Ausmus: Calling Up Double-A Reliever Joe Jimenez Would Be A 'Bad Decision'
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) -- The Detroit Tigers bullpen is once again a major topic of discussion in 2016.
After years of ineptitude, this season actually started out promising, but things eventually evened out. The Tigers now have the fourth-worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball -- 4.57.
Fans and media members alike have wondered what the team can do to shore up the 'pen struggles, one potential answer being the promotion of 21-year-old reliever Joe Jimenez.
Manager Brad Ausmus disagrees with that idea, saying Friday that Jimenez -- who hasn't pitched above the Double-A level -- still needs time to come into his own.
"Everybody thinks that the guy doing well in the minors is the answer," Ausmus said before Friday's series opener against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park. "There's a huge difference between Double-A and major-league hitters."
Jimenez has been stellar in the minor leagues this season -- he hasn't given up a run in 26 1/3 innings pitched and has posted an absurd 18.6 strikeouts per nine innings rate.
Ausmus knows that Jimenez's fastball -- which reaches the mid-90s -- is a weapon, but thinks he needs to develop the rest of his arsenal before a call-up.
"I think Joe Jimenez has a chance to be a good major-league pitcher, he certainly has a plus fastball," Ausmus said, "but it takes a really special fastball to pitch with just one pitch at the major league level, even as a reliever."
The Tigers have found success bringing another young pitcher up from Double-A this season. Michael Fulmer is one of this season's best surprises, but the Tigers might be pushing their luck thinking that Jimenez will have that kind of immediate impact in Detroit.
"He's still developing, he has a chance to be a good major league pitcher, but to rush him just because he's had a good three months and stunt his development would be a bad decision," Ausmus said.
