Casey Mize, once a top prospect for the Detroit Tigers, began his injury rehab assignment on Thursday with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.
The right-hander delivered a solid performance against Jacksonville. In his first outing since June, the 27-year-old threw 35 pitches over 2.1 innings, allowing no runs and just three hits while striking out two and walking one. He also induced two groundouts.
Mize’s last start before the injury was on June 30 against the Los Angeles Angels, where he pitched 5.1 scoreless innings to secure a win, striking out two and walking two. However, he later strained his left hamstring, leading to his placement on the 15-day injured list, and subsequently the 60-day IL on July 29, a procedural move to clear space on the 40-man roster.
Since he’s on the 60-day injured list, Mize can’t rejoin the Tigers until the end of the month, giving him time to build up his pitch count. Manager A.J. Hinch wants Mize to be able to throw up to 85 pitches when he returns. Before the injury, Mize was 2-6 with a 4.23 ERA in 78.2 innings, with 58 strikeouts and 21 walks. The 2018 first-round pick is still working his way back after undergoing Tommy John surgery following just two starts in 2022. He returned at the end of the 2023 season, but this year was meant to be his first full season at the Major League level since 2021, when he went 7-9 with a 3.71 ERA over 150.1 innings, recording 118 strikeouts and 41 walks.
Mize could use a strong September return to the rotation to solidify a spot for 2025 alongside the team’s ace, Tarik Skubal. The Tigers have a promising group of young pitchers vying for rotation spots next season, including Ty Madden, Wilmer Flores, Keider Montero, and Sawyer Gipson-Long.
Mize isn’t the only Tigers player rehabbing in Toledo; outfielder Kerry Carpenter began his rehab assignment on Tuesday. The 26-year-old started in right field on Thursday, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout after serving as the designated hitter on Tuesday, where he went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. Carpenter missed time due to a lumbar spine stress fracture, which placed him on the 60-day injured list. His absence was a significant blow to Detroit’s offense, as he was having a potential career-best season with a slash line of .283/.342/.572/.914, along with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 50 games.
