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Tarik Skubal

AL Notes: Blue Jays, Jansen, Moreno, Mariners, White, Mize, Skubal

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Before this afternoon’s game against the Rays, the Blue Jays activated catcher Danny Jansen from the injured list and optioned Riley Adams to Triple-A. Jansen will be limited to scripted usage in the near-term, as manager Charlie Montoyo is committed to riding the hot hand of Reese McGuire for now, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter). McGuire was designated for assignment at the start of the season, and he’d have to be waived again for Toronto to take him off the active roster. He’s not going anywhere for now, however, not while he continues to hit as he has, with a .302/.350/.406 triple slash line through 104 plate appearances. That means Alejandro Kirk will remain in Triple-A for the time being, where he is currently on a rehab assignment.

More from Toronto and the rest of the American League:

  • In other Blue Jays catching news, top prospect Gabriel Moreno underwent surgery on his fractured right thumb, as first reported by Future Blue Jays (and confirmed by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). There’s no specific timetable on his return, but the young backstop will be out for multiple weeks. Moreno entered the season as one of the top catching prospects in the minors, and he’s taken his stock to another level with Double-A New Hampshire. Despite only being 21 years old, Moreno has thrived at the minors’ second-highest level, hitting .373/.441/.651 with eight homers across 145 plate appearances.
  • The Mariners don’t appear particularly close to returns from either of a pair of injured regulars. There’s still no timetable on center fielder Kyle Lewis, who is recovering from a meniscus tear in his right knee, relays Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). Lewis isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day injured list until early August, but it doesn’t seem feasible to expect him back at that point given the vague outlook on his injury. First baseman Evan White, meanwhile, “isn’t close” to even resuming baseball activities after receiving a cortisone shot in his ailing left hip, per Divish. White is eligible to return from the 60-day IL in a little over a week, but he’s obviously going to need significantly more time than that to recover.
  • The Tigers are planning to be more judicious with Casey Mize’s and Tarik Skubal’s in-start workloads in the coming weeks, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive. Detroit isn’t planning to shut down either of their prized young hurlers entirely; instead, there’ll be pre-planned quick hooks during some starts to keep their innings totals in check. The process already began during Mize’s start yesterday, as manager A.J. Hinch lifted the 24-year-old after three innings and 56 pitches against the White Sox. Mize, who threw 28 1/3 innings during last year’s shortened season, is up to 91 1/3 frames in 2021. Skubal tossed 32 innings in 2020 and is up to 82 2/3 this season after today’s five-inning outing against Chicago.

Latest On Tigers’ Rotation

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The Tigers are going to move Tarik Skubal into a scheduled piggyback role for his next couple of outings, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. The Tigers could do the same with Casey Mize at some point during this season. Manager A.J. Hinch views the piggyback option as a way to avoid shutting down or demoting Skubal and Mize as they work with innings restrictions for their young hurlers.

The move, Hinch was careful to note, is not a demotion. Skubal has a 6.08 ERA in 13 1/3 innings so far this season, allowing 11 hits, four home runs, and nine walks against 12 strikeouts. The home runs are a concern, but Skubal also has a 15.0 percent groundball rate, a number that is sure to rise over time. Per the Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen, Hinch said, “It’s not an indictment on where he’s at in our rotation or what we think of his first few starts. But it’s the plan we’re gonna put in place to be smart about our pitching resources throughout a six-month season.”

Skubal’s move to the pen actually comes prompted by a bit of good news: Spencer Turnbull will return to the rotation for his first start of the season on Wednesday. Turnbull had his season debut delayed because of a positive COVID-19 diagnosis in spring. The 28-year-old is coming off a strong 2020 in which he posted a 3.97 ERA/3.49 FIP over 56 2/3 innings. It was the first time Turnbull saw his ERA match his typically strong FIP. Turnbull will join Matthew Boyd, Mize, Jose Urena, and Michael Fulmer in the rotation, at least in the short-term. Detroit’s rotation has already lost Julio Teheran to injury after the veteran got the win in his first start as a Tiger.

When Turnbull joins the roster, another roster move will follow. McCosky suggests a pitcher will likely be demoted, with Joe Jimenez being one possibility. The 26-year-old right-hander has just two appearances so far this season, but he’s off to a rough start. The former All-Star has walked seven of 10 batters this season while being charged with five earned runs (despite not yielding a base hit). In fact, with two strikeouts also on the ledger, only one batter has put the ball in play with Jimenez toeing the rubber, an Aramis Garcia ground out. Both of Jimenez’s appearances this season have come against the Athletics. The Tigers will likely wait to make an official roster move until much closer to Turnbull’s Wednesday start.

