Tigers' pitching coach excited for prospects

Tigers pitching coach Rick Anderson was just getting used to writing Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal and Alex Faedo into his pitching order. It was just Spring Training, not a regular rotation, but there was an excitement watching them progress.

"We got them chances to get in games and they were a lot calmer than I thought," Anderson said on a Wednesday morning conference call with reporters. "I remember Mize's first outing. He was overthrowing and throwing the ball everywhere, and the next outing he was under control and looked like he figured things out."

Anderson had Mize, Manning and Faedo lined up to pitch against the Yankees in Tampa, Fla., for a Friday night game slated to be televised on Fox Sports Detroit. The coronavirus pandemic forced the suspension of Spring Training that Thursday.

• Tigers' Top 30 prospects

Now, what lies ahead for the Tigers' top pitching prospects is anyone's guess.

"Like everything, it's up in the air," Anderson said. "Obviously, in the perfect world, you would've loved to see the Minor League season going and see those guys start and get going and progressing that way. What's going to happen after this, I don't know what the plan is. Nobody really knows. It's just going to happen.

"Should they go play winter ball? Should they play in the [Arizona] Fall [League]? I don't know."

A large part of that will depend on what form a Major League season might take place, as well as the Minors. That aforementioned Spring Training outing against the Yankees was likely to be one of the last for the prospects before they were reassigned to Minor League camp. From there, they were expected to open the season at Triple-A Toledo, a mere hour's drive and a call-up away from Comerica Park. While it's unfair to assume they would be in line for midseason call-ups -- the same was said for Kyle Funkhouser and Beau Burrows last year -- it was a reasonable expectation.

When Spring Training was suspended, Anderson talked to the prospects and all of his pitchers about how to stay in pitching shape without wearing down their arm. He also told them to keep an eye on the news and ramp up their throwing program if and when it looks like baseball might resume.

"I've called them one by one," Anderson said, "and to a man most of them are getting on a mound once a week. Most of them are able to long toss and get on a mound once a week and get their deliveries in order. Just do what you're doing, one 'pen [session] a week."

Tigers ace Matthew Boyd has followed up on that, communicating with the prospects via group chat. The left-hander has followed up on the mentoring role he took with them during camp.

"He's really taken over for them, and it's pretty neat," Anderson said. "In the short spring that we did have, as we did bullpen [sessions], Matty Boyd was there to watch them. It's such a big group of them and all of them watch bullpen [sessions], but Matty was the constant, making sure he saw them and that way these kids felt comfortable they could go to him and ask him about things."

If the Tigers need extra pitching in a potentially compressed schedule, it's still reasonable to believe the prospects could be a part of that. Though the club signed veterans such as Zack Godley and Hector Santiago for starting depth, they were in camp as non-roster invites.

Anderson for his part is keeping it in perspective. There are plenty of other issues more pressing in the country than what the Tigers do with their prospects and for injured Michael Fulmer, who could be ready to rejoin the team around July. But Anderson hopes to have a chance to coach the organization's promising young arms in games that count in the standings, whether it's this year or down the road.

"That's the big wave we're looking at here in the future," he said, "and you'd like to be a part of it."