Tigers' misery compounds after Casey Mize, Kenley Jansen injuries expose major problem

Casey Mize's exit after the fourth inning in Wednesday night's game had Tigers fans wanting to bang their heads into the nearest wall. It was only his third appearance since coming off of the IL following an adductor strain, and here he was, looking prepared to go right back onto it.

To make matters worse, Kenley Jansen was replaced after getting two outs in the ninth. Although he's avoided an IL stint so far, he dealt with groin discomfort in April and AJ Hinch pumped the brakes on his usage toward the end of the month.

Fans are still waiting to hear definitive updates. Mize, who was present in the locker room after the game, said he is in less pain this time than he was before his IL stint. Jansen wasn't in the clubhouse, which is even more ominous.

The Tigers ended up winning 4-0, but because they're one of the unluckiest teams in baseball, of course it had to come with some kind of cost. To whatever baseball gods are looking unfavorably on the Tigers right now, we say: really? Not just one pitcher but two?

Fans are fed up with the pitching staff's revolving door for obvious reasons, but it's also placed a finer point on a deep weakness within the Tigers organization as a whole. They're not developing pitchers right now. There is almost zero homegrown pitching depth.

Tigers' constant pitching injuries reflect poorly on their development of pitchers

The Tigers have two top-10 pitching prospects, lefty Andrew Sears (No. 9) and righty Malachi Witherspoon (No. 10), but neither are anywhere near the major leagues. Sears got to Double-A last year, but is currently on a rehab assignment in West Michigan. Witherspoon just made his professional debut in Single-A this year.

There was a time when the Tigers had the best pitching prospect in baseball in Jackson Jobe and more promising arms below him. Now, Jobe is an afterthought as he rehabs from Tommy John, and guys like Sawyer Gipson-Long or Drew Sommers are either perpetually injured or unable to live up to their former top prospect status.

So the Tigers can not only keep their major league staff healthy, they've neglected pitching development within the farm system. That feels like a top-to-bottom organizational failure.

Fingers are still crossed that Mize especially will turn out fine, but Tigers fans haven't been given a ton of reason to be optimistic recently.

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