Detroit Tigers: The curious case of Josh Turley

The Detroit Tigers have a knuckleballer in prospect Josh Turley. Could the Tigers see another knuckleball pitcher in Detroit?

The Detroit Tigers have had several knuckleball pitchers throughout the years. Given how rare they are, this I found to be surprising. The last time the Tigers had a knuckleballer was in 2001 when Steve Sparks pitched. That year Sparks won 14 games, posted a 3.65 ERA, pitched 232 innings with eight complete games. He also struck out 116 that season.

Another notable knuckleballer for the Tigers was Eddie Cicotte. Cicotte is most known for being a member of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox. The team was banned for life for throwing the World Series and team member Shoeless Joe Jackson is the most known member of that team.

Emily Waldon, of the Athletic, did a Tigers prospect mailbag and one of the questions asked was about prospect Josh Turley.

Waldon broke down her analysis on Turley and part of what she had to say is how he’s still spotty in his command.

Since starting the year with Double-A Erie, Turley has dropped his FIP from 5.42 to 3.40 and his strikeouts per nine innings from 7.3 to 9.3. The pitch dances just enough to keep hitters off balance, but the pure command of it is still spotty.

Knuckleball pitchers are a curious case. They have a stigma of no-command attached to their name. Given the history of higher-than-average walk rate, it’s not unwarranted.  R.A Dickey won the CY Young as a knuckleballer in 2012. However, he had multiple up and down campaigns for the rest of his career until becoming a free agent this offseason.

Our take on Turley

We wrote a profile on Turley several years back when Turley was still toying with the knuckleball.  Kristen Bentley noted that when he threw the pitch he had batters swinging and missing.

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Turley has been long projected as a long reliever akin to Alex Wilson. But he’s a left-handed knuckleballer pitching in Toledo. Emily Waldon thinks that’s enough to see him at some point this season in the bullpen for the Tigers.

What I find most interesting is that both Turley and Detroit decided he should become a full-time knuckleball pitcher. It’s essentially become his ticket to the big leagues. He’s been pitching well enough to secure a long-relief spot in the bullpen. It shouldn’t be too long before the Tigers prospect finds himself pitching full-time in Comerica Park