Forgotten Former First Round Pick Is 'Absolutely in the Mix' for Starting Spot
One of the themes surrounding the Detroit Tigers this offseason is whether or not they will aggressively add another top starting pitcher to pair with their superstar ace Tarik Skubal, who is expected to unanimously win the AL Cy Young Award on Nov. 20.
During the playoffs, despite their magical run, it was clear that manager A.J. Hinch didn't have much faith in his starting staff when he opted to throw bullpen games whenever Skubal wasn't slated to start.
Going forward, that has to be addressed.
There are plenty of star players on the open market this winter, but without it being known if ownership will allow the Tigers front office to spend, they might not be in the running to add one of the top arms in free agency.
One of the reasons why they could opt to just add a veteran starter is because of how many talented young players they have in their organization.
From Keider Montero to Jackson Jobe to Casey Mize, Detroit is hoping all three of them hit and turn into the rotation pieces they were projected to become.
But there is another player who will be in the running this Spring Training.
The Tigers aren't ruling out their 2016 first-round pick Matt Manning despite him having a rough season this past year where he only appeared in five games throughout the campaign.
"He comes in absolutely in the mix and can factor in in any number of situation. Matty has learned a lot about himself and about pitching and had to grow through an up-and-down season last year. But I think for a lot of people, there's some recency bias. We have to remember, he was basically on our team for a large part of the first half of the season as that spot starter and rainout guy, and he showed things that he can do well. We certainly will give him an extended look to be part of the winning this spring," the skipper said per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News.
The career of Manning has been strange.
Ranking within the top three of Detroit's prospect rankings every year from 2018-2021, he put together a very solid minor league career that included being named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year in 2019.
Manning made his Major League debut in 2021, and despite a rough first campaign with a 5.80 ERA across his 18 starts, the overall numbers he's produced tell a different story about the type of pitcher he can become.
His career ERA is 4.43 in 50 starts, good for an ERA+ that is six points below the league average, however, in 2023 and 2024, his ERA+ was 114 and 121 respectively across his 12 and 15 starts during those two seasons.
The Tigers will give him a look this winter and during Spring Training as told by Hinch, so it will be on the 26-year-old to come in ready to make an impact and get his MLB career on track.
