This former top prospect’s lowkey resurgence is good news for Tigers’ rotation depth

Sawyer Gipson-Long has suddenly become interesting again. The season stat line is still a mess. But the signs of a turnaround are starting to show. Through ten minor league appearances, Gipson-Long owns a 4.46 ERA with 34 strikeouts over 36 1/3 innings for Triple-A Toledo. So we’re not ready to throw a parade just yet.

But the Tigers should care about the direction this is going. Gipson-Long’s latest outing against Columbus was his best sign yet that there’s something still here for Detroit this season. He went five innings, allowed five hits, gave up two earned runs, walked nobody and struck out eight. The strikeout numbers jump off the page. But so does the no-walk part. He stretched to five innings while generating 12 whiffs on 44 swings.

The Tigers rotation depth has already been forced into uncomfortable places. Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Casey Mize, Justin Verlander, Jackson Jobe, all starters that have created real holes in the rotation. The Tigers have had to think about innings, durability and backup plans much earlier than they would have preferred. So when someone like Gipson-Long starts stacking better outings at Toledo, it’s kind of a big deal. And it could be a possible answer.

Sawyer Gipson-Long is giving the Tigers a reason to pay attention again

The easy mistake would be pretending Gipson-Long’s path has been smooth. It hasn’t been even close.

He flashed a ton of potential in 2023, and the strikeout stuff immediately grabbed attention. In four September starts that year, he posted a 2.70 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 20 innings. Then the injuries took over.

Tommy John surgery. Hip surgery. A climb back. It’s a return that was never going to be clean. Gipson-Long is trying to rebuild rhythm, stamina, command, feel and trust in his body after a medical detour that can easily knock a career sideways.

His performance in May is more encouraging than the surface numbers suggest. His first two outings were rough. He allowed three earned runs in 3 1/3 innings against Memphis, then three more in only two innings at Omaha. 

Then the tone changed. By May 20, the shape of the comeback started to look different. He gave Toledo 3 2/3 scoreless innings against Indianapolis and punched out six. Five days later, he backed it up by holding Columbus to one run over four innings. Then came his most recent start on May 30, when the outing finally had all the pieces at once.

That’s the progression the Tigers needed to see. His May totals still came with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP, so we don’t need to think about seeing his name in the Tigers postseason graphics, if they even make it there. But the later outings were noticeably more promising than the earlier ones. And that’s most important.

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