Thursday is the start of a four-game series that is exciting absolutely no one, between two of the worst teams in all of baseball. The Tigers, who are currently 30-67, travel to Seattle to take on the Mariners, who are 42-63. If you ignore the Mariners’ insanely hot start in April, however, they are right on par with the Tigers and Orioles in terms of how bad they are. Each of these teams is in the bottom five in the league in terms of earned run average. Which could mean at least we’ll get a high-scoring, entertaining series, right? Wrong. Both teams are also bottom six in the league in team batting average.
Sure, you can bet on these games, but I wouldn’t advise watching the actual games. Unless of course, you’re scouting for potential deadline deals, with Shane Greene, Nick Castellanos, Mike Leake, and Matt Boyd all among the hot names on the rumor mill.
Probable Pitchers
For the Tigers, Drew VerHagen will take the mound for his first start of 2019. He has, however, made 10 appearances out of the bullpen this season. His last game in a Tigers uniform came on May 4, when he gave up six runs in one inning. His numbers aren’t great in the majors this year, as he is 1-0 but has an earned run average of 15.00 (!!).
If you take out that disaster game where he gave up six earned, his ERA is still at 7.20, probably the reason he has spent the last two months in the minors. In the minors, he has been much better and is worthy of the call-up on a terrible team at least. In Triple-A this season, he has gone 4-2 in 11 starts and has a 4.42 ERA with a 3.90 FIP.
The Mariners have yet to name a starter for two of the games this series, the opener, and the finale. Based on who is on the 25-man roster, and without a roster move today, my bet is on Wade LeBlanc to get the ball. He last pitched five days ago and has already made seven starts for the Mariners this season. He is 5-3 with a 5.05 ERA so far this season. His last outing was against the Angels, where he pitched five innings out of the pen and gave up two earned runs.
Batter To Watch
Nicholas Castellanos has been in the Tigers organization since 2010, and these could be the last couple of games he ever plays for them with the trade deadline looming. He’s been the anchor of the offense for a while now, batting over .280 in three of the last four years and having back-to-back 20+ home run seasons. He’s a hot commodity this deadline, and for good reason, as his bat is very, very good. He’s had a wRC+ over 110 for the last four years and has accumulated 8.4 WAR in that span. His glove isn’t that great, as he has posted a negative UZR every season of his career, but he could be used as a DH in the AL for a team like Cleveland potentially.
The Pick
My goodness. This is like picking which car will be in better shape after both being doused in gasoline and lit on fire. I would take the Tigers solely because we know who their starter for the game is.
