Tigers’ Casey Mize’s Comeback is More than Just a Good Story

Another pitch that has caught my eye has been Mize’s splitter. You might have noticed more buzz around the league about splitters and the Tigers seem to be buying into it as well.

Shelby Miller added a splitter and became a better pitcher and the Tigers were obviously intrigued by his development. So far, Mize has thrown his splitter 20% of the time, allowing only two hits (.133 average) and producing a 31.2% whiff rate. The pitch has graded out as a 111 Stuff+ with an impressive 14.4 inches of horizontal movement.

I know, I know, too many numbers. Just see for yourself.

Throwing his splitter will lead to more groundballs and protect him from surrendering home runs. Mize is not going to be a strikeout artist, so finding ways to keep the ball of barrels and having batters drive it into the ground is key to his success.

Pumping in a 95 to 96+ mph fastball with a slider and splitter that average around 86 mph with a knuckle curve you can drop at 80 mph will leave hitters off balance.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Mize has not been perfect, but he doesn’t need to be. Coming back from injury he just needs to be checking boxes this early on.

Can you go six innings? Check – each of his last two outings. Is the velocity back? Check – 95+ mph is beautiful. Do you have your command? Check – 102 command+. Although he did walk three last outing, you can tell he is starting to settle in.

As Mize continues to get innings and confidence under his belt he’ll improve on the edges. If Mize can continue to produce solid outing after solid outing it changes the trajectory of this Tigers team. Skubal was the clear ace coming into the season but another “frontline” starter was in question. The rest of the rotation looked more like no. 4 or 5 starters. Olson has stepped up and so has Mize.

The offense’s slow start has put more pressure on the pitching staff and having Mize pitch better than expected is big. Not only for the Tigers, but for himself. I’m sure the road back was challenging and to not only get back on the mound, but to have success, has to feel like a major accomplishment.