big leagues is going to happen; it should be expected. It’s not often a player comes into the big leagues and just shoves and dominates outing after outing.

Manning will be able to iron things out on the fly. While his ceiling as a prospect might have dropped from where it once was, Manning can very well still be considered as a piece of this team’s future rotation.

Tigers youngster Matt Manning will have things figured out and be churning out quality starts in due time.