Jacob Turner Sidelined with Dead Arm

During the offseason, Detroit Tigers top prospect Jacob Turner had his name floated in several trade rumors.  However, the Tigers disputed the fact that Turner was truly available and insisted that he was a candidate for their Opening Day starting rotation.  Now, after a rocky outing earlier in the week, Detroit has decided to shut Turner down with what the Tigers are calling dead arm.

So far this spring, Turner has only logged four innings for the Tigers.  Over that span, the right-hander has surrendered six runs and six walks and is sporting an ERA of 11.25.  In his most recent outing Monday, Turner only lasted 1 2/3 frames against the Mets, surrendering five earned runs.

On top of his poor performance, Turner’s velocity was down Monday.  According to Lynn Henning of Detroit News, this has caused Tigers manager Jim Leyland to rest Turner “for a few days” during what the skipper is calling a “dead-arm period”.

At this point, it doesn’t appear that Turner will be able to break camp as a member of the Tigers Opening Day rotation.  While the 20-year-old has taken steps back, another young Tigers starter has stepped up.

24-year-old left-hander Andrew Oliver seems to be the favorite to land the fifth spot in Detroit’s rotation, as he’s logged seven scoreless innings over his pair of spring training starts.  Oliver’s only allowed a single hit during this time, walking three and striking out five.

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