In the past I’ve expressed concern about the workloads Jim Leyland may impose on his young starters. That’s why I’m slightly reassured after seeing this article in the Lakeland Ledger. Leyland is quoted:

“We’re gonna watch them very closely to make sure everything’s all right,” Leyland said.

“You have to protect young pitchers. At the same time, we have to get them ready for the season,” Leyland said.

The good news is that he wants to protect the young pitchers. Why my fears are only slightly eased is that he doesn’t talk about limiting workload within individual games. While I know there is debate around the evidence, I happen to believe there is some truth to the Baseball Prospectus methods around pitcher abuse.

The research presented here has shown, in essence, that not all pitches are created equal. It is the high pitch count outings that represent the greatest risk for both short-term ineffectiveness, and long-term potential for injury.

While Leyland is prepared to exercise caution, I’m not entirely sure what his view of caution is.

Keeping them fresh

What I do like about what Leyland said is trying to keep his starters stronger in the second half.

“It’s not always the best pitching staff that wins,” Leyland commented, “it’s the healthiest.”

“One thing we might do is bring somebody up (from the minors) for just one start,” Leyland said.

“That way, we could back up the whole rotation and give everybody an extra day off when we thought they needed it.”

The first 4 spots in the Tigers rotation were very stable the first half of the year. With the 2006 season having 3-4 viable candidates for one spot in the rotation, it would be a great way to get more pitchers more experience. All the pitchers in question (Verlander/Zumaya/Ledezma/Colon) are already on the 40 man roster so there wouldn’t be major roster implications to call someone up.