Casey Mize admits it. Last year was tough. He showed up in the majors with all the hype of the top pitching prospect in baseball and then pitched like, well, like a rookie. He was occasionally dazzling, like when he racked up seven strikeouts in his debut, and more frequently dazed. By the end of it, he was just disappointed.
"Man," Mize said on Friday. "It took a lot out of me, honestly, just getting beat down repeatedly."
The numbers are what they are, a 6.99 ERA the most glaring among them. Here are the two that likely bothered Mize the most: 13 walks in 28 1/3 innings and zero wins in seven starts. At every level, Mize has been praised for his command -- not just the ability to throw strikes, but to throw strikes where he wants them. And at every level, he's been a winner.
Just not the highest level. Not yet.
"I definitely expected more out of myself and I’m really frustrated with how things turned out," he said. "But in the past I’ve shown the ability to learn from failed experiences, so just trying to do that again. … It’s the real deal when you’re playing in the big leagues, man. There’s no free passes. You gotta get the job done, and I look forward to getting up there this year and getting it done."
Getting up here is step one. Mize is expected to win a spot in the Tigers' rotation in spring training, but he still has to go out and do it. Assuming he takes care of business, step two will be channelling that version of himself we saw in his debut, the same one we saw a few weeks later when he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the White Sox.
The same one that made Made the first overall pick in 2018. The same one that Mize says we haven't seen at all.
"I think you’re going to see the old – not the old me, because Tigers fans haven’t seen that, but what I know is the old me, which is pounding the strike zone and overwhelming hitters with strikes," Mize said. "Having leverage on my side is really the goal. I think I’m gonna improve a ton in that area."
If he does, the numbers should take care of themselves. Mize didn't get hit hard last year because his stuff was hittable; he got hit hard because he put himself in hittable counts. Take his put-away pitch, his splitter. Mize got six strikeouts with it in his two best starts of the season, versus four in his other five starts combined.
"A lot of people are wondering, 'This is supposed to be your main pitch, what’s up with it?' The thing is, the metrics didn’t change very much on the pitch. A lot that changed is when I was throwing it," Mize said. "It all depends on counts and locations, and unfortunately I was in a lot of hitter-friendly counts. Once I get the count leverage back on my side, I can start to pair some pitches together and plan ahead and I think you’ll see a big improvement in the splitter."
A big improvement for Mize would help spur a big improvement for the Tigers. That's what he's talked about since the day he was drafted, what he continues to talk about with the other top prospects in the organization: bringing baseball in Detroit 'back to what it should be.' Step one is getting here, back to where he was.
And then performing like the pitcher he knows he's always been.