Figaro down, French up to the big leagues

As I had speculated after last night's game, Figaro was sent down to Toledo and French was called up to replace him in the rotation against Minnesota. Leyland did not seem too happy with Figaro and he felt that he was not aggressive enough in his last start. I agree with that, but I also think he is over matched at this point in his career against good big league hitters. He can throw strikes and he does have some good velocity. But, Tejada, Berkman, Lee, et al were teeing off on him. I don't think they could afford to come out against the Twins in that stadium when it is likely that Mauer and Morneau would each have huge nights against him.

With that said, I am not implying that Luke French is the answer. He may pitch Friday and get rocked. But, I do think that he is better equipped to handle the #5 spot than Figaro is. French has a 2.98 ERA, .291 BABIP and 3.16 FIP so this is not a fluke. He is just throwing some good baseball at Toledo. He is also only 23 and 6'4" 220 and left handed. French was up earlier in the year and pitched 3 innings of scoreless relief. He did allow 3 BB, but in the minors he has a good K/BB rate of 3.60. He is a fastball and slider pitcher who throws his changeup sparingly. And, unlike the guy he is replacing in the rotation, he does not throw heat. His fastball averages about 89 MPH.

This could potentially be a move where we find our #5 starter for the rest of the season. Or, French, like I fear about Figaro, might not be ready for prime time. If that is the case, I have to think that Miner gets the call. But, with the trade deadline only a month away, the Tigers have to find out where they are. They know Robertson is not going to be counted on to get lefties out in September and October. They have to find out if Ni can do that. They also have to figure out the back end of their rotation to see if they might need to acquire another starter. French will get a couple starts to see if he can.