Who's revving the engine on The Rick Porcello Bandwagon today? Well, he's had a seat for a while, but the Detroit News' Lynn Henning reiterates what's fast becoming an inevitability: The kid should be on the roster. He's definitely in the picture.
Lest we think the decision is a consensus, however, Henning talked to a scout who cautions the Tigers not to be too impulsive:
"I don't know how well he's throwing this spring, as far as velocity, or location," the scout said, "but what I saw last summer was that he threw the ball knee-high and that I didn't see anything out of the ordinary other than his control.
"I didn't see anything close to the velocity that had been advertised. I didn't see a hammer curveball that I had heard about. Basically, he got players out because he threw strikes and kept the ball away from the middle of the plate. I didn't see anything in two appearances that indicated he was anything close to (Justin) Verlander or pitchers of that caliber."
As valid as the scout's concerns might be, hasn't he pushed himself to the back of the bus by admitting that it's been almost a full year since he's seen Porcello pitch? It's not like the kid was frozen in time, Mr. Scout. You're probably too late on this.
And as Henning points out, the Tigers have been rehashing all of the reasons not to bring Porcello up. The point is that his talent - and perhaps more importantly, his maturity - might very well supersede conventional wisdom. At what point are you doing things just because that's the way they're usually done? And when do such arguments simply hold you back?
Before you head out for the weekend, make sure to check out Peter's FanPost on Porcello, too.