Detroit Tigers Team Notes Over 3 Million Views!!! Thankyou!

[kalinecountry]

Hunter continues to rest after hamstring cramp.
DETROIT -- Torii Hunter was walking around the Tigers' clubhouse slowly and carefully Tuesday afternoon after leaving Monday's game against the Royals with a right hamstring cramp. It was more tightness than pain, but it was still significant.

"It just knotted up really bad," Hunter said. "We're just kind of icing it, treating it, trying to get the blood flowing in it."

Though he's listed as day to day, it's a severe enough injury that he sounded less than optimistic for a return for either of the remaining games of the Royals series.
"Hopefully by the Cleveland series, I'll be ready to go," Hunter said.

Hunter said he first felt the hamstring over the weekend series against Minnesota, starting with the long game Saturday and continuing into the Sunday afternoon game on short rest. It tightened on him when he went from first to third base on Victor Martinez's ninth-inning fly ball that Oswaldo Arcia dropped at the right-field fence.

Once he singled on Monday, he said, "I was trying to go two [bases] and right out of the box, I pushed it too hard."
It was a severe enough cramp, he said, that Miguel Cabrera carried him up to the clubhouse.
Tigers official site

 

[kalinecountry]

Ausmus, Jones working alongside struggling Verlander.
DETROIT -- Tigers manager Brad Ausmus had his share of struggling pitchers to handle over 17 years as a Major League catcher. He's now directly involved in the ongoing process to get Justin Verlander back to an effective form.

For the most part, Ausmus has left the business of tweaks and adjustments with Verlander to pitching coach Jeff Jones, who has worked with him to some degree since 2007. After Verlander allowed seven runs on 12 hits over six innings with help from badly located fastballs in his last outing, Ausmus provided another set of eyes on the matter.

Ausmus joined Jones and Verlander in the Tigers' video room Tuesday, looking over footage from his last two seasons of starts to try to detect what's different in his delivery now.

"All three of us looked at video together," Ausmus said Tuesday afternoon. "As a catcher, I've seen pitchers go through those types of things. Mechanically, I understand what's being talked about, what can go wrong. So I actively joined those two."

The video sessions are nothing new, but they're the first Verlander has had in a little while. At some point this season, Jones said they had agreed to take some time off of video work to avoid the risk of over-tweaking. Monday's outing brought them back.

And while it sounds familiar, Ausmus believes they found some adjustments to make.
"We definitely saw something different between a couple years ago and yesterday," Ausmus said.
Ausmus wouldn't specify, but said the difference is "easily correctable."
Ausmus has been consistent in saying it's not a velocity issue, but command. He also doesn't believe it's the start of a long-term transition for Verlander as he enters the back half of his career.

"I think that's premature," Ausmus said. "I don't think he needs to reinvent himself. I don't think he needs to start throwing a knuckleball. We're talking about a guy who still throws 96. He hit 98 a few times in Chicago. We're not talking about someone who's gone from throwing 100 to 91. This guy still has it in him. I don't think he's at the point where he needs to reassess his approach to getting hitters out that drastically."
Tigers official site

 

[kalinecountry]

Adjustments helping rookie Castellanos adapt at plate.
DETROIT -- The transition to life in the Majors hasn't always been an easy one for Tigers rookie third baseman Nick Castellanos, who has had to make adjustments.

For example, at the end of May, during a road series in Oakland, the 22-year-old worked with hitting coach Wally Joyner to come up with some solutions to the pitches that had been giving Castellanos the most trouble. For the most part, these were breaking balls low in the zone that Castellanos simply lacked the plate discipline to lay off of.

"It's difficult to hit well when you're swinging at bad pitches," said Castellanos, who debuted last season, but still has his rookie status.

Joyner and Castellanos also worked on the placement of his hands and feet.
There's more to it than just positioning and knowing which pitches to ignore. Pitchers at this level are far better equipped to take risks in crucial counts.

"This isn't the Minor Leagues -- you're not always going to get a 3-1 fastball, you're not always going to get a 3-2 fastball," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "These guys throw strikes with multiple pitches. A 3-2 count is no longer a fastball count. Not at the Major League level."

