Detroit Tigers: Candidates to slot in as second starting pitcher after Michael Fulmer

Detroit Tigers starting pitchers Matthew Boyd, Daniel Norris and Jordan Zimmermann will likely enter 2018 with rotation spots. It remains to be seen which of the three will take the ball after Michael Fulmer.

Detroit Tigers fans will likely see Michael Fulmer head up the starting rotation in 2018, there’s no question about that. There is, however, a question about who the second starting pitcher will be.

The franchise’s group of Major-League ready starters is filled with question marks and untested hurlers.

With that in mind, Detroit’s second starter could very well be a rookie like Franklin Perez, Grayson Long or Beau Burrows by the end of the season.

The prized prospects spent parts of or all of the 2017 season at the Double-A level, and could be close to the Majors.

While a strong debut showing from one of those three would do wonders for the Tigers’ future, the franchise probably wouldn’t mind a bounce back from one of their incumbent rotation options not named Fulmer to go along with the rookies.

This would set up a much brighter future for the Tigers, and would hasten the rebuild somewhat.

Here is a look at the three candidates to fill the second spot in the Detroit Tigers rotation behind Michael Fulmer for the 2018 season.

Matthew Boyd

If this is based on 2017 performances alone, this spot should go to Matthew Boyd.

Boyd’s overall numbers (5.27 ERA, 1.56 WHIP in 135 innings) won’t jump off the page.

However, the left-hander ranked third on the team behind Fulmer and Justin Verlander in fWAR with a 1.9 number and was much improved down the stretch.

He logged a 3.92 FIP and 30 strikeouts in his final 36.2 innings, which spanned six starts and included a near-no hitter against the Twins.

Daniel Norris

If this is based on pure stuff alone, Norris should probably claim this slot in the rotation.

However, Norris has yet to put it all together in the Majors.

Armed with ace-like stuff, Norris has struggled to pitch late into games. He pitched into the seventh inning just twice last season and failed to put hitters away early.

The fellow southpaw also regressed from an encouraging 2016 (3.93 FIP, 3.94 SIERA and 9.22 strikeouts per nine frames in 69.1 innings) last season.

In 101.2 frames last season, Norris turned in a 4.39 FIP and a 4.94 SIERA. While his strikeouts per nine innings plummeted from 9.22 to 7.61, his swinging strike percentage didn’t dip as much, dropping from 10.5% to 9.1%.

If the ex-Blue Jay can pitch more efficiently while missing bats, he has a chance to be successful.