The Tigers are trying to get the most out of their rotation in the early going, and that currently goes six men deep.
The Detroit Tigers have made an interesting decision with regard to the final game of their current series with the Milwaukee Brewers . Right-hander Keider Montero, who just lost out to Jackson Jobe and Casey Mize for one of the final spots in the Tigers’ rotation, will be called up on Wednesday to start against the Brewers’ Jose Quintana.
No doubt Montero was disappointed to be optioned to Toledo to start the year. He was a pretty big part of holding the Tigers pitching staff together last summer, and looked pretty good in spring camp. Armed with a quality 95 mph fourseamer, a pair of really high spin breaking balls and a good changeup, Montero is in a similar position to Jobe. Both need to spot their pitches more consistently and learn to self-correct more quickly when they lose their rhythm. Jobe of course has more velocity and is two years younger, but his fastball and overall stuff aren’t that much better than Montero’s. Still, it was predictable that Montero would be the odd man out.
Casey Mize was just pitching too well, while in Jobe’s case the Tigers really wanted him working with the major league coaches and trying to take the next step with his command. That left Montero on the outside looking in, but rather than feeling sorry for himself, the 24-year-old right-hander went to Toledo and has looked good in the early going.
He got ambushed a bit in his first start, as he was a little wild early and the Round Rock Express got to him for a couple of runs. Still, Montero struck out five and only walked one in four innings of work. His second start was last Thursday at home against the Iowa Cubs . On a blustery night in Toledo, Montero threw 5 2⁄3 perfect innings with six punchouts and really had command of his whole collection of pitches.
The Tigers don’t want to see these good outings go to waste at the Triple-A level. So, particularly now when they’re playing a stretch from April 11 to May 4 with just one day off, giving their rotation an extra day off between starts makes good sense. As a result, they seem to be thinking about mixing in Montero semi-regularly early in the season. That decision could pay dividends later on the season. The early part of the baseball season has the most pitcher injuries. By giving their staff a little extra time between starts, they hope to keep everyone healthy and set up for the whole season, while at the same time getting Montero the major league starts he deserves and letting him continue to do some work with Chris Fetter and Robin Lund.
Overall this seems like a good move. The question is who goes down to Toledo to open up the roster spot. One would assume it’s probably going to be a reliever. The Tigers could send Beau Brieske or Brenan Hanifee down, and then bring up Jason Foley, who is already on the 40-man roster, the day after Montero’s start when they send him back down. Foley hasn’t exactly caught fire in Toledo, but his velocity has been ticking up a little and he’s certainly been effective early on.
Right-handers Tyler Owens and Chase Lee also have 40-man roster spots and could be recalled. Of the two, Owens has been really struggling early on, while Lee has pitched pretty well overall. Andrew Chafin would need a 40-man spot, but is also pitching pretty well and will have the opportunity to opt-out on May 1 if not called up to join the Tigers by then.
Montero joined the team in Milwaukee on Tuesday, so he’s set to go. The Tigers will wait until Wednesday to announce the corresponding move.