Michael Fulmer Is The Front-Runner For The AL Cy Young [BLOG]
By Dan Jenkins
@DanTJenkins
For the first time in years, the Detroit Tigers were sellers at the 2015 trade deadline.
General manager Dave Dombrowski tried to get as much as he could for pending free agents David Price and Yoenis Cespedes, and was able to corral three young pitchers in return.
Daniel Norris was expected to be the class of that group. He was the fifth-best left-handed pitching prospect in baseball in 2014, according to MLB.com.
One year later, it isn't Norris the one who's dominating the league -- it's Michael Fulmer who has become an ace in the Tigers rotation.
Fulmer came over from the New York Mets in the Cespedes trade. The Mets could afford to give up their top pitching prospect for a powerful bat because of their already young and intimidating rotation.
Fulmer was pulled into the big leagues in late April 2016 after an injury to Shane Greene left the Tigers in need of a fifth starter. His first month with the team was average at best, as he posted a 4.03 ERA in May.
Since then, Fulmer has arguably been the best pitcher in baseball.
He gave up two earned runs in 29.2 innings pitched in June and has only given up more than two runs in a game twice since May 21.
The 23 year old has given up zero runs in six different starts this season, culminating in the first complete game shutout of his career on Sunday against the Texas Rangers.
That game gave him enough innings pitched to qualify in the American League statistics race, where he now leads the league in ERA (2.25).
He's third in the league in WHIP (1.02), first in WAR (5.1), second in OPS against (.604) and second in batting average against (.209).
Fulmer has also shown that he can pitch in big situations against elite teams. His ERA against some of the top teams in the American League this season -- Cleveland, Baltimore, Toronto, Boston and Texas -- is 3.08 in six starts.
Also impressive is that almost all of his success has come away from Comerica Park, as he has made 14 of his 19 starts on the road this season. He has a 2.56 ERA on the road and a 1.41 ERA at home.
Many say that his numbers surely put him in the lead for the Rookie of the Year award, but he's better than that. If he keeps on this pace for the remainder of the season, there's no reason why he shouldn't be taking home multiple awards this fall, including the Cy Young.
