Detroit Tigers: Josh Smoker pitched in just one game for the Tigers

With the 2018 season coming to a close, we are providing year-end grades to each Detroit Tigers player who donned the Olde English D in 2018.

The Detroit Tigers completed the first year of what looks to be a multi-year rebuilding process. While the team was hard to watch at times, there is still plenty to evaluate from this season as we look ahead to the next few years.

As with any team, there were a lot of excellent performances, surprise performances, and of course disappointing performances. Here at Motor City Bengals, we are going to be evaluating each player who suited up for the Detroit Tigers this season. We will analyze how they performed, what their future holds in the Motor City, and we will provide them a grade.

Note: the grade will be relative to what was expected of them. So a player who performed well above expectations may earn a B or an A, even if their actual season numbers are not that elite. If you disagree, feel free to drop us a comment. We would love to have discussions about these!

Over the past year, the Tigers have brought in plenty of veterans to help with the rebuild and help mold the younger players. Mike Fiers and Leonys Martin were in that group of veterans. Some of the players the Tigers have brought in have been claimed off waivers.

The next player we look was claimed off waivers by the Tigers in July and by September Josh Smoker was released by the team.

Josh Smoker

The Tigers claimed Smoker off of waivers on July 28 from the Pirates. He spent nearly a month with Triple-A Toledo before being called up. With the big club, he pitched just 1.2 innings, walking two and striking out two.

The Tigers released him on September 6 ending his time in the Motor City.

Grade: D

Check back here daily for more player grades! And if you’d like to discuss any grades, please leave us a comment on our Facebook or Twitter page.