Tigers Select Julio Teheran’s Contract

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The Tigers have informed veteran righty Julio Teheran that he will make their Opening Day roster, manager A.J. Hinch announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter links via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press). Teheran had a March 22 opt-out date in his contract that he triggered two days ago, giving the club 48 hours to make the move. He’ll now be guaranteed a $3MM salary with up to $1MM available via additional incentives. In a corresponding roster move, the Tigers announced that righty Spencer Turnbull has been placed on the injured list. No reason was given, but he’s been away from the rest of the club since Saturday due to Covid-19 protocols.

Detroit also informed left-hander Tarik Skubal that he’s made the big league rotation. Meanwhile, veteran righty Erasmo Ramirez and lefty Ian Krol did not make the club but will stick with the team. Ramirez has more than six years of service time and finished out the 2020 season on a 40-man roster, making him an Article XX(B) free agent under the collective bargaining agreement and thus entitling him to a $100K retention bonus for remaining with the Tigers rather than taking the release opportunity afforded to him by that status.

Teheran, 30, has had an outstanding spring with the Tigers, holding opponents to three runs on just six hits and one walk with 15 strikeouts over the course of 11 innings. More encouragingly, he’s shown improved velocity this spring, with both Petzold and The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen indicating that he came out of the gates hitting 92.8 and 92.9 mph — just a year after Statcast pegged his average four-seamer at 89.2 mph and his average sinker at 88.7 mph.

Last year was a particularly dismal season for Teheran. In his first season away from his original organization, the Braves, Teheran missed the early portion of the year due to a positive Covid-19 diagnosis and attempted to build up his pitch count in a big league setting but never looked like himself. He was clobbered for a disastrous 10.05 ERA (5.99 SIERA) with a career-low 13.4 percent strikeout rate against an elevated 10.7 percent walk rate.

Prior to 2020, Teheran had been a durable workhorse in Atlanta. He may not have developed into the ace-caliber starter that many expected based on his former top prospect status — his 2014 season came close — but from 2013-19 Teheran combined for a 3.64 ERA over the life over 1334 innings. He averaged 32 starts per season along the way, landing on the injured list only twice: a two-week stretch due to a minor lat strain in 2016 and a 10-day stint for a thumb contusion in 2018.

Teheran now steps into the Tigers’ rotation alongside Matthew Boyd, Jose Urena and the up-and-coming Skubal, who ranked as one of the game’s top 50 prospects prior to making his MLB debut in 2020. The 24-year-old Skubal was tagged for a 5.63 ERA last season, but only in a small sample of 32 innings. He battled some control issues a bit in his most recent spring start but has held opponents to a pair of runs on eight hits and eight walks with 15 strikeouts in 12 Grapefruit League innings. Obviously, he’ll need to command the strike zone more effectively during the season, but Skubal has encouraged the club enough to further audition for a long-term rotation spot.

Turnbull was likely ticketed for a rotation spot himself, but there’s no timeline for his return to the club. In the meantime, the Tigers can look to former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize or former Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer. The latter worked out of the bullpen in his most recent outing and has generally struggled this spring, but he still hopes to return to form as a starter after undergoing Tommy John surgery late in 2018, missing 2019 and struggling in 2020. Mize has also struggled, however, so the Tigers could look elsewhere within the organization to piece things together until Turnbull is deemed eligible to return. Both Daniel Norris and Tyler Alexander have experience starting at the MLB level.

Tigers Promote Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Isaac Paredes

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The future is here in Detroit. The Tigers announced this morning that the organization will promote top prospects Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Isaac Paredes this week. The left-handed Skubal is slated to start Tuesday’s game, while the right-handed Mize will take the ball Wednesday. Paredes will take the spot of fellow infielder Dawel Lugo, who is being designated for assignment.

It’s an aggressive play by a Tigers club that has dropped five consecutive games to fall under .500 (9-10) after a surprising start to the season. Skubal and Mize will make their MLB debuts in key starts against the division-rival White Sox, who have overtaken the Tigers in the standings. Detroit is currently in fourth place — but still just 3.5 games back of the AL Central-leading Twins.

Casey Mize | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

In Mize, the Tigers will get their first look at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft. The former Auburn ace is considered one of the five best pitching prospects in baseball by most accounts, and his results in 2019 — his only full pro season to date — underscore just why he’s so highly regarded. The 6’3″, 220-pound Mize tossed 109 1/3 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last year, pitching to a combined 2.55 ERA with a 106-to-23 K/BB ratio. Those numbers include a no-hitter in his debut effort at the Double-A level.

Mize, 23, is currently ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the game on MLB.com’s summer update. Baseball America and FanGraphs have him ranked 14th on their own summer lists — the same slot at which Kiley McDaniel placed Mize in his preseason rankings for ESPN. Mize draws praise for a mid-90s heater that he can run up to 97 mph, but his splitter is the pitch that generates the most love from scouts. MLB.com’s report on him places a 70-grade on the pitch (on the 20-80 scale). Mize’s slider and cutter are both considered above-average offering as well.

