Detroit Tigers Former No. 1 Pick Looks Unhittable in Early Portion of Season

The Detroit Tigers have gotten two incredible starts out of their forgotten former top prospect.

Apr 7, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize (12) delivers in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park | David Reginek-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers are off to quite the start, winning seven of their last eight games entering Wednesday's finale en route to an early lead in the division.

Though the weather for the series against the New York Yankees to start the second full week of the season has been absolutely brutal, that was hard to tell by the way the Tigers had performed.

On Tuesday, Tarik Skubal mowed his way through the Yankees' lineup en route to what was a shutout victory for Detroit. But for as impressive as Skubal was in his third start of the year, the pitching performance in the first game might have been even better.

Former No. 1 overall pick and top prospect Casey Mize entered spring training this year with not just a chip on his shoulder, but the looming potential that his tenure with the team that drafted him could end if he did not perform well.

With a sensational camp that saw the return of his devastating splitter, hopes were cautiously high for Mize heading into the regular season.

The right-hander has responded with what were potentially the two best starts of his entire career, first against the Seattle Mariners then Monday against New York.

With six innings thrown and four hits allowed along with one earned run and six strikeouts, Mize's ERA for the season sits at 0.77 with a WHIP of 0.94, 12 strikeouts and a 2-0 record.

Still just 27 years old, the veteran entered the season with something to prove, and he has done more than just that.

Two starts in, he has already established himself as someone who may be a critical fixture in the Tigers' rotation all season long.

Mize has brought a version of himself this year that Detroit believed they were getting when they selected him first overall all the way back in 2018.

The righty has been through a lot in his Major League career.

From injuries to the crippling pressure of being a high draft pick and the bitter disappointment of not living up to that status, Mize has seen the lows of being a professional baseball player.

However, he is now just beginning to see the highest of highs, and if he can continue to look like this type of star at the back of the rotation, it's going to carry both him and the team very far.