When the Tigers acquired Doug Fister last month, I said he’d be an upgrade over all of the pitchers they were trotting out aside from ace Justin Verlander. Well since the trade, Fister has really helped to strengthen the entire Tigers rotation. I realize that his presence has nothing to do with the performance of the others, but bare with me here. In the month of August, three of Detroit’s starters are pitching relatively well, with the exceptions being Rick Porcello and his 9.15 ERA (though that is misleading, as he’s only walked two hitters in 19 2/3 innings) and the washed up looking Brad Penny.
Verlander has been his usual dominant self, heading the rotation with a 2.51 ERA in 28 2/3 innings. He’s struck out 34 and walked just nine. How about Fister, the new kid on the block? He has a 3.45 ERA in 28 2/3 innings, but six of those runs came in one start. Fister also had one start that only went two innings thanks to a long rain delay. Aside from that one bad outing, Fister has allowed just five earned runs in 23 innings. His impeccable control has also remained on display, with only a pair of walks in his entire stint with the Tigers. Take it with a grain of salt, though, as the only top flight offense he’s faced was Texas (and he allowed two runs in a solid seven inning performance). The other four starts came against Cleveland (twice), Baltimore and Tampa Bay.
There’s been a lot of talk about Max Scherzer’s season, but quite frankly, he’s been fine since the All-Star Break after a crappy first three months. Even during his struggles, Scherzer kept his walk and strikeout rates under control. The issue with him was crappy luck with balls in play. In August, his BABIP is down to a more manageable .273 and, as a result, his ERA for the month is at 3.90 while he’s struck out 26 and walked just five in 30 innings. Getting him back into form was a huge key for the Tigers, and now that he’s got everything straightened out, the rotation is that much better.
I expected the team to dump Penny once Fister arrived, and quite frankly, they still should. This month, Penny has a 4.44 ERA in 24 1/3 innings while walking eight and somehow managing to only strike out seven. But with Phil Coke being demoted to the bullpen, prospect Andy Oliver struggling in AAA Toledo, and top prospect Jacob Turner only making three appearances above AA this season, I can understand why the team keeps running Penny out there. Duane Below, currently working out of Detroit’s bullpen, could be a better option (3.54 ERA, six BB, 12 K in 20 1/3 IP in the majors), but I’m not sure the Tigers want to throw a rookie into the heat of a pennant race.
As for Porcello? He’s having the same issue that plagued Scherzer earlier in the season: crappy luck with balls in play. His BABIP for the season sits at .323, and it’s at a ghastly .403 this month. But, unlike Scherzer, Porcello doesn’t have the advantage of striking a lot of batters out. He’s struck out just 80 in 135 2/3 innings, and while his control is solid with a walk total of just 32 on the season, the strikeout rate is a problem. His ground ball rate has also declined in each of his three seasons in the majors. You look at a guy like Porcello, who is just 22 and has only 153 innings of minor league experience, and you wonder if maybe some time down in Toledo would help him out. But right now, the Tigers don’t have much of a choice. They need to ride it out with him due to the lack of viable options in AAA.
The strong starting pitching so far this month has catapulted the Tigers to a 14-8 record and a 6.5 game lead on the Indians in the AL Central. Only the Rays have allowed fewer runs in the AL so far this month. The strong pitching has worked in perfect harmony with their dynamic offense so far this month, and the Tigers all of a sudden look like a decent contender when the playoffs come next month, instead of a team that will get its brains beat in over a three game stretch.
