Fulmer could be ready to face 'hitters' soon

Michael Fulmer is nearing the point in his rehab that the Tigers right-hander will be able to face hitters. There’s just one potential snag with that.

“I just don't have any hitters to throw to,” the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year Award winner joked to Tigers radio play-by-play broadcaster Dan Dickerson in an interview for "The Word on Woodward" show Tuesday.

Such is the reality of rehabbing from Tommy John surgery while baseball is suspended and the world is locked down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Yet in a twist of irony, a delayed start to the season has given Fulmer a chance to potentially be ready at the start.

Fulmer is no stranger to working out in relative isolation at the Tigers’ Spring Training facility. He has been at Tigertown in Lakeland, Fla., since the fall, when he began picking up his workout program following surgery on his right elbow in March 2019. He spent a good portion of the previous offseason there, too, while rehabbing from right knee surgery.

This past month or so, however, has been different. With Spring Training shut down and players either working out at home or in Detroit, Fulmer has been a player virtually on his own at times. Pitching prospect Joey Wentz has been there in the early stages of his recovery from Tommy John surgery last month. Non-roster invite Shao-Ching Chiang stayed rather than fly back to Taiwan.

The Tigers' training staff is there for rehabbing players like Fulmer. Clubhouse manager Jim Schmakel has been there since before Spring Training began. And that’s about it.

That hasn’t made it any less productive for Fulmer, who estimated he has thrown close to a dozen bullpen sessions off a mound.

“Right now I’m 100 percent pain-free,” Fulmer told Dickerson, “and happy with the way everything's going.”

It’s the next step that could prove tricky. Fulmer said he’s on schedule to face hitters in three weeks. But with no hitters on site, the trainers might have to step in.

“Those guys might have to wear a helmet, grab a bat and start hacking,” Fulmer said.

No, that won’t really happen, pitching coach Rick Anderson said Wednesday.

“Maybe in a couple weeks, he'll be ready to see hitters,” Anderson said in a conference call with reporters, “but I believe that'll happen once we get there and start our spring and that'll be our chance to get our eyes on Michael."

The general idea at this point is to do what the Tigers can to keep Fulmer on schedule. And as baseball’s schedule changes, Fulmer’s schedule becomes potentially more important.

From the day Fulmer was slated for surgery 13 months ago, the Tigers have been conservative with any speculation on when he might return. The typical recovery timetable is 14-16 months, and the Tigers were going to trend toward the long end of it. Thus, the idea for a Fulmer return has always been around July.

Until Spring Training stopped, the Tigers thought of Fulmer as a potential addition around the All-Star break. Now, with Major League Baseball trying to figure out when and how a season might take place, Fulmer could be a realistic part of it. He could be a major addition to a Tigers rotation that was shaping up to feature Matthew Boyd, Iván Nova, Jordan Zimmermann, Spencer Turnbull and Daniel Norris before Spring Training ended.

“I want to be ready by the time the season starts back up. Whenever that may be, nobody really knows,” Fulmer said.

That could happen. But, Anderson said, he’ll have to have something like a rehab assignment in Spring Training first.

“He's been patient this long,” Anderson said. “I think he can be patient a little bit longer.”