DETROIT: I know most other fans were probably thinking the same thing as I was last night, watching the Detroit Tigers get shut out by another subpar starting pitcher. I couldn’t get one ominous notion out of my head.
“This pitching staff is going to be wasted, isn’t it?”
We are all aware with Michael Lorenzen, the pitcher that the Tigers had such a great season with last year that teams wanted him at the trade deadline. Because he was signed so late in the summer, Lorenzen is good but by no means an ace, and this was his first outing of the season.
However, he shut out the Tigers over five innings with no trouble at all. Incredibly, after giving them five free passes, they were unable to muster even a single run.
There is nothing new here for the Tigers of 2024. Let’s see if we can add Garrett Crochet, Sean Manaea, Adrian Houser, Jose Butto, Paul Blackburn, Joe Boyle, Mitch Keller, Martin Perez, Joe Ryan, Simeon Woods Richardson, Bailey Ober, and Lorenzen to the list of reliable starters that have shut them down.
Out of the 16 starters they have faced this season, 12 of them are not particularly strong pitchers.
The pitching situation is very different, which is why this offense is so aggravating.
I wrote earlier this month about how the Tigers finally have a strong and potent bullpen for the first time in decades. From Jason Foley in the ninth inning to Will Vest in the middle, this group is amazing.
Beau Brieske, who throws several innings at 99 mph and didn’t allow a run in spring training, couldn’t even make the roster because of how strong Detroit’s bullpen is.
Vest has the lowest ERA (2.35) out of the eight relievers that Detroit presently has. The WHIP of only one is greater than 1.17.
