Former #1 Overall Pick Casey Mize Is Set To Have Tommy John Surgery

The Tigers' former number 1 overall pick is set to receive Tommy John Surgery, only 39 starts into his career. I know how this works. I've been around Twitter long enough to know what the reactions look like. As pessimistic as I can be, I want to put a few things to rest. Casey Mize is not a bust. His career is not over. The Tigers did not make a mistake drafting him number 1 overall. I don't believe that. 

This is terrible news. It's always awful news. It stinks any time you hear about a young pitcher going through a surgery that has sadly become a rite of passage for so many young starters. But this is the issue that I believe so many of us Detroit Tigers fans were worried this organization would run into when they promised they would build a rebuild around starting pitching. These things are inevitable. It sure as hell isn't fun. Mize is now the second starter of the Tigers' young core of pitchers who are set to receive Tommy John. Spencer Turnbull is the other. Your heart breaks for Casey Mize, who had a world of pressure put on him after he was drafted number 1 out of Auburn and handled himself exceptionally well through his first 39 starts at the major league level. I believe he'll come back from this, and I think that he'll be better. He may never be the number one ace that the Detroit Tigers expected him to be, but that's okay. Right now, they have Tarik Skubal for that. Mize is a grinder, and he'll bounce back.

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When it comes to the outlook of this current Tigers team and, quite frankly, the outlook of next year's team, I wish I could blame the Tigers' pitching injuries for all of their problems. This is a baseball team that currently ranks seventh in baseball in ERA. I wish I could explain away all of their woes by pointing to the unfortunate timing of these pitching injuries. That's not the case. And while I wish Casey Mize nothing but the best and hope he has a speedy recovery, the pitching will hold. The best thing we can hope for is that the next time Casey Mize takes the mound at Comerica Park, he has a better lineup and a better defense behind him. 

Get well soon, buddy boy.