28-year old lefty Phil Coke has been removed from the starting rotation. Coke started 5 games in June and he was 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. Coke has pitched in 16 games (14 starts) for the Tigers overall this year and he is 1-8 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Coke will be replaced in the rotation by 25-year old lefty Charlie Furbush. Furbush has been impressive with the Tigers this year while working out of the bullpen. Furbush has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Tigers so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He pitched in 8 games (all starts) earlier this year in AAA-ball and he was 4-3 with a 2.91 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. This was the right move for the Tigers to make. I think Furbush will be a solid starter and Coke will go back to being a solid reliever for the Tigers.

The Detroit Tigers picked 22-year old righty reliever Chance Ruffin with the 48th overall pick (1st round) of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft. Ruffin didn’t get to pitch last year in the minors but he seems to be on the fast track to Detroit. Ruffin has pitched in 30 games (0 starts) for the Tigers in AA-ball this year and he is 3-3 with 9 saves, a 2.18 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Ruffin has only allowed 21 hits in 33 innings in the minors so far this year with 41 whiffs, which shows just how nasty he has been. But, he has had some issues with his control as Ruffin has walked 16 batters already this year. Ruffin came into this year as the Tigers’ #7 prospect according to Baseball America and he’s showing why he was ranked that high in the minors this year. He could make his debut with the Tigers this September when rosters expand as long as he keeps pitching like he is right now.

28-year old righty swinging 1B Miguel Cabrera is on absolute fire with the bat for the Detroit Tigers. He has played in 24 games so far this June and he is 30 for 80 (.375 avg, 1.108 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 5 homers, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Cabrera has now played in 78 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 88 for 267 (.330 avg, 1.023 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 15 homers, 52 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Cabrera also has a great eye at the plate as he has walked 59 times while only whiffing 42 times so far this year. Teams are starting to pay lately for pitching around Cabrera as Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta have been swinging good sticks all year around.

In 1976, a young righty starter named Mark Fidrych took over not just Detroit, but all of baseball. Fidrych used to talk to himself on the mound which was amusing. Fidrych pitched in 31 games (29 starts) for the Tigers in 1976, and he was 19-9 with a 2.34 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Fidrych threw 24 complete games, 4 shutouts and he finished both of the games in which he appeared as a reliever. He gave up 217 hits in 250 1/3 innings despite not missing a lot of bats as he only whiffed 97 batters. Fidrych was the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1976. He was also an All-Star, he finished #2 in the Cy Young Award voting and he finished #11 in the MVP voting. Fidrych was never the same after 1976 as he dealt with injuries quite a bit in Detroit. Fidrych pitched in 58 games (56 starts) in his five year major league career (all with the Tigers) and he was 29-19 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He completed an amazing 34 of his 56 starts (60.7%) in his career with the Tigers. Fidrych died in 2009, but he won’t be ever forgotten in Detroit.

28-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Verlander is having the best season of his major league career in 2011. He has been especially dominant so far this month. In his four starts in June, Verlander is 4-0 with a 1.06 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP. Verlander has only given up 18 hits and 3 walks this month while whiffing 34 batters in 34 innings, which shows just how nasty he has been. Verlander has now started 16 games this year for the Tigers and he is 9-3 with a 2.54 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He has only allowed 77 hits while whiffing 110 batters in his first 120 2/3 innings this year! Verlander has 4 complete games already this year, including 2 shutouts and a no-hitter. This could be the year that Verlander takes home the Cy Young Award while getting his Tigers back to the playoffs.