The Athletic gives Tigers the edge in best-of-AL rotation battle against Red Sox

When the Detroit Tigers signed Drew Anderson to a $7 million contract, we had questions. What the club really needed was a running mate at the top for Tarik Skubal, but what they got was a fifth starter candidate with a career 6.50 MLB ERA who had spent the last four years touring Asia with stops in the NPB and then the KBO.

It was unclear if Anderson was actually better than Troy Melton, and we would have preferred to see the youngster get the opportunity. The bigger problem, though, was that this did nothing to solidify the top, where it looked as if Detroit would be relying on an inconsistent Jack Flaherty, an injury-prone Reese Olson, and the long-disappointing Casey Mize to find someone to step up and fill the void.

But then, in quick succession, the Tigers pounced. First was the splash for Framber Valdez, which sent a clear message to Skubal and everyone listening that they're serious about contending. Next was bringing Justin Verlander back home, and that isn't just about nostalgia. Suddenly, this group looks fierce.

The ferocity is getting recognized as The Athletic (subscription required) just recognized Detroit as having the best rotation in the American League, edging out the Boston Red Sox in the process.

The Athletic choosing the Tigers' rotation over the Red Sox is 100% right

The Tigers were always going to be looked upon favorably as long as Skubal is in Detroit, but Boston has one of the few aces who can truly rival him. Garrett Crochet was the AL Cy Young runner-up last season. He's no slouch and is the second-best lefty in the game.

Speaking of aces, it's a term that gets bandied about quite often, but isn't always well-defined. Sometimes, it refers to a team's No. 1 starter, but as we know, there's a huge difference between a guy like Skubal and, say, Kyle Freeland, the Colorado Rockies' No. 1 starter. Some might estimate that there are only 10-15 guys who truly fit the criteria of an ace, and if that's the case, you might be able to make that case for Valdez.

Over the past four seasons, Valdez is second in the league in innings pitched (767.2), 17th in ERA (3.21), and fifth in fWAR (16.5) among qualified starters. That certainly sounds like an ace. As The Athletic notes, Ranger Suarez, Boston's No. 2, is similar to Valdez in many ways, but comes up just shy of where Valdez is in most metrics. On top of that, he's never thrown more than 157.2 innings in a season. Of the two, it's clear that Valdez was the better choice.

Things get fascinating the further down you go. They gave the edge to Boston's Sonny Gray over Jack Flaherty, mostly on the strength of the metrics on his breaking ball, but overall, it's close. Gray had the better 2025, but Flahery was better in 2024.

In the battle of No. 4s, they pitted Casey Mize against Brayan Bello. This was another tough decision, but Mize was given the edge, mostly due to his possessing the better strikeout rate.

From there, the focus was on depth. The writers took Justin Verlander and the rest of Detroit's depth options like Anderson, Melton, and Keider Montero, and put them up against Boston's collection of Johan Oviedo, Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford, Payton Tolle, and Connelly Early. They gave the edge to Boston's depth, but we could see Verlander tipping the scales. He's 43, but he had a resurgent season last year and isn't that far removed from his dominant peak. More than anything, he provides a wealth of experience that few can match.

What we see here is just how transformative the addition of Valdez was. By slotting him in behind Skubal, everything got set in its right place, rightfully setting the Tigers up to have the best rotation in the American League, and one of the best in all of baseball.