The adjustments have helped -- since that Oakland series, his batting average has risen from a season low of .229 to .274.
Tigers official site

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/06/tigers_royals_max_scherzer.html
Royals 11, Tigers 4: KC bombs Max Scherzer for 10 runs, knocks Detroit out of first place in division.
mlive

http://www.freep.com/article/20140617/SPORTS02/306170130/detroit-tigers-kansas-city-royals
Kansas City 11 - Detroit 4: Tigers fall out of first place in AL Central.
freep

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...s-fall-second-after-getting-crowned-by-Royals
Tigers fall to second after getting crowned by Royals.
detnews

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_06_17_kcamlb_detmlb_1&mode=recap_home&c_id=det
Max Scherzer off his game as Tigers fall out of first place.
Right-hander allows 10 earned runs on 10 hits over four-plus frames.
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/inde...d=det#gid=2014_06_17_kcamlb_detmlb_1&mode=box
Boxscore.
Tigers official site

http://newenglishd.com/2014/06/17/how-was-the-game-june-17-2014/
How Was The Game? (June 17, 2014).
from the nedtb

http://walkoffwoodward.com/?p=9513
Tigers Stink Again, Lose First Place To Royals.
from wwtb

http://www.blessyouboys.com/2014/6/...scherzer-knocked-around-for-10-runs-as-tigers
Royals 11 - Tigers 4: Max Scherzer knocked around for 10 runs as Tigers fall out of first place.
from bybtb

http://motorcitybengals.com/2014/06/17/detroit-tigers-lose-11-4-royals-take-first-place/
Detroit Tigers Lose 11-4 as Royals take First Place.
from mcbtb

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/06/losing_ways_becoming_long_dist.html
Brad Ausmus on struggles that have once soaring Detroit Tigers in second place: 'We're sick of it'.
mlive

 

[kalinecountry]

http://walkoffwoodward.com/?p=9515
Tigers? Struggles ? And Successes ? Boil Down To Their Starting Rotation.
from wwtb

 

[kalinecountry]

Tigers call up Reliever Chad Smith.

Tigers called up Chad Smith as #RelieverRoulette continues.
Tigers call up RHP Chad Smith from Triple-A Toledo, #Tigers will need to make a corresponding move. ....... Evan Reed?

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/06/report_detroit_tigers_promote.html
Detroit Tigers to promote right-hander Chad Smith to aid tired bullpen.
mlive

 

[kalinecountry]

June 18 in Tigers history:

1911 - at Bennett Park: The Tigers overcome a 12-run deficit, rallying to beat the Chicago White Sox, 16-15, after trailing, 13-1, in the fifth inning.

1922 - Tigers outfielder Harry Heilmann collects his 10th consecutive hit in a game against the Boston Red Sox at Navin Field in Detroit. Heilmann goes 4-for-4 for the second straight night as the Tigers defeat the Sox, 8-1. The 10 straight hits are one shy of Tris Speaker?s major league record.

1995 - at Tiger Stadium: Detroit beats Baltimore 10-8, giving Sparky Anderson the 2,158th managerial win of his career, placing him third behind Connie Mack and John McGraw.

2006 - the Tigers hit a franchise record eight home runs in their 12-3 rout of the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Brandon Inge and Chris Shelton each hit two, and Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen, Marcus Thames, and Vance Wilson each hit one. The win keeps Detroit 1 ? games ahead in the American League Central.

2010: The Tigers extend their win streak to 7 games with a 7 - 5 win over the Diamondbacks. Brandon Inge delivers the key hit with an RBI triple in the 8th.

Tigers players birthdays:

Tigers players who passed away:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Larry_Doby
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/dobyla01.shtml
Larry Doby 1959.

from baseball reference

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.freep.com/article/20140617/SPORTS02/306180029/detroit-tigers-kansas-city-royals
Detroit Tigers no sure thing in suddenly good division.
freep

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...cherzer-Justin-Verlander-don-t-start-dealing-
Tigers are doomed if aces Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander don't start dealing.
detnews

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.blessyouboys.com/2014/6/...fortunes-list-of-top-50-highest-paid-athletes
Fortune's list of top 50 highest paid athletes in American sports includes Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander.
from bybtb

http://fortune.com/fortunate50/floyd-mayweather-1/?xid=sportsillustrated
Fortune 50.

 

[kalinecountry]

http://beck.mlblogs.com/2014/06/18/chad-smith-reportedly-to-join-tigers-bullpen/
Chad Smith reportedly to join Tigers bullpen.
from JasonBeck'sTigersBlog

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-plunks-of-hazard-baseballs-order-of-the-purple-heart/
The Plunks of Hazard: Baseball?s Order of the Purple Heart.
from the Hardball Times

 

[kalinecountry]

http://blog.detroitathletic.com/201...utout-reminds-us-rapid-decline-complete-game/
Max Scherzer and the disappearance of the Complete Game.
from Detroit Athletic

 

[kalinecountry]

http://blog.detroitathletic.com/2014/06/18/don-wert-ty-cobb-common/
What Don Wert and Ty Cobb had in common.
from Detroit Athletic

 

[kalinecountry]

Today's Legend of the Game is Sam Crawford.

