Detroit Tigers: Justin Verlander faces Tigers for the first time

Here at The Corner, we round up Detroit Tigers news and rumors around the Tigers blogosphere so that you don’t spend hours surfing the web searching.

The Detroit Tigers faced off against Justin Verlander today in the series finale against the Houston Astros. It’s the first time Verlander has faced the club since being traded away last season. Current Tiger C/1B John Hicks hit a home run off of Verlander. Both Hicks and Verlander grew up in Goochland, Virginia.

Michael Fulmer had a poor outing against the Astros yesterday. He gave up ten hits to the ‘Stros and after he expressed frustration with the umpires.  Fulmer said that the ump was “god-awful”.

Matthew Boyd has been going through a slump as of late. Brad Faber, of Call to the Pen, writes that despite the slump Boyd has been battling through it. Kurt Mensching, of the Athletic, writes that Boyd’s struggles started when his slider began to diminish over the past five games.

Prospect Zac Houston has been climbing through the Detroit Tigers farm system. However, Lynn Henning writes that some work still remains for the Tigers prospect.  Over at the Athletic, Katie Strang had a Q&A with former Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich. Lolich was a member of the 1968 World Series Championship team. Lolich was overshadowed in ’68 but ultimately won three games for the Tigers in the fall classic.

Next: Exploring Matthew Boyd Trade Scenarios

The MLB All-Star week kicks off with the Futures game. The Athletic used twenty years of data to try and predict the future of participants in the game. Detroit Tigers prospect Dawel Lugo is one of the players in the Futures game. Lugo and Christin Stewart both made headlines this week in Emily Waldon’s Minor Details.

Finally, the Athletic talked to some MLB insiders to assess the options for the Tigers as the trade deadline approaches.