Skubal was drafted eight rounds later in the same draft that the Tigers selected Mize, and his ascension should be considered a feather in the cap of the Tigers’ scouting and player development teams. Also 23, Skubal himself is widely considered to be a Top 100 prospect. Those same publications list him 35th (Baseball America), 50th (MLB.com), 54th (FanGraphs) and 79th (ESPN) on their rankings, and The Athletic’s Keith Law pegged him as high as No. 24 prior to the season.

Tarik Skubal | Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Just as Mize did, Skubal split last season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A. The 23-year-old racked up 122 2/3 innings with an outrageous 179-to-37 K/BB ratio — including a whopping 82 strikeouts in 42 1/3 frames at the Double-A level. Skubal can run his heater up to 97 mph as well, and while he doesn’t have a pitch as highly regarded as Mize’s splitter, his curveball is still said to be a plus offering accompanied by an average-or-better slider and changeup.

Not to be lost in the shuffle, the 21-year-old Paredes was a Top 100 farmhand himself at Baseball America in each of the past two offseasons (though he dropped off their list following the addition of this summer’s top draftees). He played the 2019 season at 20 years old and was one of the youngest players in the pitcher-friendly Double-A Eastern League. However, Paredes still turned in a healthy .282/.368/.416 slash (133 wRC+). Bat-to-ball skills are Paredes’ best asset, as evidenced by the fact that against much older competition, he walked nearly as many times (57) as he struck out (61).

Isaac Paredes | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

With C.J. Cron out for the year, Jeimer Candelario has slid over to first base. That should clear a path to regular reps at the hot corner for Paredes, which is where he spent the bulk of the 2019 season playing. Paredes, acquired alongside Candelario in the trade that sent Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to the Cubs, played shortstop for much of his early career in the minors, so he could see some time there as well if Niko Goodrum needs a day off. Alternatively, the club could opt to give Paredes and Willi Castro regular time on the left side of the infield, with Goodrum returning to the super-sub role in which he found success over the past couple seasons.

The timing of the promotions is of some note as well. Holding the trio down for even the first week of the season bought the Tigers an extra year of team control, and each of Mize, Skubal and Paredes has now been down long enough that they could fall shy of Super Two status as well. Paredes’ promotion is the only move that is official as of today. Skubal and Mize will have their contracts selected on the day of their respective starts.

If Paredes sticks in the big leagues from this point on, he’ll finish out the year with 116 days of service, which could still leave him on the fringe Super Two status. Skubal would only accrue 113 days of service, though, and Mize would log just 110. Both of those marks should leave them on the outside looking in with regard to Super Two status.

The 25-year-old Lugo,meanwhile, is could be on his way out the door in the Detroit organization. Acquired from the Diamondbacks in the trade that sent J.D. Martinez to Arizona, Lugo simply hasn’t found his footing at the MLB level. He’s received an even 400 plate appearances in parts of three seasons and saw semi-regular action last year (288 plate appearances), but Lugo has produced only a .236/.270/.358 output in that time. He’s out of minor league options, so it’s possible he’ll clear waivers given that another club would have to carry him on its MLB roster. Then again, Lugo was once a solidly regarded prospect and has the ability to play both second base and third base, so another club could take a speculative look on waivers.

The Tigers have a week to either trade Lugo, release him, or pass him through outright waivers.

Tigers Release Hector Santiago

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The Tigers announced that they have given left-hander Hector Santiago his unconditional release. Meanwhile, southpaw Tarik Skubal has been cleared to rejoin the Tigers’ 60-man player pool and been reassigned to their alternate training site, and righty Zack Hess has been removed from their player pool.

Santiago, 32, joined the Tigers on a minor league deal last offseason after mostly working as a reliever in 2019 and combining for 33 2/3 innings of 6.68 ERA/5.89 FIP ball with the White Sox and Mets. That continued a multiyear run of subpar production in the majors for Santiago, who served primarily as a starter earlier in his career and generated solid results for for the White Sox and Angels. During his peak from 2011-15, Santiago notched a 3.55 ERA/4.54 FIP with 8.25 K/9 and 4.00 BB/9 over 532 2/3 innings.

The Tigers didn’t say why they placed Skubal on the injured list when they made the move July 10. Regardless, it’s encouraging to see one of baseball’s top pitching prospects on his way back. The 23-year-old Skubal, who ranks as MLB.com’s 46th-best farmhand, was dominant in his first taste of Double-A action in 2019 with a 2.13 ERA/1.26 FIP and 17.43 K/9 against 3.63 BB/9 across 42 1/3 frames.

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