YEAR AGE TRAA RCAA FRAA OBA SLG OPS OWP RC/G AVG HR RBI SB G TEAM
1899 19 1 1 0 .318 .465 .782 .521 6.22 .307 1 20 6 31 Reds
1900 20 5 5 0 .314 .429 .744 .549 5.70 .260 7 59 14 101 Reds
1901 21 53 52 1 .378 .524 .903 .745 8.94 .330 16 104 13 131 Reds
1902 22 45 45 0 .386 .461 .848 .718 8.02 .333 3 78 16 140 Reds
1903 23 45 45 0 .366 .489 .855 .733 7.31 .335 4 89 18 137 Tigers
1904 24 16 12 4 .309 .361 .670 .586 4.60 .254 2 73 20 150 Tigers
1905 25 47 45 2 .357 .430 .786 .736 6.84 .297 6 75 22 154 Tigers
1906 26 15 20 -5 .341 .407 .747 .617 5.97 .295 2 72 24 145 Tigers
1907 27 48 50 -2 .366 .460 .826 .751 7.25 .323 4 81 18 144 Tigers
1908 28 16 41 -25 .355 .457 .812 .728 6.17 .311 7 80 15 152 Tigers
1909 29 35 38 -3 .366 .452 .817 .697 6.48 .314 6 97 30 156 Tigers
1910 30 18 18 0 .332 .423 .756 .613 5.24 .289 5 120 20 154 Tigers
1911 31 46 66 -20 .438 .526 .964 .755 10.33 .378 7 115 37 146 Tigers
1912 32 16 39 -23 .373 .470 .843 .690 7.15 .325 4 109 41 149 Tigers
1913 33 31 41 -10 .370 .489 .859 .700 6.99 .316 9 83 13 153 Tigers
1914 34 42 48 -6 .388 .483 .871 .744 6.60 .314 8 104 25 157 Tigers
1915 35 12 26 -14 .367 .431 .799 .646 5.61 .299 4 112 24 156 Tigers
1916 36 -9 11 -20 .359 .401 .760 .609 5.44 .286 0 42 10 100 Tigers
1917 37 -11 -8 -3 .204 .269 .473 .183 1.73 .173 2 12 0 61 Tigers
CAREER 471 595 -124 .362 .452 .814 .686 6.65 .309 97 1525 366 2517
LG AVG 0 0 0 .323 .338 .662 .500 4.30 .261 35 900 357

1) Crawford is 5th in Tigers history for career RCAA and 9th in TRAA.

RCAA RCAA
1 Ty Cobb 1319
2 Harry Heilmann 624
3 Al Kaline 546
4 Hank Greenberg 531
5 Sam Crawford 492
6 Charlie Gehringer 444
7 Norm Cash 419
8 Miguel Cabrera 373
9 Lou Whitaker 266
10 Bobby Veach 243

TRAA TRAA
1 Ty Cobb 1346
2 Hank Greenberg 618
3 Al Kaline 611
4 Harry Heilmann 490
5 Norm Cash 482
6 Charlie Gehringer 464
7 Bobby Veach 427
8 Lou Whitaker 369
9 Sam Crawford 367
10 Miguel Cabrera 330

2) Crawford holds the major league record for career triples.

1 Sam Crawford 309 Reds/Tigers
2 Ty Cobb 296 Tigers/A's
3 Honus Wagner 252 Colonels/Pirates
4 Tris Speaker 222 Red Sox/Indians/Senators/A's
5 Jake Beckley 221 Pirates/Giants/Reds/Cardinals
6 Fred Clarke 220 Colonels/Pirates
7 Roger Connor 218 Trojans/Giants/Phillies/Giants/Cardinals
8 Joe Kelley 194 Braves/Pirates/Orioles/Dodgers/Orioles/Reds/Braves
9 Paul Waner 190 Pirates/Dodgers/Braves/Dodgers/Yankees
10 Eddie Collins 186 A's/White Sox/A's

3) Crawford holds the major league record for career triples above the league average.

