Detroit Tigers fans got some rough news on Friday as young starter Casey Mize will undergo Tommy John surgery and could possibly be out until the 2024 season.
This is a big blow for a franchise trying to build off the success of the second half of the 2021 season, one that has a fresh young core of players to build around.
It was interesting looking back through social media on Friday because a video circulated from the 2020 season, an MLB Network segment with Pedro Martinez about Mize's mechanics.
Martinez said, among other things, that "his mechanics to me look a little bit raw", especially looking how he opens up his body and how he will throw against his body on where he finished on the mound.
You can take a look at the video below on how Martinez shows what Mize did during the 2020 season that threw up caution flags for him.
The big question on Tigers fans, now that the 25-year old righty is sidelined for at least the rest of the 2022 season and for a good portion of the 2023 season, is where does this team go from here.
Tarik Skubal is now the No. 1 starter for Detroit, another young arm in a relatively unproven rotation.
New offseason signing Eduardo Rodriguez, currently on the IL, is the No. 2 starter for this team and from there, you have three starters age 26 or younger.
Coming into this season, Rony Garcia, Detroit's No. 5 starter according to ESPN, had the most pitching experience of the three, but his longest career outing was three innings, which he achieved twice.
Beau Brieske and Alex Faedo, both 24-year-old rookies, had no MLB experience coming into 2022.
So, after Skubal and E-Rod, you have three young arms behind them, two of which have an ERA+ below 90. Rodriguez is also having a tough year, with an 87 ERA+ through his first eight starts, averaging under five innings a start thus far.
Faedo has held his own on the mound thus far, with a 2.92 ERA and 131 ERA+ in seven starts, so him and Skubal, who has a 2.33 ERA and 164 ERA+ in 11 starts, are the anchors of the rotation right now.
Keep in mind there is still much season left, but it's going to be an uphill battle for Detroit's rotation moving forward.
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