Casey Mize beginning to live up to draft expectations
Drew Silva details how Casey Mize's increase in strikeouts has allowed him to begin to live up to draft expectations.
Video Transcript
DREW SILVA: Every fantasy analyst loves a good post-hype prospect. The initial fanfare has faded, but the talent is still there, thus the relative value of the player greatly increases. Detroit starter Casey Mize certainly qualifies here. The 24-year-old former number-one overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft struggled to a 6.99 ERA across his first seven Major League plate appearances during the condensed 2020 season and barely got any clicks in standard Yahoo drafts this spring. His ADP was above 350.
So, yeah, he's been waiver wire gold, even with an overall strikeout rate that doesn't scream top-flight stuff. Look a little closer in his game logs, though, and you'll find an exciting trend in that regard. Mize had only 27 K's over his first 38 and 2/3 innings this season between April 6th and May 12th. But he's registered 32 strikeouts in 32 innings between May 17th and June 9th, and he boasts a 2.45 ERA over his last seven starts extending back to May 5th. Mize was a big factor in helping the rebuilding Tigers stage a 15 and 14 record in May, which was their first winning month since early 2018.
