I still think Tarik Skubal essentially taking the pressure off of Casey Mize was the best thing to happen to Mize. Gets picked overall, has 1 good season, gets hurt then struggles to cope with not being the center of everything. And luckily at that point the Tigers have Skubal playing amazingly and he can just...have a nice enough season without the added expectations. It's worked out for all involved parties.
Mize is 29, and has really only had 2 full seasons in the MLB, which is the kind of thing that happens when your development is held up by a pandemic and then injury concerns. Last year was the fullest view of Mize post-TJ, and it earned him an All-Star nod and a surer place in this rotation. As it stands now, he still doesn't have as much to carry as Skubal, or even late-game dominator Framber Valdez, but he's been very nice through his first 4 starts, with a 2.78 ERA, 25 Ks and a 0.8 WAR. Even if he's clearly a #4 guy in this rotation [for now, Jack], he's more sure of himself than he's ever been and he's continuing his 2025 success with similar consistency.
It's very funny how a lot of this team goes along the idea of 'despite what you might think, the #1 overall guy isn't gonna save the world for this team'. Spencer Torkelson, despite a decent 2025, is back to flirting with the Mendoza line. Still hasn't hit a homer this year. Riley Greene, while not a #1 overall pick, was a highly regarded organizational piece for a while, and though the hope was for him to be a starring man, he's...kinda doing his own thing? He's hitting .265 with 14 RBIs and just 1 homer. It's a very pedestrian year from him so far. Hopefully it heats up at some point.
What I'm saying is that, because some of the draft picks have sputtered, the Tigers' success has been left to a lot of other guys, and...that may explain why the team hasn't exactly taken off yet this year. Dillon Dingler's having another strong year, with 5 homers and 18 RBIs, but I don't think it's a Cal Raleigh situation where he can become a marquee guy. Gleyber Torres is hitting, but he's below his 2025 standard. At least Kevin McGonigle's still hitting .300 and filling all boxes, but a rookie shouldn't be leading a competitive team in WAR. It doesn't feel like much of a group effort right now, despite the much better pitching picture.
The Tigers are at .500 right now, and trying to gauge how much it'll take to overtake Minnesota. I still think they're a competitive team, and have a chance at the division title, but this is an inauspicious start for a team that was firing on all cylinders at this point last year. Hopefully something clicks soon enough, as they were working on a streak last week before they had to play Milwaukee.
Coming Tomorrow- Young, throws smoke, and is getting an opportunity to start for the Reds because...the other young guys that throw smoke keep getting injured for some reason.
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