Detroit Tigers: Long-term successors for expensive veterans

Justin Verlander’s long-term successor: Beau Borrows or Alex Faedo

As is the case with Justin Upton, finding a long-term replacement for Justin Verlander in the farm system isn’t the easiest task.

Detroit does have starters with ace-like upside.

However, regardless of what young pitching prospects ascend to the rotation, the reality is that Michael Fulmer will be the team’s ace after Verlander.

When Verlander departs Detroit remains to be seen.

The team could conceivably trade him in the offseason, or he could play out the rest of his Hall of Fame career with an Old English “D” embroidered on his hat.

If he’s traded, the closest of the Detroit Tigers’ top starting pitching prospects to the Majors is Beau Burrows.

Beau Burrows

The 20-year-old was only promoted to Double-A in early June, but he looks like he’s already starting to figure things out in a league where the competition is on average 4.4 years older than he is.

Burrows had a rough three-star stretch from June 18 to June 29 (19 hits, 14 earned runs and eight walks allowed in 13.1 innings), but has looked promising since.

The right-hander owns a 3.07 ERA in 38.1 innings, spanning seven starts, since.

Burrows struck out 10 batters on two different occasions in the last few weeks, and held the opposition hitless in his start Saturday.

The flame-throwing right hander scattered two walks over six frames, striking out eight in the process.

Considering he’s further along than the likes of Manning, Kyle Funkhouser and Alex Faedo, Burrows seems the most likely to step in for Justin Verlander among Detroit’s top pitching prospects.

In a similar vein to Upton and Stewart, Verlander and Burrows could very well inhabit the same rotation in a few years’ time.

If that is the case and Justin Verlander stays in Detroit long term, his eventual replacement will likely be a starter currently a few years away like Faedo, Gregory Soto or Sandy Baez.

Jordan Zimmermann long-term replacements: TBD

Jordan Zimmermann hasn’t exactly been the frontline pitcher that Detroit Tigers fans hoped he would be when the veteran signed as a free agent the offseason before last.

He’s certainly shown flashes of it at times, but Zimmermann has pitched more like a mid-rotation arm for the Tigers.

Because of this, he is slightly easier to replace than some of Detroit’s best players from a WAR standpoint like Upton and Verlander.

Matthew Boyd and Daniel Norris are ready-made replacements on the Major League roster, while Triple-A Starter Myles Jaye (3.92 ERA in 43.2 innings) could consistently contribute as a starter as early as next season.

Looking to the farm system, Double-A starter Tyler Alexander is another name to watch.

The former second-round pick could also be contributing to the Tigers a year from now.