Casey

Mize

The move virtually guarantees spots in Detroit’s season-opening rotation for top prospect Jackson Jobe and Casey Mize. There might be a governor on Jobe’s workload initially, but he’ll make a significant fantasy impact due to his strikeout upside. He’s a top-60 range starting pitcher for fantasy purposes at the moment with the upside to finish significantly higher.

Overcoming Jarren Duran’s leadoff homer in the first, Mize allowed four hits, walked two and struck out four. The runs were the first he’s allowed in 16 innings this spring, and he remains in great position to claim a rotation spot.

Mize walked three, but he struck out four and allowed just one hit. He actually gave up three balls hit in excess of 107 mph, but they all found gloves. Mize decided against using his new cutter today, instead sticking with his slider and splitter as his secondary pitches. He’s yet to allow a run this spring, and he still seems in prime position to claim a spot in the Detroit rotation. That would leave one opening for Kenta Maeda or Jackson Jobe.

Johan Rojas had the lone hit off Tyler Holton in the sixth. Mize walked one and struck out two in his three innings of work. Using a harder slider and featuring a new cutter, his stuff right now is definitely better than what he took the mound with last year. It’s not likely to make him a top-of-the-rotation guy, but the Tigers will probably give him a spot and see what happens.

Mize got off on the right foot this spring as he competes for one of the open rotation spots in Detroit. The 27-year-old former No. 1 overall pick hit 98 mph, threw 24-of-33 pitches for strikes and had a 36 percent CSW rate. Mize also debuted new pitches, including a sweeper and a cutter, and was throwing his splitter harder at 90 mph. He went to Driveline this offseason and after one game it appears the changes made have set him up for success this year.

It’s the first time Cobb has thrown since being shut down earlier this month with hip inflammation. The 37-year-old veteran figures to be racing the clock if he’s going to be ready in time for Opening Day. If he’s unable to go, it would likely be some combination of top prospect Jackson Jobe in addition to veterans Casey Mize and Kenta Maeda, among others, vying to replace him in Detroit’s rotation.

After his first mostly healthy season since 2021, Casey Mize spent the offseason tinkering with his arsenal in the hopes of cementing his spot in the Tigers rotation. One major change for him is that he wants to get back to using his splitter more. The pitch was his calling card at Auburn, but there was a stigma around splitters when he became a pro so he stopped throwing it as much. Mize feels that he has changed enough as a pitcher to get back to using the splitter, which is his best whiff pitch. He also went to the Tampa branch of Driveline Baseball this offseason to toy with three different versions of a slider: a traditional hard slider, a sweeper, and a slider with more drop than normal. All of this is in the hopes of improving his success in two-strike counts, and if he can do that, Mize should be able to stick in the rotation and on fantasy rosters.

Cobb has been shut down from throwing after receiving a PRP injection last week to address the issue. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters Tuesday it’s pushed him back about a month, which suggests he’ll open up the regular season on the injured list. While it’s not ideal that Cobb is already on the shelf, the Tigers weren’t in any way expecting to get 30 starts out of him and they have plenty of rotation options. This definitely increases the chances of Jackson Jobe starting off in the majors, but it’s still far from a lock, with two rotation spots available for Jackson Jobe, Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda, Brant Hurter, Keider Montero, Matt Manning and others.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press adds that Jobe’s pitch mix evolution is geared towards generating additional whiffs in two-strike counts. The hard-throwing 22-year-old right-hander, who made a pair of late-season relief appearances last year for the Tigers, is arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball entering spring training and will presumably be in the mix for the final spot in Detroit’s season-opening rotation. He’s likely ticketed for some additional seasoning at Triple-A Toledo to open the year, especially if Casey Mize and Alex Cobb stay healthy this spring, but Jobe’s astronomical strikeout potential should make him an instant impact fantasy contributor once he ascends to the big leagues for good.

It’ll probably be a one-year, $25 million deal unless something goes awry. The player option for 2026 starts at $10 million and jumps to $20 million once Flaherty makes 15 starts. Flaherty opened last year with the Tigers, going 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 18 stats before being traded to the Dodgers. He was 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA in 28 starts overall. Flaherty’s return means that, barring injury, there’s going to be just one spot in the Tigers rotation available for Jackson Jobe, Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda, Brant Hurter, Matt Manning and Keider Montero. Maeda and Hurter will likely have bullpen spots awaiting them, but some of the others figure to open in the minors.