Michael Fulmer

[ewitkows]

League average pitching isn't going to get you to the playoffs much less win a series in the playoffs. No one knows how good Nelson will be when he gets back.

[adambr2]

League average pitching isn't going to get you to the playoffs much less win a series in the playoffs. No one knows how good Nelson will be when he gets back.

 

1) The pitching is actually well above average, at least at the moment.

 

2). World Series’ have been won by below average starting pitching and great bullpens as we have.

 

3). Way below average hitting isn’t going to get you anywhere either.

[reillymcshane]

League average pitching isn't going to get you to the playoffs much less win a series in the playoffs. No one knows how good Nelson will be when he gets back.

Right now, we have average starters - 15th in the league - but elite relievers (#2 in baseball). That makes for an above average staff. You can win with that - if the offense produces - which it isn't right now. Is it ideal? I don't know. The use of the bullpen is really evolving - making it more and more important.

 

No matter, we will need the offense to step up. For now, I'm content with the rotation. I'll wait for Nelson, see how Woodruff does, and maybe Burnes at some point.

 

I think the bullpen can really be a powerhouse - and there are some really intriguing young arms that can keep it that way for a while.

[adambr2]

League average pitching isn't going to get you to the playoffs much less win a series in the playoffs. No one knows how good Nelson will be when he gets back.

Right now, we have average starters - 15th in the league - but elite relievers (#2 in baseball). That makes for an above average staff. You can win with that - if the offense produces - which it isn't right now. Is it ideal? I don't know. The use of the bullpen is really evolving - making it more and more important.

 

No matter, we will need the offense to step up. For now, I'm content with the rotation. I'll wait for Nelson, see how Woodruff does, and maybe Burnes at some point.

 

I think the bullpen can really be a powerhouse - and there are some really intriguing young arms that can keep it that way for a while.

 

I was sitting here trying to figure out how we're only #2 and not #1. Then I remembered Drake's meltdown inning.

[TURBO]

He is nothing better than we currently have anyway... I have zero interest in him.

 

According to Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports, the Tigers are unlikely to move Michael Fulmer at the upcoming trade deadline.

 

The Tigers consider Fulmer a "No. 2 starter" and from the looks of it, teams aren't willing to pay that kind of price for a pitcher with a middling 4.20 ERA. Teams may also have concerns about Fulmer's durability after he was dogged by arm issues last year and eventually needed surgery. As opposed to other starters being floated as potential trade options (Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ), Fulmer is still under cheap team control for several more years. That could make him attractive to a contender like the Yankees, who are looking to add depth to their starting rotation.

 

 

Source: fancredsports.com

Jun 28 - 7:26 PM

[brewmann04]

The brewers lack that frontline starter and not sold Anderson and Guerra are not going to get it done in the playoffs. The issue do we bring up another arm or look to empty the farm for Degrom

[PeaveyFury]

He is nothing better than we currently have anyway... I have zero interest in him.

 

...But he is. He's been better this year than every starter other than Guerra thus far, and is 25 and in his third MLB season and under control until 2023. I'm not saying we should give up the farm for him, but he would absolutely be an upgrade.

[adambr2]

He is nothing better than we currently have anyway... I have zero interest in him.

 

...But he is. He's been better this year than every starter other than Guerra thus far, and is 25 and in his third MLB season and under control until 2023. I'm not saying we should give up the farm for him, but he would absolutely be an upgrade.

 

I actually think Fulmer would be a great acquisition. Controlled through 2022, young, and has possible ace upside and you may be buying a little low right now. You could end up with a young ace arm without paying a Syndergaard or DeGrom price tag.

 

Don't get me wrong he won't come cheap but unlike Syndergaard or DeGrom I think there's an actual possibility of landing him without Hiura.

[PeaveyFury]

Don't get me wrong he won't come cheap but unlike Syndergaard or DeGrom I think there's an actual possibility of landing him without Hiura.

 

Agreed. You'd have a chance to get a young, controllable starter for a return that might be more easy to stomach. I'd think there's a stronger chance of the Brewers making this type of deal than a huge C.C.-esque deal.

[adambr2]

Don't get me wrong he won't come cheap but unlike Syndergaard or DeGrom I think there's an actual possibility of landing him without Hiura.

 

Agreed. You'd have a chance to get a young, controllable starter for a return that might be more easy to stomach. I'd think there's a stronger chance of the Brewers making this type of deal than a huge C.C.-esque deal.

 

Fulmer for Burnes + Woodruff + Santana + Gatewood seems like a reasonable offer off the top of my head. Too much? Not enough?

