The Detroit Tigers have signed Mike Fiers to a one-year deal. The Tigers hope the 32-year-old righty can regain some of his 2015 luster and trade him later in the season.
Fiers’ stuff has been lacking with the new juiced balls. Using a sub-90 mph fastball, his home run rate and ERA have increased each year since the new ball was introduced.
| Year | HR/9 | ERA |
| 2014 | 0.9 | 2.13 |
| 2015 | 1.2 | 3.69 |
| 2016 | 1.4 | 4.48 |
| 2017 | 1.9 | 5.22 |
When he gets hit, he gets hit hard.
One item to watch with Fiers is whether the Tigers mess around with his pitch mix. His four-seamer is borderline elite with an insane flyball rate (48%) and an above average number of swings-and-misses (9%). While flyballs may not seem ideal with the juiced ball, the ones that stay in the park are easy outs.
His change and curve are probably a tick below average but do generate some misses (> 10% swinging strike rate) and a good number of groundballs (both over 50%). He toys with a horrible cutter and sinker, which he should drop.
Besides finding a workable mix of pitches, Fiers needs to get back to a sub-3.0 walk rate after seeing it rise to 3.6 BB/9 last season. He can’t be walking hitters with his high home run rate.
Fiers might become a usable fantasy option, but don’t count on it. Ignore him on draft day, but monitor him for any positive changes. He could revert to his 2013 form with a sub-2.50 ERA and over 9.5 K/9. There is just no way to know for sure.
Previous Hot Stove Analysis
Dee Gordon Traded to the Seattle Mariners
Welington Castillo Inks Deal with White Sox
Potential Closers Traded: Boxberger and Johnson