The Blue Jays welcome the best team in the American League in for the weekend. Which is more shocking would you say: that said best team is the Detroit Tigers, or that one of their very best players has been centerfielder Javy Baez?
Much of this early success for these Tigers can be traced to a pair of former first overall picks giving the team some quality production at long last. Casey Mize (1st overall in 2018) lost nearly two full seasons to popular not-friend Tommy John surgery after a very solid full debut season in 2021 (he's also currently on the IL with a hamstring issue so the Jays will miss him). Mize is an anomaly in today's MLB: he doesn't miss a whole lot of bats but doesn't surrender a whole lot of hits either. The trick is to give up those kinds of fly balls that don't travel so far and so fast, we pitchers really like those.
Likewise Spencer Torkelson (first overall in 2020) who through his first three MLB seasons was looking very much the part of a fringey 1B/DH type that likely, even with the lofty draft position, could've been facing a potential non-tender this upcoming winter in his first go through arbitration. A blistering hot start to this season for Torkelson has lessened those fears considerably, though he has cooled off somewhat in the past couple weeks. No matter as Detroit have several other hitters who are producing: familiar veteran Gleyber Torres (weird to see with a beard), the aforementioned Baez comeback year, toolsy outfielder Riley Greene, right-handed-pitching-masher Kerry Carpenter, the amusingly named catcher Dillon Dingler (whose walk rate makes Ernie Clement look like Juan Soto) and journeyman utility guy Zach McKinstry. Aside from an absolute chasm at third base (sound familiar) this is a squad that's been getting something good from all over the diamond.
It's gonna be a tough series! The Jays are fortunate to miss both the usually untouchable Tarik Skubal and the injured Mize, but will still have to find a way to score off Jack Flaherty (who has been better than the record and ERA suggests) Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe... Jobe in particular should be a fun one to watch (kid throws some serious gas). The Tigers bullpen is deep and awfully stingy as well (their 2.86 ERA is third in all of baseball) so it would be especially good to avoid trailing in the late innings me thinks. As Buck Martinez might say (probably will say), the Blue Jays are gonna have to put on their hitting shoes.
Matchups!
Fri 16 - Flaherty (1-5, 4.61) v. Francis (2-5, 5.40) -- 7.07pm
Sat 17 - Olson (4-3, 3.38) v. SomeGuy (probably Eric Lauer) -- 3:07pm
Sun 18 - Jobe (3-0, 4.32) v. Berrios (1-1, 4.33) -- 1:37pm
Gotta play 'em, might as well win 'em.
