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Detroit Tigers: Kyle Lobstein to start, Justin Verlander back, Tigers last

By Matt Pelc

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It has been a LOOOONG season for the Detroit Tigers and us loyal fans.

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It has been so long that it seems like 2012 the last time Kyle Lobstein took the mound. Finally back from an injury that has taken him out of action since May, Lobstein will get the start at Comerica Park against Cleveland on Friday night.

Lobstein certainly wasn’t great in Toledo during his rehab starts, but at this point, what other choice do the Tigers have?

The pitcher that Lobstein replaced in the rotation early this year was Justin Verlander, who looks much more like Must See JV than we’ve seen in a number of years.

Finally, a few days ago, our own Tom Zahari looked at how the Tigers finishing in last place (well on their way to doing so) may be the best thing for the franchise.

Lobstein, out since May, activated by Tigers – James Jahnke, Detroit Free Press

"The Detroit Tigers today announced that they have activated left-handed pitcher Kyle Lobstein from the 60-day disabled list and he will start Friday’s game vs. Cleveland (7 p.m., FSD).Lobstein made six injury-rehab starts between Triple-A Toledo and Class A Lakeland and posted a 0-3 record with a 5.68 ERA. He has been sidelined since May 24 with a sore left shoulder."

Five ways the resurgence of Justin Verlander helps the Detroit Tigers – Matthew B. Mowery, The Oakland Press

"That’s certainly good news for a guy whose average fastball velocity — his trademark in the early portions of his career — had been steadily dropping since 2009, that decline picking up speed in the last two injury-plagued seasons. As high as 95.23 mph as recently as 2012, it dropped to 94.54 in 2013, 93.30 last year and 93.51 so far this year.Now it seems to be coming back up.“You don’t need 100 — 97 plays. I think going back to spring training, my last start there when I hurt myself, felt like the ball was jumping out of my hand better than it had in a while,” he said after his last start, the near no-hitter. “It’s nice to see that carry over and get some swings and misses on my fastball.”"

Finishing last is good for Tigers organization – Tom Zahari, MCB Special to the Free Press

"The best things the Tigers did this season were realizing their flaws, cutting ship and starting their rebuild. Semantics aside, this process is not a reboot: it is a rebuild. The sale at the trade deadline allowed the Tigers to replenish some much needed pitching in their farm system in Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, and Michael Fulmer. If they got nothing for David Price and Yoenis Cespedes, they would have been farther in the hole for next season without the reward of a postseason appearance in 2015.If the Tigers were still in contention and either bought or stood pat, they would have kept getting the band back together and working on a system that has not worked. They also would have shown more faith in Ausmus, who will more likely than not be released after the season."

Next: Reboot success not assured

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