It's just one start, with several more to follow. Only two innings, with dozens more to come. But in his first test of the spring on Tuesday, Casey Mize took his first step toward making the Tigers' Opening Day roster.
Mize held the Pirates without a run and without a hit in two innings of work. He struck out three and walked three.
"He threw the ball well," said A.J. Hinch. "I think he got a little excited to punch a few guys out and got a little erratic late (in counts). He did a good job of getting to two strikes, but (put-away) fastballs are good for him. He's going to get a lot of those when guys see his secondary pitches. He has the ability to be the most unpredictable of any of our guys, given that he's got so many weapons.
"I know he expects perfection out of himself, but it was a solid outing, albeit with a few too many walks."
The walks will bother Mize, no doubt. So will this: 45 pitches in two innings, 25 of them for strikes. Efficiency was an issue for Mize last season for the first time in his career, one he wants to correct this season.
That said, new Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter has Mize working on a number of tweaks to his approach this spring -- like more fastballs up in the zone. So right now, a lack of command should be expected.
Otherwise, Mize looked sharp, getting three ground-outs to go along with his three strikeouts. He also induced six whiffs. He threw first-pitch strikes to four of the last five batters he faced.
"Felt great," said Mize. "Thought my stuff was really good, and I wasn't really spraying. Definitely not happy about three walks, but didn't feel like I didn't have control of anything. Just trying to overpower guys led to a few misfires.
"But the big takeaway from today is I was just super happy to be in front of fans again. That was just such a pleasure. Man, I'm never going to take fans for granted ever again. I really enjoyed myself out there."
With Matthew Boyd, Spencer Turnbull, Jose Urena and (likely) Michael Fulmer locked in as starters for Detroit, Mize is vying for one of the final spots in a potentially six-man rotation.
"It's just good to be here in the spring with a chance to break camp with the team," he said last week. "The last two times I was here was just to show face and gain some experience and be around the guys. This time I have an opportunity in front of me to make the team. It's just up to me to compete and perform and go take it."
He took a good step on Tuesday.
