Picking the best starter on the Detroit Tigers roster is easy. There’s a cliff looming beyond the 2026 season when Tarik Skubal will presumably be gone to greener pastures, but for one more season the Tigers have
their ace leading the way. Beyond him the question is a lot tougher.
Reese Olson continues to post the best performance by most statistical measures, but he’s also dealt with significant shoulder injuries both of the past two seasons. That makes it hard to depend on him to give the Tigers a strong 140-150 innings this year. He controls contact well and racks up a solid share of strikeouts, but he can be a little too walk prone as well. But you’re not providing value on the injured list so it’s a bit of a roll of the dice guessing how much he’ll give the Tigers in 2026.
Jack Flaherty is still punching out the most hitters, but his walk rates are a bit high and he sometimes has trouble with home runs. There are stretches where he looks great and stretches where he’s getting knocked out early, but it added up to above average performance but certainly a real drop off from his 2024 resurgent campaign.
Casey Mize controls contact and doesn’t issue many walks, but the upgraded fastball since Tommy John surgery and various attempts to dial in his splitter haven’t led him to the promised land of higher strikeout rates. Mize did strike out 22.2 percent of hitters faced in 2025, which is his first time over 20 percent for a season. However, he had his own trouble with home runs at points throughout the season.
Beyond them there’s a group with Troy Melton and Drew Anderson competing for the last rotation spot, and a host of guys from Keider Montero on down to provide depth along the way.
Maybe the Tigers still have another signing in them once Skubal’s arbitration case is resolved, but right now who is your pick for second most valuable starter on the roster in 2026?