[pacopete4]

Fulmer is basically a younger Junior Guerra. Peripherals aren’t overly impressive but the job gets done. Just not sure I want to trade for that.

[JosephC]

Detroit is in a pretty unique position. They are going nowhere this year but I don't see any reason for them to be sellers outside of the odd player or two who will be free agents this upcoming off-season. The Tigers have done a wonderful job of rebuilding their farm system. Just two years ago they had one of the worst, but I think they were probably sitting in the 16-20 range prior to the draft and after adding this draft class have probably moved into the top half of the league. The bats are lagging a bit behind, but it's very likely they will have 5 top 100 pitchers in the mid-season update and that is pretty impressive. Detroit's payroll has run at 190+ million in the past, but current obligations plus arbitration players would likely put the projected payroll for 2019 at about 110 million dollars, so they are in an excellent position to add two or three big name free agents and be very competitive next year.

 

I really wouldn't be interested in selling Fulmer if I was sitting in Detroit's GM chair. I'd plan on making a big splash in free agency next year and would want Fulmer to be a part of that club. I'm guessing a team would have to be willing to step up and overpay Detroit to obtain Fulmer.

[MadThinker88]

Detroit is in a pretty unique position. They are going nowhere this year but I don't see any reason for them to be sellers outside of the odd player or two who will be free agents this upcoming off-season. The Tigers have done a wonderful job of rebuilding their farm system. Just two years ago they had one of the worst, but I think they were probably sitting in the 16-20 range prior to the draft and after adding this draft class have probably moved into the top half of the league. The bats are lagging a bit behind, but it's very likely they will have 5 top 100 pitchers in the mid-season update and that is pretty impressive. Detroit's payroll has run at 190+ million in the past, but current obligations plus arbitration players would likely put the projected payroll for 2019 at about 110 million dollars, so they are in an excellent position to add two or three big name free agents and be very competitive next year.

 

I really wouldn't be interested in selling Fulmer if I was sitting in Detroit's GM chair. I'd plan on making a big splash in free agency next year and would want Fulmer to be a part of that club. I'm guessing a team would have to be willing to step up and overpay Detroit to obtain Fulmer.

 

Those high payroll figures were due to Mike Ilitch wanting a baseball title before he died. Since his passing the Tigers have been reigning in the payroll instead of continuing to operate at a loss.

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/detroit-tigers-salaries-and-contracts.shtml

 

According to the contracts link above, the Tigers have $69MM already committed before and arbitration or pre-arbitration deals. $55MM is tied up between Miggy & Jordan Zimmermann. The other $14MM is money sent to other teams for Verlander & Prince Fielder. They are estimated to be around $131.2MM after the arbitration & pre-arb deals get done.

 

If the Tigers can get their asking price for Fullmer I am sure they would deal him. But if not, they should hold onto him.

That said, I doubt the Tigers make a Free Agent push this off-season. I'm not saying the Tigers are looking to tank in 2019 but they do need some more time to gather resources & talent.

 

Fullmer is under control thru 2022 barring a contract giving a club more control time. The Tigers are not in a spot where they need to panic or push the accelerate button for contending.

[JosephC]

I don't see the Tigers arbitration eligible pushing them anywhere near 130 million. 69 on the books, and then count another 6 million for 10 pre-arbitration players. So 131 million minus the 75 million would mean they will be on the hook for 56 million dollars in arbitration eligible players? I don't see it. Castellanos will get a really nice payday. Fiers will get more than he should but will stay under the 10 million mark, and could actually be a strong non-tender candidate if his performance falls off at all in the second half. Fulmer and Boyd are first time eligibles and neither are likely to break the bank with ERA's over 4.

[TURBO]

Does Michael Fulmer tip the scales and guarantee anything? Is he any better than what we are currently trotting out there on a daily basis? I'd argue that our current rotation has 4 guys better than he is this season. Maybe even all 5. Not to mention, is this season starting a trend or is it a fluke? Who is the real Michael Fulmer? Yes, he is young at 25, but is he an automatic upgrade that is worth the cost to nab him? I'll let you guys be the judge of that, but I'd set my sites on deGrom WAY before Fulmer...

