Shane Greene is good.
In 14 appearances so far this season, Greene has a whopping 12 saves (in 12 opportunities), a 1.29 ERA, 2.48 FIP, and — excuse me while I clean my glasses — a 0.64 WHIP. Yow. Greene, who took over closer duties in 2017, has shown glimmers of really top-notch stuff in the past, but this season we are getting a look at what a healthy, and keyed-in Greene looks like, and it is dominant.
So dominant in fact, that Greene was selected as the AL reliever of the month for April. The award, which has only been around since 2017, has never been given to a Tigers player since its inception.
Yes, it’s safe to say Greene has the stuff right now, and it is creating an air of excitement about the Tigers bullpen we haven’t seen in a long time. And say what you want about whether or not saves matter, Greene leads the American League, and is second in baseball with them right now.
Spencer Turnbull has his own leading stat
Saves may or may not matter, let’s not argue about that, but rookie starter Spencer Turnbull is leading MLB in his own category: hit by pitch.
Turnbull and Diamondbacks pitcher Matt Koch are currently tied at five hit by pitches apiece. It is, perhaps, not the stat anyone wants to lead in, but I think it shows an element of exciting enthusiasm in Turnbull’s pitching (none of the HBP were intentional). Four of those came over two starts.
Taking the FanPulse on Ron Gardenhire
If you aren’t signed up for our FanPulse, this is your semi-regular reminder to get in on that! We look for your feedback on Tigers performance, players, and how you feel about the team in general.
This week, everyone continues to be pleased with Ron Gardenhire as the manager. Admit it, you love the dad jokes and Kelly Clarkson ring tone. I mean, these are some pretty darned consistent approval ratings.
Stephen Strasburg wins the 1500
On Thursday night in Nationals Park, Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg punched out St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson. That’s not surprising. However the punchout was not only the 1,500th of Strasburg’s young career, but made him the fastest pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone.
Strasburg reached the 1,500 strikeouts mark just two days after Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia became just the third lefty to reach 3,000 strikeouts. Sabathia claimed the 17th spot on the overall career strikeout list in the process.