The Fan Hub

The Detroit Tigers made headlines when their all-world pitcher was named Major League Baseball’s MVP. Then they made another gargantuan splash when General Manager Dave Dombrowski doled out $214 million to arguably the best pure power hitter in baseball. The question that the Tigers still have to answer is with their front line pitching. Remove Justin Verlander, and the Tigers’ Spring Training rotation would be constructed by Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Jacob Turner, Andrew Oliver, Casey Crosby, and highly touted prospect Duane Below.

Last season Detroit was statistically right at the league average of WHIP (1.32), and 18th in ERA (4.04). Many surmised that Detroit would be encouraged to spend big on either C.J. Wilson, Mark Buehrle, or even Edwin Jackson to help bolster their front line rotation. Alas, the Tigers spent big on another monster bat to pair with Miguel Cabrera, who finished fifth in the AL MVP voting.

The potential problem lurking on the horizon for the Tigers is less about about their fifth starter, and more about their second or third starter. Upon arriving in Detroit, Fister went 8-1, with an eye-popping ERA+ of 229 in 11 starts, which is certainly nothing to balk at. However, whether he can maintain that dominance for an entire season is still worth debating. After him and Scherzer, the trio of Oliver, Crosby, and Turner will all get their chances to contend for multiple positions in the Tigers starting rotation, and probably in the bullpen as well. Yet the question remains as to whether or not a defensively weakened team can rely on rather unproven players.