Detroit Tigers Matt Manning needs to lock down back of the rotation

The Detroit Tigers are starting to piece together their future rotation and looking ahead to whenever they return to the field; they need to have high hopes. Signing Eduardo Rodríguez helps things out at the front of the rotation, but the back end needs some work.

As the Detroit Tigers continue to move on with their future rotation, Matt Manning needs to get the job done. Manning was a former first-round pick, selected ninth overall during the 2016 MLB First-Year Amateur Draft.

There are some simple things that Manning can do to improve his ability and to become a mainstay in the Tigers rotation. However, if he does not hold things down at the back end of the rotation, there will be issues.

Manning made his debut during the 2021 season and stuck around to make 18 starts before the season came to a close. He’s poised to be in the rotation again during the 2022 season and needs to step it up.

Detroit Tigers Matt Manning needs to hold the back of the rotation down.

Throughout his 18 starts of the 2021 season, he would pitch to a 4-7 record and a 5.80 ERA, a 1.51 WHIP over 85.1 innings pitched. He had 57 strikeouts to his credit as well but was certainly not the hard-throwing right-hander the team was expecting.

The way it stands, he should slot in as the fourth starter in the rotation. If Manning is unable to get things going, the Tigers rotation will need some serious help. However, Manning needs to prove he can hold it down at the back of the rotation.

Manning’s got to continue to develop some things, but he’s in the hands of Chris Fetter, so there has to be hope for him moving forward. If Manning is going to stick around and be part of this team through the end of the rebuild, he’s got work to do.

The Tigers are going to need to have Manning pan out or really hope they can find solid replacements across the board in the free-agent market. It has taken some time for Manning to get to the Tigers rotation after getting drafted in 2016.

But the high-school draftee has taken his time and had some bumps along the way. Moving along, Manning will need to work on his fastball first and foremost. It profiles and plays rough as it is, but he will be able to work on things with some work.

Hopefully, Manning can lock things down at the back of the Tigers rotation moving forward.