Detroit Tigers all-time starting rotation by WAR

Mickey Lolich - 46.7 WAR

Coming in at #4 is Mickey Lolich who probably would have been on most fans' lists regardless of how they evaluate players. Lolich was a fixture in the Tigers' rotation from 1963 to 1975 while putting up a 3.45 ERA and 3.19 FIP in well over 3,000 innings for Detroit. He also had some of the peripherals that modern fans will appreciate more, particularly his 7.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in his Tigers career.

Again, traditional baseball fans have a lot to like in Lolich as well. He won 207 games, was a three time All-Star, finished in the top 3 in Cy Young voting twice, and was an absolute innings workhorse with six straight seasons where he pitched more than 270 innings.

Lolich may honestly be most fondly remembered for his work in the 1968 World Series. Lolich was the original Mad-Bum as he pitched in three games in that Fall Classic including having to face off against Bob Gibson in Game 7 after throwing two complete games earlier in the series. However, Lolich matched Gibson pitch for pitch through six innings, the Tigers finally broke through in the seventh, and Detroit completed the World Series comeback.

In short, Lolich should be an auto-include in any all-time Tigers rotation. He is the Tigers' franchise leader in strikeouts and third in innings pitched while checking the metrics boxes needed to warrant inclusion here.