Detroit Tigers: Matthew Boyd aiming to snowball quality outings

Detroit Tigers pitcher Matthew Boyd looking for consistency.

As the Detroit Tigers start to get underway and continue through the end of April, they are starting to see what their players will give them. There's a long way to go, and things can change, but for some players, it indicates what might come as the season continues.

For Detroit Tigers southpaw Matthew Boyd, it will be a lot of him looking to remain consistent. He will aim to go out and execute each start, being able to piece together a stretch of good starts. He's been alright in 2023 but needs to be a little bit better and then start snowballing starts.

While no one expects Boyd to be the ace or some number one arm, even Boyd knows that. He's doing what he can to be a quality option in the middle of the rotation. After all, Boyd missed a ton of time with flexor tendon surgery and was only able to work out of the bullpen upon his return last season before signing with Detroit this winter.

But in 2023, he's back on the mound as a starter and back in Detroit. He spent the Spring getting ramped up to speed and has been working in the middle of the rotation for the Tigers early on. He has made three starts on the season and is looking to keep tallying good outings.

Boyd has accumulated 14.0 innings of work, allowing seven runs by way of 12 hits and nine walks. He has 11 punchouts in that 14-inning span. Overall, Boyd has been able to pitch serviceably. There's room to be better, but there's a ceiling to what Boyd can offer in this rotation; he needs to get up a little bit from where he is.

Looking at it on a start-by-start basis from Boyd, here's how things have shaken out...

In his first start of the season, Boyd went 4.1 innings against Houston, holding them to two runs with just two hits. He walked three and punched out three as well. The bullpen claimed the win as the Tigers took home a win.

In his next start, Boyd went 4.2 innings against Boston, getting beat up a little bit more. He only allowed two runs but was tagged for five hits, walking four as well. He punched out 4 in the effort and was assigned the loss.

In his most recent start on Tuesday against Cleveland, he held the Guardians to three runs over five innings. While it's a season-high in runs, he still was alright. He allowed five hits, walked only two, and was able to punch out four along the way.

The results could be a little bit better, but if he's going to be a 5-inning starter giving up two or three runs an outing, so be it. He needs to be efficient for the Tigers in his outings. That's what the Tigers are hoping for, efficiency and consistency.

Boyd is looking to do the same. He needs to get some good starts under his belt and keep moving in the right direction. That's his ticket to being a valuable piece of this rotation. There's room to be a bit better from where he's been, but hopefully, he can start trending upward as the season continues.