By James Bailey
A month ago, Tigers rookie Rick Porcello looked overmatched and overripe for a return to the minor leagues. He was 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA through four starts, and had served up six home run balls in 21.2 innings.
What a difference a month makes.
The 20-year-old righthander reeled off five straight victories in May as his Tigers pushed into first place in the AL Central. Porcello allowed one or no runs in four of his starts, and just two runs in the other, his most recent outing, against Kansas City last Wednesday. On the month he posted a 1.50 ERA and allowed jus t 32 baserunners in 30 innings, for a nifty 1.07 WHIP. Now 6-3 with a strong 3.48 ERA, he has moved ahead of his peers in the AL Rookie of the Year race.
Porcello’s pitching IQ is well beyond his years. Not only has he handled a jump from the high-A Florida State League, he’s pitching aggressively and keeping his pitch counts low. In his current winning streak he hasn’t thrown more than 95 pitches in any start (great article on this in today’s Detroit Free Press). His pitch counts and innings in May:
| Date | Opp. | IP | Pitches |
| 5/5 | Twins | 7.0 | 87 |
| 5/10 | Indians | 5.0 | 95 |
| 5/16 | A’s | 6.0 | 86 |
| 5/22 | Rockies | 6.0 | 86 |
| 5/27 | Royals | 6.0 | 82 |
The Tigers plan to keep a tight rein on his pitch counts, but as long as he’s pitching this well they can do so without overtaxing their bullpen.
Though his stuff should eventually translate into K’s, Porcello’s strikeout numbers don’t pop off the stat sheet (32 in 51.2 IP). He’s heeding Crash Davis’s sound advice: Ground balls are more democratic (and they also keep the pitch count low). Veteran Tiger infielders Placido Polanco and Adam Everett have credited Porcello for working quickly and keeping his defense alert. His infield has turned eight ground-ball double plays in his nine starts. Porcello has induced 88 grounders this year, compared to 72 fly balls. That ratio improved in May (48/37), and he kept the ball in the yard.
Porcello, who led the FSL with a 2.66 ERA in his professional debut last year, has beaten most of the college pitchers from the 2007 draft to the big leagues. The No. 27 overall pick in the 2007 draft, he received a Tigers team-record $7 million deal when he signed. He’d been regarded as the top high school pitcher in that June’s draft, but concerns about his signability caused him to fall to Detroit. It’s proving to be a great investment for the Tigers, who couldn’t possibly have anticipated this kind of return this soon.
Porcello gets his first shot at the Red Sox tonight, when he matches up against a struggling Daisuke Matsuzaka in Detroit’s Comerica Park.