 

2018 Michael Fulmer stats:

W/L record - 3-7

ERA - 4.20

WHIP - 1.25

80 strikeouts in 94.1 innings pitched

 

2018 Junior Guerra stats:

W/L record - 4-5

ERA - 3.05

WHIP - 1.20

80 strikeouts in 82.2 innings pitched

 

2018 Chase Anderson stats:

W/L record - 6-6

ERA - 4.18

WHIP - 1.13

68 strikeouts in 88.1 innings pitched

 

2018 Brent Suter stats:

W/L record - 8-5

ERA - 4.28

WHIP - 1.15

73 strikeouts in 88.1 innings pitched

 

2018 Jhoulys Chacin stats: (not including 6/30/start)

W/L record - 6-3

ERA - 3.82

WHIP - 1.34

71 strikeouts in 92 innings pitched

 

2018 Freddy Peralta stats:

W/L record - 30

ERA - 0.71

WHIP - 35 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched

[PeaveyFury]

You’re basing your conclusions on W/L records, WHIP and straight ERA alone? I can see why you don’t think he’s an upgrade, then. Everything else shows why he’s a huuuuuge upgrade over 4/5ths of our rotation, possibly all 5 if you don’t buy Guerra’s resurgence.

[MadThinker88]

I don't see the Tigers arbitration eligible pushing them anywhere near 130 million. 69 on the books, and then count another 6 million for 10 pre-arbitration players. So 131 million minus the 75 million would mean they will be on the hook for 56 million dollars in arbitration eligible players? I don't see it. Castellanos will get a really nice payday. Fiers will get more than he should but will stay under the 10 million mark, and could actually be a strong non-tender candidate if his performance falls off at all in the second half. Fulmer and Boyd are first time eligibles and neither are likely to break the bank with ERA's over 4.

 

Joe- you have your way of figuring things & often I enjoy you sharing your methodology.

I was just sharing the info & the source for it. You might think its a high calculation, but they have a methodology to figure out/ calculate some estimates moving out year after year.

With the Tigers having 12 guys in arbitration & 5 of those in the final year of arbitration, coming up to $53.9 MM is completely understandable IMHO. They are also figuring 11 pre-arb guys getting $8.32 MM. 2 existing contract guys + 12 guys in arbitration means 11 pre-arb guys to fill out the 25 man roster.

 

Can they be incorrect? Absolutely. Can they be correct? Absolutely.

 

Its a reference point that people can use.

[brewmann04]

I agree how does Fulmer get this team over the top. he is far from the ace the brewers nee to get them over the top.

[adambr2]

I agree how does Fulmer get this team over the top. he is far from the ace the brewers nee to get them over the top.

 

Yet you don't want to trade Hiura. So who are you going to get out there that has a higher upside than Fulmer without trading Hiura?

[Bnowell4evr]

I agree how does Fulmer get this team over the top. he is far from the ace the brewers nee to get them over the top.

 

Yet you don't want to trade Hiura. So who are you going to get out there that has a higher upside than Fulmer without trading Hiura?

 

J.A. Happ

[MadThinker88]

I agree how does Fulmer get this team over the top. he is far from the ace the brewers nee to get them over the top.

 

Yet you don't want to trade Hiura. So who are you going to get out there that has a higher upside than Fulmer without trading Hiura?

 

J.A. Happ

 

But there are other contenders in on Happ with deeper farm systems. To counter act some of that quantity & quality, the Crew would need to include its higher quality..

[JosephC]

Happ is a virtual guarantee to go for way, way, way, way more than what his surplus value suggests he should go for. The biggest problem for the Brewers is that the Happ conversation really should start with players that aren't in the top 100 but the next tier down (top 10 organizational prospects). And that particular tier of players have not looked good for Milwaukee this season. Erceg and Grisham and Lutz have not performed that well and their "trade stock" has probably dropped. Ortiz is only up to 45 innings. Dubon got hurt. The Brewers seem to like playing Thames and Perez in the outfield (Thames obviously has zero business being out there and Perez shouldn't be out there because his bat plays way, way, way down as a corner outfielder), which makes Phillips look like a big zero to the rest of the league. So that leaves two players, Peralta and Ray. Peralta has pitched himself up and out of that group and now is likely un-tradeable from the Brewer's perspective. So now we are down to just Ray. If a team likes his tools and upside then Ray's name can start a conversation. However, if a team does not like Ray's streaky nature and has questions about that bat, then the only way the Brewers can start a conversation about a highly regarded veteran guy is to dip into the Hiura/Burnes/Peralta pool.

[jvrocksaz]

Might the Brewers take on some short term salary from Detroit to get Fulmer at a better price? Jordan Zimmerman has 2 years 50m left following this season. Don’t kill me on this as it only popped in my head after seeing him dominate the Rangers tonight. Is he finally healthy? His last few starts make him look like the Zimmerman from the Nats.

[trwi7]

Zimmermann does look better and the Tigers' payroll is low enough that there would be no reason for them to devalue an asset like Fulmer to clear money.

[tigerbrew]

Why not trade for the Wisconsin native Zimmermann instead? The Tigers might want to dump his contract so the trade cost could be much lower.