Detroit Tigers Trade Deadline Preview
By Ron Juckett
STARTING PITCHING
If Detroit is to overcome the Royals and keep the Chicago White Sox at bay, they need another quality starter.
Jordan Zimmerman and Justin Verlander are an effective one-two punch, yet both have ERA’s close to 4.00. Michael Fulmer—the team’s top prospect—is 7-2 in 11 starts with a 2.40 ERA. From there, the drop off is huge.
Anibal Sanchez cannot keep the ball in the yard. Bounced out of the rotation once, Cleveland greeted his return Saturday with two home runs in the first inning. At 4-8 with an ERA of 6.06, his best days are behind him and every start turns into a night of frustration. Mike Pelfrey’s numbers are better, but not much. With a 1-8 record and ERA of 4.91, he fails going deep into games and taxes a bullpen that is stretched already.
Both pitchers sport a FIP over 5.00. Sanchez weighs in at 5.92. There is no chance Detroit makes it out of the ALDS, or even the Wild Card game, with the back end of the rotation. Zimmerman is 30 and Verlander 32. To expect they can give you seven or eight innings in a playoff game is absurd in 2016.
Whether they take a flyer on a Clay Buchholz or go after a starter from the Atlanta Braves or San Diego Padres, they need something.
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