The Detroit Tigers have surprised many with their start to the season. And the team has people thinking they can make a run at the postseason (now that it’s a 60-game season and the playoff field was expanded).
But the biggest question entering the 2020 season, the biggest question entering Friday’s series opener against Cleveland, the biggest question from back in spring training, heck, the biggest question from the moment he was drafted two summers ago:
When will the Tigers call up Casey Mize?
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The No. 1 pick in 2018 showed flashes of dominance last season in the minors. He was shut down early, but 2020 was supposed to be, at least, the year he really got his cleats dirty in Triple-A.
Alas, that hasn’t happened, but Mize – along with several other top prospects in all of baseball – are in Toledo, trying to hone their skills and stay sharp.
For subscribers: Tigers must call up Casey Mize right now. What are they waiting for?
But stay ready for a possible call up to the Tigers? Well, not in Mize’s case.
Tigers general manager Al Avila spoke with MLB Network Radio on Friday. He was asked about the chances of Mize, 23, getting the call anytime soon.
“Our whole thing was, we need to get him more work,” Avila said. “Last year, he had a really good year, but we had to shut him down early … more as a precaution than anything.
“We felt this year, obviously we had a shortened spring training. Summer camp was not the greatest way to prepare for a season, either. Our main thing with Casey, and really a lot of our young pitchers, is we want to get them more time to build up pitch count, build up innings, work on their repertoire and not just throw them in the firs in a shortened season.
“For us, we want to err on the side of caution,” Avila said.
And with that, it sounds like you can cancel those hopes of Mize pitching at Comerica Park this season. Or Manning. Or Skubal. Or Faedo.
Notebook
The Tigers activated outfielder Cameron Maybin from the injured list on Friday. Maybin, 33, has been out since the first full week of the season with a strained right quad. The team sent Travis Demeritte back to Toledo to make room for Maybin on the 28-man roster.
Contact Kirkland Crawford: kcrawford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @HiKirkHere.