LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer didn’t look like himself Wednesday afternoon.
“It felt a little rusty,” Fulmer said Thursday morning.
“It’s kind of to be expected. Nothing moved the way it should.”
The 29-year-old, who transitioned from a starter to a reliever last season, pitched the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Joker Marchant Stadium for his spring training debut.
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Fulmer threw eight of 19 pitches for strikes and recorded one out before Tigers manager AJ Hinch removed him from the game. He allowed two runs on two hits and one walk, without a strikeout.
“Being out of sync with his delivery is something he’s got to work on to get into games,” Hinch said Wednesday. “If they’re synched up, great. If they’re not, you can see the ball not come out as hot. No concern, just need to get him back on the mound in a couple days.”
His fastball averaged 92.3 mph against the Pirates.
Last year, Fulmer sat around 96 mph.
“I think it’s just reps,” Fulmer said. “It brings me back to last spring. Everything felt good, just took a few outings to get going again. The level of concern is absolutely zero. You saw me last year. I’m just taking a while to get the adrenaline pumping again.”
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For his 19 pitches in Wednesday’s 6-6 tie, Fulmer used 10 sliders, five changeups, three four-seamers and one sinker. During the 2021 season, the righty primarily used his slider (39.9%), sinker (28.2%) and his four-seamer (17.5%).
His slider averaged 89.2 mph, also significantly slower than last season.
“I was trying to mix and match some pitches, trying to throw to the same side of the plate and work on things,” Fulmer said. “But when you can’t throw strikes, it’s hard to do that, especially with Tucker (Barnhart, catcher) back there, not knowing much about any of us.
“He was talking to me in the dugout saying, we should have done this, this and this. I’m like, hey, man, it’s spring training for a reason. Just throw pitches, get your work in, get your bulk up, get your pitching stamina up, and everything should be fine.”
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Fulmer posted a 2.97 ERA with 20 walks and 73 strikeouts over 69⅔ innings in 52 games (four starts) for the Tigers last season. He also recorded 14 saves, second on the team to left-handed closer Gregory Soto (18 saves).
As a reliever, Fulmer had a 2.53 ERA with 15 walks and 66 strikeouts in 57 innings.
He will return to his role as a high-leverage reliever in Hinch’s bullpen in the 2022 season, meaning he won’t be an option as a starting pitcher. He won the American League Rookie of the Year as a starter in 2016.
“It’s just about being consistent with mechanics and stuff,” Fulmer said. “Right now, we’re still searching. Yesterday, the arm path was a little longer than usual after we shortened up last year. It’s all about timing with the lower body and the hips. I felt out of sync yesterday, but hey, that’s what spring training is for, and that’s what we’ll fix going forward.”
Rocket comes to TigerTown
The Tigers were greeted by a surprise visitor — seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens — during Thursday’s team meeting. Clemens, 59, is in Lakeland for the next week or so to visit his son, Kody Clemens.
In Thursday’s meeting, the Tigers players and coaches watched Miguel Cabrera’s opposite-field home run off Clemens in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series. The matchup pitted a 20-year-old Cabrera and a 41-year-old Clemens.
“They roasted me,” Clemens said.
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“I had to poke fun at him,” said Hinch, who homered off Clemens in August 1999. “We reviewed his World Series at-bat with a young Miguel Cabrera. Talk about uncomfortable at-bats. He threw at his face, and then Miggy took him deep. The boys had fun with that.”
That year, Cabrera’s Florida Marlins beat Clemens’ New York Yankees to win the World Series. It was Cabrera’s rookie year; he hit .268 with 12 home runs across 87 games in the regular season.
“Miggy has such a young face,” Hinch said. “What was cool about it is, all we really want to do is have as many people in that room experience what only a few in that room have, which is win a World Series. When you see someone at the beginning of a Hall of Fame career in Miguel facing Roger towards the tail end of his career, it’s just a good reminder that it can happen anytime in your career, whether you’re ready for it or not.”
Still waiting
Right-hander Michael Pineda has been preparing for the season in TigerTown, and he’s always bouncing around in the clubhouse, but he won’t be an official employee of the Tigers until his work visa arrives.
For now, his wait continues.
“I’ll be ready,” Pineda said. “Whenever the visa comes, I’ll be ready to work.”
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The Tigers signed Pineda to a one-year, $5.5 million contract last week. He can make up to $2.5 million in incentives based on innings pitched. If he throws 175 innings in 2022, the 33-year-old will earn his full performance bonus package.
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