Tigers pick up 2015 1st-rounder Fulmer

The Tigers have followed Carson Fulmer ever since his high school days in Lakeland, Fla. They have watched some of his best work in the Majors as a division rival with the White Sox. They will now have a chance to try to rekindle his big league career.

After general manager Al Avila said he’d be looking for pitching help at the end of Summer Camp, the Tigers pounced to claim Fulmer off waivers. The White Sox designated him for assignment on Thursday after leaving him off their Opening Day roster.

Fulmer will join the team in time for Sunday’s series finale in Cincinnati. To make room on the roster, the Tigers optioned reliever David McKay to their alternate training site in Toledo. They did not need to make a 40-man roster move due to injuries.

“He's a high-velocity guy. He throws the living fire out of the ball,” Gardenhire said. “He has had a tendency to misfire a little bit. We're going to have to first get him to throw the ball over the plate. With that stuff, he should be successful. This guy wasn't one of those high picks for no reason. He's got a great arm, and now it's about being able to get people out in the big leagues throwing the ball over.”

The White Sox selected Fulmer with the eighth overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, 14 spots before the Tigers used their first selection that year to draft Beau Burrows. As Evan Woodbery of MLive.com pointed out, depending on how Detroit opens a roster spot, it could have six of the top 65 picks from that Draft on its 40-man roster, including Christin Stewart (34th), Kyle Funkhouser (35th), Daz Cameron (37th) and Tyler Alexander (65th).

By many scouts’ grades, Fulmer had the brightest outlook after posting a 24-3 record and 1.99 ERA over three seasons at Vanderbilt. He debuted in Chicago the next year with a fastball approaching the mid-90s and an upper-80s cutter.

Aside from a solid stretch in 2017, the results never came, in large part due to command issues. Fulmer walked three of the six Tigers batters he faced in his third Major League outing in 2016; all three eventually scored. He tossed a pair of very good starts in 2017, including six innings of one-run ball at Comerica Park that September, and he opened the next year in the White Sox rotation. But he walked 24 batters over 32 1/3 innings in eight starts and a relief appearance.

Fulmer went 1-2 with a 6.26 ERA last year with 20 walks and 25 strikeouts over 27 1/3 innings. His spin rate on his fastball ranked in the top 10 percent among big league pitchers, slightly higher than his career average, but he threw just 46 percent of his pitches in the strike zone.

Fulmer entered this season out of Minor League options, but his continued control issues led the White Sox to DFA him in hopes of working with him at their alternate training site. The Tigers, in search of young arms, took advantage, much like they did when they claimed David McKay off waivers from the Mariners last summer.

“This is a big arm,” Gardenhire said. “Our people have thought highly of him. When you throw that hard, if he can figure it out and get it under control, maybe [pitching Rick Anderson] can help him out, he can be an impact guy for us.”

Instant replay rule
One of the quiet changes among MLB’s rules for this shortened season was a reduction in how much time is allowed for a manager to call for replay review, from 30 to 20 seconds after a play is over. It didn’t come into play much for Gardenhire on Opening Day, but he noticed the difference on one close play at first base.

“Our guys are going to have to be on it,” Gardenhire said. “It went fine. We checked it, the play at first base, and we said OK. And it happens quick. That 20 seconds does cut down, but they want to keep this game going, and I agree.”

The Tigers’ replay crew was efficient Saturday in spotting that C.J. Cron had beaten Freddy Galvis’ throw to first on a third-inning ground ball. Their first challenge of the season was successful; the initial out call was overturned after a 52-second review.

Stat of the day
When C.J. Cron homered on Opening Day, he became the first Tiger to homer in his first game for the club since Pete Kozma homered after being called up by the Tigers on May 9, 2018, at Texas. Kozma’s blast was the fifth of his seven-year Major League career. Cron’s homer Friday was his 115th.