TRIPLES DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE
1 Sam Crawford 180 309 129 Reds/Tigers
2 Ty Cobb 150 296 146 Tigers/A's
3 Honus Wagner 111 252 141 Colonels/Pirates
4 Roger Connor 104 218 114 Trojans/Giants/Phillies/Giants/Cardinals
5 Joe Jackson 101 168 67 A's/Indians/White Sox
6 Willie Wilson 100 147 47 Royals/A's/Cubs
7 Fred Clarke 94 220 126 Colonels/Pirates
8 Roberto Clemente 93 166 73 Pirates
9 Dan Brouthers 91 177 86 Trojans/Bisons/Wolverines/Braves/Dodgers/Orioles/Colonels/Phillies/Giants
10 Elmer Flick 88 164 76 Phillies/A's/Indians

4) Crawford shares the MLB record for most seasons leading his team in triples.


T1 Willie Davis 13
T1 Sam Crawford 13
T3 Steve Finley 12
T3 Willie Wilson 12
T5 Vada Pinson 11
T5 Sherry Magee 11
T5 Brett Butler 11
T8 Johnny Damon 10
T8 Juan Pierre 10
T8 Roberto Clemente 10
T8 Robin Yount 10

5) Crawford hold the MLB records for most times leading the majors in triples and most times leading his league.

MOST TIMES LEADING THE LEAGUE IN TRIPLES


1 Sam Crawford 6
T2 Willie Wilson 5
T2 Stan Musial 5
T2 Lance Johnson 5
T5 Ty Cobb 4
T5 Jimmy Rollins 4
T5 Carl Crawford 4
T5 Jose Reyes 4
T5 Brett Butler 4
T10 Minnie Minoso 3
T10 Honus Wagner 3
T10 Cristian Guzman 3
T10 Zoilo Versalles 3
T10 George Brett 3
T10 Earle Combs 3
T10 Jimmy Williams 3
T10 Garry Templeton 3
T10 Joe Jackson 3
T10 Arky Vaughan 3
T10 Elmer Flick 3
T10 Willie Mays 3

MOST TIMES LEADING THE MAJORS IN TRIPLES

1 Sam Crawford 5
T2 Jose Reyes 4
T2 Willie Wilson 4
T4 Harry Stovey 3
T4 Cristian Guzman 3
T4 Stan Musial 3
T4 Lance Johnson 3
T4 George Brett 3
T9 Jimmy Williams 2
T9 Richie Ashburn 2
T9 Ty Cobb 2
T9 Arky Vaughan 2
T9 Juan Samuel 2
T9 Shane Victorino 2
T9 Elmer Flick 2
T9 Jeff Heath 2
T9 Brett Butler 2
T9 Jake Daubert 2
T9 Dave Orr 2
T9 Willie Mays 2
T9 Minnie Minoso 2
T9 Vada Pinson 2
T9 Bill Bruton 2
T9 Earle Combs 2
T9 Jose Offerman 2
T9 Roger Metzger 2

6) Crawford holds the MLB record for career triples and triples above the league average. On the other hand, Ivan Rodriguez was exactly league average in triples (51 vs. league average of 51). But, that unlikely pair are tied for 2nd in MLB history in most times leading their position in triples.

MOST YEARS LEADING THEIR POSITION IN TRIPLES

1 Honus Wagner 12
T2 Ivan Rodriguez 11
T2 Sam Crawford 11
T4 Paul Molitor 10
T4 Eddie Collins 10
T4 Roberto Clemente 10
T4 Stan Musial 10
T8 George Brett 9
T8 Arky Vaughan 9
T10 Darrell Porter 8
T10 Willie Wilson 8
T10 Lou Brock 8
T10 Buddy Myer 8
T10 Carl Crawford 8
T10 Roger Connor 8
T10 Ty Cobb 8
T10 Rod Carew 8

7) During the dead ball era (prior to 1920), Crawford was tied for 9th in HR and 4th in HR above the league average.

