Detroit Tigers: Now more than ever, team needs starting pitching depth

Detroit Tigers fans haven’t seen too much starting pitching depth this season. Now, with Matthew Boyd in the minors, the team could use another arm.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Matthew Boyd was sent to Triple-A Toledo on Friday.

The starter had made 11 starts on the year for Detroit, logging a 0.5 WAR, a 14.4 strikeout percentage and a 4.65 FIP in 55.1 innings.

He also notched a 5.69 ERA, a 5.01 xFIP and a 1.771 WHIP on the year.

All told, Boyd punched out 6.0 batters and allowed 3.9 walks per nine innings.

The Washington native performed well to begin the year, with a 3.89 ERA and 29 strikeouts through his first seven starts (39.1 frames).

However, he struggled soon after. In Boyd’s last four outings, he allowed 36 hits, 18 runs, five walks and three home runs in just 16 innings.

That spits out to a 10.13 ERA.

Detroit announced the move in a tweet Friday night on the team’s official Twitter account, tweeting:

"“Following tonight’s game, the #Tigers optioned LHP Matthew Boyd to Toledo (AAA). LHP Daniel Stumpf will be recalled from Toledo tomorrow.”"

A reliever, Daniel Stumpf won’t be taking Boyd’s turn in the rotation. That spot next comes up again on Wednesday, June 7, so Detroit has some time to figure things out.

Moving forward, it will certainly be interesting to see how the team replaces Boyd, but one thing is for certain, the Tigers need starting pitching depth now more than ever.