A Starting Rotation Job?
Right now, it appears that the Tigers’ starting rotation is likely to consist of Fulmer, Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, Jordan Zimmermann and Mike Fiers. The Detroit Tigers can obviously count on Fulmer, assuming he isn’t traded and comes back healthy from elbow surgery, but the other four are question marks.
Lefties Norris and Boyd both had ERA’s north of 5.00 in 2017. However, Norris has long been considered a potential breakout candidate, and Boyd had a fantastic month of September last year.
Zimmermann has struggled since signing a five-year, $110 million contract with the Tigers before the beginning of the 2016 season. Over the past two years, Zimmermann has posted a 5.60 ERA through 265.1 innings. The Tigers truly need him to get back on track.
Fiers, who had a down season with the Houston Astros last year, signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Tigers last month. Going by ERA+, he hasn’t been an above average pitcher since 2015 when he went 7-10 with a 3.69 ERA (107 ERA+) and a 1.25 WHIP for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Though the rotation still appears to be mostly set, one wild card to consider is left-hander Ryan Carpenter. Carpenter, who signed a major league deal with the Tigers earlier this offseason, had a decent season for the Colorado Rockies‘ Triple-A affiliate last season.
Through 27 games (25 starts), Carpenter went 10-9 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP while pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Perhaps it is possible that Carpenter could challenge for a spot in the rotation with a strong spring training.