Right-handed pitcher Casey Mize returned to the mound today for the Detroit Tigers after missing two starts due to a right hamstring issue, and he didn’t skip a beat. In his first start off the disabled list, the 2018 first-overall draft selection pitched five solid innings, recording six strikeouts and a 34% chase rate on his pitches. The Tigers have what it takes to win it all, according to the depth of their starting pitching.
Casey Mize Returns to Mound After IL Stint
Mize’s advanced metrics aren’t very impressive, but his pitch mix may deceive batters. He possesses a slurve with crazy action and a nasty splitter. Although he only reaches a maximum velocity of 95 mph, his fastball is his second-best pitch because batters are only hitting.186 against it. Mize’s slider, which has kept batters to a.111 batting average, is his strongest pitch. Mize used his splitter and slurve more frequently in 2024 and 2025 while using his fastball less frequently. The movement of his splitter this season is what has batters swinging and missing, even if opponents went 0-for-15 against his slurve in 2024.Last season, opponents batted.286 against Mize’s splitter; however, with an anticipated batting average of.175, that number has now dropped to.229.
Something to Look Out For
Mize has struggled to produce strikeouts throughout his career; since making his major league debut in 2020, he has averaged fewer than one strikeout per inning. His 5% walk rate has aided him this season, but his 21% strikeout rate places him in the bottom half of pitchers. Mize has struck out 29 batters and walked just four in his previous 36 innings of action this season.We have witnessed comparable pitchers struggle with a lack of swing-and-miss, even though output like this may work throughout the regular season. Last season, Kodai Senga of the New York Mets is a prime example of this; although recovering from an injury, he struggled to put away hitters without his trademark “putaway pitch.” That could be Mize’s offspeed, but it will be interesting to watch how batters react to him in October.
What’s Next for Mize?
The more significant concern is how often Mize will be used for the remainder of this season. Mize has already reached his maximum of 150 innings pitched in his big league career, which was in 2021. Mize has already suffered one hamstring injury this season, and he has previously struggled with elbow problems that have hampered his 2023 campaign. One can only speculate as to what this implies for the workload of one of the Tigers’ top starts this season, given their chances of making a long postseason run.
