A few articles from the DetNews on various topics:
(the game was a sellout before the Skubal starting announcement)
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Some interesting decisions to be made in the near future. Guessing Montero to the pen if they don’t want him starting in Toledo.
# An educated guess how Tigers will reintegrate Skubal, Mize, Verlander
full article at link.
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By the end of this week, the Tigers are going to start integrating three of their top line starting pitchers back into the rotation, which is going to force at least one productive pitcher out of the rotation.
…The intrigue comes on the next road trip, which begins in Cleveland Friday and ends with three games in Houston next week.
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The Tigers would could choose between Skubal and Jack Flaherty for the series opener. Both would be on regular rest. Whoever doesn’t pitch Friday would start on Saturday.
Casey Mize, who is scheduled to make a rehab start on Tuesday with Low-A Lakeland in Clearwater, would be on track to return for the series finale in Cleveland on Sunday.
Again, though, the Tigers could also start Melton on regular rest.
If Mize starts in Cleveland, then Melton would open the series in Houston.
The second and third games of that series could get very interesting with both Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez possibly starting against their former team.
But that hasn’t even been written in pencil, yet.
Verlander, whose return will require a corresponding move on the 40-man roster, is scheduled for a second rehab start with Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday. He will need to get through that, pushing his innings toward six and his pitch-count over 80, before a decision is made.
If the pitching plan ends up being Melton, Verlander and Valdez in Houston, then the Tigers will have had to trim one or two pitchers from the present rotation.
Hinch has sounded more open to using a six-man rotation, at least through the month of June when the Tigers will play 20 games in 21 days.
“When you have those longer stretches, you can look at that (six-man rotation) as a viable option to keep starters fresh,” Hinch said. “It allows you to push them a little more, push them a little deeper in games. There is an advantage to considering that.”
There is also the disadvantage of leaving yourself an arm short in the bullpen.
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It’s not necessarily fair, of course. Montero has pitched well enough to maintain his spot in the rotation. And with that in mind, given the fragility of the rotation’s health this season, the Tigers could also deem it wise to send Montero to Triple A and keep him stretched out to start.
It’s hard to imagine, though, the Tigers not wanting to keep Montero’s arm in the big-league mix.
For the purpose of this discussion, let’s envision a rotation of Skubal, Flaherty, Mize, Melton, Verlander and Valdez.
That would leave a seven-man bullpen featuring Kenley Jansen (who is throwing a rehab game this week), Will Vest, Kyle Finnegan, Drew Anderson, Tyler Holton and Montero, plus one out of the following group — lefties Drew Sommers and Enmanuel De Jesus, and righties Beau Brieske and Brenan Hanifee.
