Fiers Down Below

Poor Mike Fiers. This time last year he was pitching for a team that'd go to the World Series. Now?? He's on the most inoffensively okay team in baseball, those poor Detroit Tigers. People are doing well, but they're all doing...'well for Detroit'. Mike Fiers has a 3.0 WAR, which is 'okay for Houston'. That'd be lapped by Springer, Verlander and Altuve if he was still there.

But...for the moment, Mike Fiers is still pitching for Detroit. He's not a fireballer, but he's very crafty, and he's gotten a ton of wins and strong support in his starts (one of which I saw). He's not like Matt Boyd, who strikes people out a lot, but he's still the top starter this year, which...you could do worse than.

The lineup, save for Nick Castellanos and Jose Iglesias, is pretty dead, though. A few stragglers, like Niko Goodrum, are doing alright, but...it's just lifeless. Nobody's really excelling. Jeimer Candelario's average has gone down since his stellar start, Miggy's injured, some of the new talent is only so effective, and it's just...aggressively okay. Yes, they win games, because Mr. Clutch JaCoby Jones does, in fact, play for this team, but they're not great with blowouts. They're more likely to be blown out.

Fiers might finish out the month in Detroit, and then get waived by someone trying to compete. Or maybe he'll stick around and play for a slightly better Tigers team next year? It's kind of hard to tell, because you're not sure if the Tigers can improve for immediate success.

Still, hopefully Fiers will keep his stock up. He's a nice little unsung hero, and any team would be happy to have him.

UPDATE 8/6: Hope Mike's a fan of 50-year-old stadiums and Green Day...

Coming Tonight: He's...I think...still the starting third baseman for the Brewers? Or maybe they moved him to the outfield? I...really don't know. He's still awesome, though.