MOST CAREER HOMERUNS, DEAD BALL ERA

HOMERUNS HR
1 Sam Thompson 127 Wolverines/Phillies/Tigers
2 Roger Connor 124 Trojans/Giants/Phillies/Giants/Cardinals
3 Gavvy Cravath 118 Red Sox/White Sox/Senators/Phillies
4 Jimmy Ryan 112 Cubs/Senators
5 Mike Tiernan 106 Giants
6 Honus Wagner 101 Colonels/Pirates
7 Dan Brouthers 100 Trojans/Bisons/Wolverines/Braves/Dodgers/Orioles/Colonels/Phillies/Giants
8 Ed Delahanty 98 Phillies/Senators
T9 Cap Anson 97 Cubs
T9 Sam Crawford 97 Reds/Tigers

MOST CAREER HOMERUNS ABOVE THE LEAGUE AVERAGE, DEAD BALL ERA

HOMERUNS DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE
1 Gavvy Cravath 96 118 22 Red Sox/White Sox/Senators/Phillies
2 Sam Thompson 80 127 47 Wolverines/Phillies/Tigers
3 Roger Connor 70 124 54 Trojans/Giants/Phillies/Giants/Cardinals
4 Sam Crawford 62 97 35 Reds/Tigers
T5 Buck Freeman 60 82 22 Senators/Braves/Red Sox
T5 Home Run Baker 60 80 20 A's/Yankees
T7 Mike Tiernan 59 106 47 Giants
T7 Dan Brouthers 59 100 41 Trojans/Bisons/Wolverines/Braves/Dodgers/Orioles/Colonels/Phillies/Giants
9 Wildfire Schulte 55 92 37 Cubs/Pirates/Phillies/Senators
10 Fred Luderus 54 84 30 Cubs/Phillies

8) Crawford is 6th in Tigers history for overall bases and is 6th vs. the league average. (TB+BB+HBP+SB-CS-GIDP).

MOST CAREER OVERALL BASES, TIGERS

1 Ty Cobb 7379
2 Al Kaline 5985
3 Charlie Gehringer 5558
4 Lou Whitaker 4793
5 Harry Heilmann 4655
6 Sam Crawford 4525
7 Alan Trammell 4300
8 Norm Cash 4217
9 Hank Greenberg 3692
10 Donie Bush 3582

MOST CAREER OVERALL BASES ABOVE THE LEAGUE AVERAGE, TIGERS

OVERALL BASES DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE
1 Ty Cobb 2883 7379 4496
2 Al Kaline 1346 5985 4639
3 Hank Greenberg 1335 3692 2357
4 Harry Heilmann 1247 4655 3408
5 Norm Cash 1194 4217 3023
6 Sam Crawford 1109 4525 3416
7 Charlie Gehringer 1078 5558 4480
8 Miguel Cabrera 855 2612 1757
9 Lou Whitaker 695 4793 4098
10 Rudy York 649 2900 2251

9) Crawford ranks 7th in Tigers history for career extra base hits and is 4th vs. the league average.

MOST CAREER EXTRA BASE HITS, TIGERS

1 Ty Cobb 1062
2 Al Kaline 972
3 Charlie Gehringer 904
4 Harry Heilmann 806
5 Hank Greenberg 741
6 Lou Whitaker 729
7 Sam Crawford 721
8 Norm Cash 654
9 Alan Trammell 652
10 Bobby Veach 540

MOST CAREER EXTRA BASE HITS ABOVE THE LEAGUE AVERAGE, TIGERS

EXTRA BASE HITS DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE
1 Ty Cobb 485 1062 577
2 Hank Greenberg 372 741 369
3 Harry Heilmann 315 806 491
4 Sam Crawford 314 721 407
5 Al Kaline 269 972 703
T6 Norm Cash 194 654 460
T6 Charlie Gehringer 194 904 710
8 Miguel Cabrera 192 495 303
9 Rudy York 173 517 344
10 Bobby Veach 172 540 368

10) During 7 consecutive 10 year spans, the Tigers had less triples, as a team, in 10 years than Crawford had in his career.

1985-94 Tigers 296
1986-95 Tigers 280
1987-96 Tigers 271
1988-97 Tigers 271
1989-98 Tigers 272
1990-99 Tigers 282
1991-00 Tigers 291

All stats and charts were generated using the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia.

 

[kalinecountry]

To all of you that come to this thread regularly, I apologize for not being here to post as often during the day, especially Wednesdays.

