Detroit Tigers left-hander Blaine Hardy has been a surprisingly effective member of the starting rotation in 2018.
This spring, Detroit Tigers left-hander Blaine Hardy was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and sent to Triple-A Toledo. Since the beginning of the 2014 season, Hardy had generally been a solid reliever for the Tigers, aside from posting a 5.94 ERA last season.
After putting up excellent numbers in Triple-A, however, Hardy was soon given another chance in Detroit. Due to injuries to Francisco Liriano and Jordan Zimmermann, Hardy became a major league starter for the first time in his career and was quite impressive.
Through seven outings as a starter this season, Hardy has gone 3-1 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Recently, Hardy has been bumped back to the bullpen.
He made a relief appearance against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, pitching a third of an inning. Hardy has also been solid while pitching out of the bullpen this season, posting a 2.25 ERA over a total of four innings of relief work
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According to Evan Woodbery of MLive, Liriano is scheduled to come off of the disabled list on this weekend, when the Tigers begin a three-game series with the Cleveland Indians.
But even with Liriano returning, it is possible that Hardy could soon rejoin the rotation, which would give the Tigers a six-man rotation as they get set to embark on a stretch in which they play 20 games without an off day.
As a whole, the Tigers’ rotation has been somewhat inconsistent. Detroit’s starting rotation has a combined ERA of 4.24, which currently ranks ninth in the American League.
While ace Michael Fulmer has been pitching better as of late, he has still been having a bit of an off year and is currently 3-6 with a 4.17 ERA. Mike Fiers and Jordan Zimmermann have ERAs north of 4.00 as well.
Matthew Boyd is still having a breakout year, however, despite allowing five earned runs over four innings of work against the Reds on Tuesday. Given the work that Hardy has done in the rotation, it would certainly make sense for the Tigers to want to try and find a way to keep him there.
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Right now, the Detroit Tigers are still actually hanging around in the playoff race. They are currently sitting in second place in the AL Central and trailing the Indians by 5.0 games.
It remains to be seen how much longer they will able to hang around, but contributions from players like Hardy have certainly played a role in helping them get where they are.