Huge Night For Drew Smyly

By: Jamie Samuelsen

When Drew Smyly looks back on the landmark dates in the history of his life, I highly doubt that May 14th, 2012 will register (that is unless Mr. Smyly has some history on his agenda for tonight's start in Chicago). But tonight is one of the more intriguing nights yet for this young lefty as he continues to make a name for himself in the American League.

Tonight is start #7 for Smyly and as the old baseball adage goes, you can never really know anything about a pitcher until he's topped that half-dozen start total. No wait, that's not it. The more important number is the number two. As in, this is Smyly's SECOND start against the White Sox. This is, in fact, the first time in Smyly's brief career that he'll be facing a team for the second time. What does that mean? Who knows? The Red Sox Clay Bucholz threw a no-hitter in his second start ever in the majors, so this isn't exactly a science. But a pretty good rule of thumb is that when major league hitters have a chance to see a guy more than once or twice, they have a better idea of how to hit him. And now, the White Sox hitters get their second licks at Smyly after he threw six innings and struck out seven two weeks ago at Comerica Park.

Smyly has been more than just a surprise this season. He's been a revelation. Too strong of a word? I don't. The Tigers have won four of his six starts. His ERA is 1.59. He's stabilized the rotation here in the early going as Doug Fister sat on the DL and Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello battled inconsistency. The Tigers are still at .500 and still within shouting distance of first place. It's scary to think about where they'd be if Smyly had pitched more like a rookie and less like the #2 starter that he's been.

And there's that number again. #2.

Is Smyly the Tigers #2 starter? Of course not. But we'll start to learn more about him tonight and whether he has the make-up to be more than just a fifth starter. He throws strikes which is recommended. He throws hard which is part of the reason that he's fanned 34 in 34 innings of work. And he throws well under pressure. Want proof? According to Fangraphs, he's stranded 91 percent of the base runners who have gotten on. 91 percent! That speaks to some incredible mental focus. And it also speaks to some incredible good fortune.

Will that continue? The odds would dictate that it won't. 91 percent is a preposterous number. But tonight is a key start. And we'll know a lot more about Smyly after it's over.