Detroit Tigers: Get ready for Anibal Sanchez on the mound

As if Monday wasn’t already bad enough, the Detroit Tigers start a West Coast trip with Anibal Sanchez on the mound.

The former Detroit Tigers ERA leader gets the nod and no one is really quite sure why.

After pitching all of 21 innings for the Tigers this season, he enters this game with a 9.00 ERA and a scary WHIP of 2.048.

Things got so bad for Sanchez that he chose to send himself down to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. But, his time in Toledo wasn’t awful. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t awful.

He’s back…

He started in four games with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.404 WHIP. He allowed 3 home runs in 15.2 innings pitched. While that does not create much confidence for fans, it is one home run for ever 5 innings. With the Tigers, he was allowing one home run for every 2.3 innings. While these stats might be ok for a minor league pitcher, they do not bring any sense of security for fans who are hoping for a win over the struggling Seattle Mariners.

The big questions

The big question remains for fans: Why did Al Avila decide to bring Anibal Sanchez back up to Detroit?

While I can’t get into Avila’s brain to give the real answer to this question, I have two theories. The first is money. Sanchez is making $16 million. With a contract like that, the Tigers probably shouldn’t leave him down in the minors where the whole team isn’t even making that much (don’t quote me on the exact amount). The Tigers have to give him a shot.

My second theory is that there aren’t many other pitchers who are doing much better. Just looking at the ERAs of pitchers in Toledo, there aren’t many other choices to fill that fifth spot for a start or two. Avila gave Buck Farmer a shot and we saw how that went. Drew VerHagen has started 13 games in Toledo and has a 4.50 ERA. He hasn’t given up the home runs that Sanchez has, but 4.50 isn’t much better than 4.60. William Cuevas and Anthony Vasquez are both above 4.00 in their ERAs, too. There just aren’t many choices.

Why not Boyd?

The other question that fans wonder is why isn’t Al Avila bringing Matt Boyd back up?

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This one stymies me, too. The only thing I can think of is that Avila wants Boyd to get a few more starts in Toledo. He has three starts in Triple-A with a 3.32 ERA and a WHIP of 1.11. Honestly, he has better numbers than the majority of the other pitchers on the Triple-A team. He has 19 strikeouts and three home runs.

I don’t get it.

What about Saupold?

The other thing that I don’t get is why the Tigers don’t let Warwick Saupold start a game. In Toledo, he had seven starts and had a 2.90 ERA. He obviously knows how to open a game and throw for five innings or more. In his 40.1 innings in Toledo, he only gave up two home runs.

Next: The Importance of Jordan Zimmermann

Of course, I’ll be watching Sanchez on the mound tonight and hoping for the best. I’m not going to expect much, but I’ll be hoping for a win.