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/06/analysis_detroit_tigers_were_a.html
Analysis: Awesome start, awful stretch adds up to Detroit Tigers team that looks pretty average.
mlive

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/06/detroit_tigers_designate_relie_1.html
Detroit Tigers designate reliever Evan Reed for assignment to clear spot for rookie Chad Smith.
mlive

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/06/detroit_tigers_decision_to_cut.html
Brad Ausmus: Detroit Tigers' decision to cut ties with Evan Reed 'absolutely not' connected to sex assault investigation.
mlive

http://www.freep.com/article/20140618/SPORTS02/306180110/detroit-tigers-evan-reed-smith
Detroit Tigers ship out Evan Reed to make room for Chad Smith.
freep

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...her-Chad-Smith-designate-Evan-Reed-assignment
Tigers call up pitcher Chad Smith, designate Evan Reed for assignment.
detnews

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...0087/Evan-Reed-s-slide-coincided-Tigers-swoon
Evan Reed's slide coincided with Tigers' swoon.
detnews

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.freep.com/article/20140618/SPORTS02/306190018/detroit-tigers-chad-smith-usc
Detroit Tigers' Chad Smith makes big leagues: 'I earned it'.
freep

Smith has quick path from rookie ball to Detroit.
After cruising in the farm system, Chad Smith is big league bound.
DETROIT -- Chad Smith spent the first year of his pro career rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Two years after his return, the right-handed sinkerballer is getting a chance in the big leagues, and the Tigers are getting a look at yet another reliever to try to address their overtaxed, underperforming bullpen.
After seven relievers combined for eight innings in relief of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer the past two nights, the Tigers purchased Smith's contract from Triple-A Toledo. In the short term, it adds a fresh arm to a Tigers bullpen that has had to cover too many innings recently. Beyond that, however, it adds a sinkerball-style pitcher to a relief corps that is heavy based around fastballs and sliders.
"He's not a guy that was really on the radar in Spring Training," manager Brad Ausmus said, "but he has pitched his way onto the radar over the first three months of the season."
Whenever Smith takes the mound, he will become the 14th player to pitch out of the Tigers' bullpen this season, a list that includes starters Drew Smyly and Robbie Ray and shortstop Danny Worth.
Smith has been a quiet success story for a Tigers organization that has struggled at drafting and developing relievers out of the middle rounds. Detroit took him out of USC in the 17th round of the 2011 Draft just two weeks after he had Tommy John surgery, knowing he would need a year of rehab before he could throw a professional pitch. Since Smith finally got into the system two summers ago, however, he has consistently delivered at every level, which made for a quick trip through the organization.
Smith was not on the radar entering the season because he had not pitched above Class A ball. Smith spent all of last season at West Michigan, but he pitched well enough to skip Class A Advanced Lakeland and open the season at Double-A Erie. He needed just seven outings there in April to earn a call up to Triple-A Toledo, where he has picked up where he left off.
Add up the two levels, and Smith posted a 5-2 record, 1.80 ERA and .220 batting average allowed. His stuff has the potential to translate to the big leagues.
"I didn't think it was going to be this early in the season," Smith said of his big league shot. "I was thinking maybe something later in the season or maybe next year. But it was clicking. I was throwing well."
Asked what clicked, Smith said: "My overall command of my fastball and my sinker down in the zone. I'm throwing the ball where I want to throw it for the first time since the surgery."
Smith's surgically repaired right arm can still throw in the mid-90s. More importantly, he throws it with sink, resulting in a 1.87 ratio of groundouts to flyouts with the Mud Hens. That ratio was 2.83 with Erie. At the same time, he is posting a near-even ratio of strikeouts to innings pitched.
"The catcher kept calling it, I kept throwing it and they weren't hitting it," Smith said of the sinker. "I just kind of rolled with that, sinker-slider pitcher."
Smith replaces hard-throwing Evan Reed, who was designated for assignment Wednesday morning after his month-long struggles dropped him from early-season bullpen savior to essentially a long reliever.

Reed's 4.88 ERA was essentially split between two stretches. He held opponents scoreless in 13 of his first 16 appearances this season, posting a 2.81 ERA, then gave up 19 hits over 11 2/3 innings in his final 11 appearances. While his strikeout rate rose, so did his damage as he struggled to keep his pitches down.
"I don't know that his pitches weren't working -- it's that he wasn't commanding the pitches, and he was getting behind hitters," Ausmus said. "He's at his best when he attacks the hitters. He's got a power arm and the ability to pitch at the Major League level. But he's got to get more consistent with his mechanics, especially with his slider."
Before he was released, Reed said he was executing his pitches but having trouble keeping them down in the zone. The Tigers have 10 days to trade Reed, release him or outright his contract to Triple-A Toledo. Because Reed was also designated last year with the Miami Marlins, he has the option of declining an outright assignment and becoming a free agent. If he did, however, he would forfeit his Major League contract.
Reed has been under investigation since April for an alleged incident with a woman at a downtown Detroit hotel on the weekend before Opening Day. Prosecutors reportedly have investigation results from Detroit police but have not decided whether to file formal charges.
Tigers official site