The Detroit Tigers are getting everything they paid for and more from Jordan Zimmermann. In his first three starts of the year, the splashy offseason addition for the Detroit Tigers is 3-0 and has yet to give up an earned run. The 29-year-old right-hander, who signed a five-year, $110 million contract this winter, tossed another 6 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball last Wednesday over Kansas City. With his victory over the Royals, Zimmermann improved to 5-0 in eight career starts against the defending World Series champions, a big reason that General Manager Al Avila brought him over to the AL Central. His scoreless streak of 19 1/3 innings to begin his season is the most by a pitcher to start his Tigers career since Doug Bair threw 19 1/3 shutout innings to start the season in 1983.
The question now is how long can a streak like this last? The right-hander has a below-average strikeout rate. In an environment in which strikeouts are on the rise, Zimmermann strikes out just seven batters per nine innings, one less than the league average (8.1). And to further complicate matters, 58.5 percent of his pitches are in the strike zone, his highest rate since he entered the league during the 2009 season. Fortunately for him, only 14.3 percent of the balls put in play have been classified as “hard hit,” half his rate from last season.
An ACE in the making
Zimmerman had his best season in the majors back in 2014 when he posted a 2.66 ERA and finished fifth in the NL Cy Young voting. That same year, Zimmermann reached a pinnacle in baseball, throwing a no-hitter on September 28th against the Marlins in a 1-0 win. The Auburndale, Wisconsin native could not have dreamed of reaching that milestone.
“I thought there was no way this would ever happen. My career numbers are something like one hit per inning, so I figure if I can make it out of the first, the hit’s coming in the second,but today was one of those special days.”
That is what makes this start to his season so special. To look at what Zimmermann is currently doing, you need to look at where he started. The 28-year-old is often described as a quiet guy. The second-round draft pick in 2007 went to Division III University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and always tried to out work everyone else. He began his career as a catcher, then moved all around the diamond due to his versatility.
It was not until 2008 that Zimmermann opened scouts eyes when he had a combined 10–3 record with a 2.89 ERA with the Potomac Nationals of Class-A. That season helped start the momentum train that would lead to him into 2009, where, a year after being drafted, he was the top rated prospect for the Washington Nationals. He entered the season as the Nationals’ fifth starter out of spring training. However, he experienced elbow pain in July and landed on the disabled list where he was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. He came back stronger in 2011, a season where he joined a list of pitchers to throw an ‘immaculate inning’ where he struck out all three batters on nine pitchers.
He only throws three pitches, which is a little unusual for a starting pitchers these days. He throws a four-seam fastball at 94 miles per hour that tops out at 98 miles per hours, a slider which he describes as a variation of a cutter, and a curveball. One might say look at Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera, who was so successful with just one pitch.
Zimmermann appears to be very comfortable making the transition from the National League to the American League after seven seasons. Usually, the change of leagues causes pitchers severe problems, because they are not used to facing stronger lineups with a designated hitter.
Zimmerman is scheduled to start later today against the Oakland Athletics. The Athletics are averaging about 3.5 runs per game this season. Though they have not scored much, about 2/3 of their runs are off the starting pitchers, and they have not yet been shut out this year.
One of the biggest concerns for Zimmermann has been his pitch counts. In his three starts, he has had 100+ pitches in each of them, going 7 innings, 6 innings, and 6 1/3 innings. The Tigers are hoping that he can get through 7 innings or more before he gets to 100 pitches tonight.
Zimmermann did not have his best season in 2015, but still went a very respectable 13-10 with a 3.66 ERA, exceeding the 200-inning mark for the second time in his career. This was enough to open Mike Illich’s pocket to bring over the blue-collar pitcher. Of course, it is still too soon to say that Zimmermann will be a contender for the AL CY Young award, but right now he is playing unworldly and is the clear front-runner.