Detroit Tigers: Daniel Norris to visit doctor about persisting leg fatigue
Starting pitcher Daniel Norris of the Detroit Tigers will visit a team doctor about persisting fatigue in his legs.
Just when the Detroit Tigers’ season looked bleak, the outlook has somehow managed to worsen. Former top prospect Daniel Norris has been on the disabled list for a few weeks now, and it appears that he is not getting any better. As Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports, the beleaguered starting pitcher will now visit the team doctor about his persisting leg fatigue.
Norris first landed on the disabled list with an injured left groin, but his right quadriceps have also been giving him issues. The 24-year-old had both issues emerge during his last rehab start with the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate, leading him to be unable to progress beyond the first inning.
Additionally, Fenech writes that an MRI test has only revealed “mild” symptoms with his wounds. More information will possibly become available after the lefty visits with the team doctor. Norris has described the fatigue as a sort of two-part problem. His left leg, with which he pushes off the rubber, feels like it gives out, and his plant leg feels like he “can’t really hit on it.”
Before the youngster made his way to the disabled list earlier this month, his season had not exactly been going to plan. Over 85 innings of major-league work, Norris posted an unsightly 5.29 earned run average, although advanced metrics valued his work slightly more optimistically.
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Limiting walks has always been a challenge for the lefty, and this season has been no exception. Allowing 4.13 free passes per nine innings, his command was clearly not a strength. This figure was roughly one walk worse than his prior MLB work but closely resembled much of his time in the minor leagues.
A key part of the David Price trade, Norris was once seen as a future star. Initial expectations for his career may not have been so grand, but things quickly took shape. One season after the Toronto Blue Jays selected him with their second-round pick, Baseball America ranked him as the 91st best prospect in the game. By mid-2014, his value had risen with Baseball America considering him to be the 25th best MLB prospect and the best in the Blue Jays’ system.
Norris broke into the big leagues later that season, although he only appeared in one start and four relief outings. His first prolonged appearance came during the following season when he made a combined 13 starts with the Blue Jays and Tigers to the tune of a 3.75 earned run average.
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Whether or not the lefty will be able to turn things around remains to be seen, but he looked a lot better just last season. Given that his velocity is still around the same mark, finding his old legs could allow him to return as a solid arm for the Detroit Tigers down the stretch and into the future.