Jon Heyman’s Tarik Skubal report aged better than Tigers fans wanted to admit

Jon Heyman has unfortunately become a required voice in the string of Tarik Skubal updates. Sure, Heyman was wrong in his initial reporting of Skubal missing his last scheduled start for the Detroit Tigers, but his connection to Scott Boras is something that can't be ignored. When Heyman reports on Skubal, chances are it's what Boras wants out in the open.

Heyman has consistently been the MLB insider to suggest that Skubal can come back earlier than expected, and that was the impression of his latest intel on Friday when he reported that Skubal was already playing catch, and he could be back in the Tigers' starting rotation sooner than the initial timeline of two months.

Highlighting just how obscure the reporting on Skubal has been, ESPN's Buster Olney added that Skubal is "lightly tossing" as a way to confirm Heyman's reporting.

"Playing catch" and "lightly tossing" appeared to be the extent of the updates until the Tigers provided concrete information. Along those lines, it became fair to question how much of Heyman's reporting was actual intent compared to information that Boras was feeding him.

Suffice it to say Tigers fans were skeptical at best when it came to judging the veracity of Heyman's reports. But Monday's update — from local beat reporters, no less — that Skubal was already throwing off a mound in Detroit offered reason to believe that Heyman wasn't simply peddling false hope.

Jon Heyman's reports on Tarik Skubal's injury recovery may have been accurate after all

Typically, the stages of recovery from an elbow surgery go from playing catch, throwing from distances, throwing off a pitching mound, and then throwing live bullpen sessions before a minor-league rehab assignment. It would seem inevitable that Heyman (cough, cough, Boras) will eventually float out the possibility that Skubal may not need a minor-league rehab assignment, considering how "minimal" his surgery was.

Based on Heyman's timeline, the middle of June is a possible window for when Tigers can expect to see Skubal return to game action. There's an obvious need to take that date with a grain of salt, given that recovery from elbow surgery isn't linear. Not to mention, if the Tigers don't turn things around, it's fair to speculate if Boras may attempt to extend that timeline even further.

The silver lining to the oddity that is Heyman being the mouthpiece for Boras in providing updates on Skubal is that the pitcher's surgeon did confirm the procedure wasn't as invasive as other surgeries.

Updates on Skubal — especially those coming from Heyman — weren't going to be taken seriously until he was actually activated off the IL. But Monday's update went a long way toward quelling fans' doubts.

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