The Tigers plan to have left-hander Brant Hurter pitch in tomorrow’s game against the Royals, as announced by AJ Hinch to reporters, including Cody Stavenhagen from The Athletic, earlier today. Although Hurter is not on the 40-man roster, the Tigers have an available spot after trading Mark Canha, Jack Flaherty, and Andrew Chafin on the trade deadline day, so only a corresponding move will be needed to add Hurter to the active roster.
Hurter, who will turn 26 in September, was selected by the Tigers in the seventh round of the 2021 draft from Georgia Tech. He reached Double-A in his first professional season in 2022 and excelled there in 2023, posting a 3.28 ERA in 118 innings over 26 starts. He struck out 26.7% of batters while walking only 6.6%. However, Hurter has struggled in Triple-A this year, recording a 5.80 ERA in 71 1/3 innings across 19 appearances (18 starts), with a reduced strikeout rate of 21.7% and an increased walk rate of 7.1%. Notably, he has allowed more home runs this year compared to last year, despite pitching fewer innings.
Ahead of his MLB debut tomorrow, Stavenhagen noted that Hinch clarified Hurter would not start the game but serve as a bulk pitcher following an opener. Although typically a starter in the minors, Hurter has had success as a bulk pitcher, notably throwing six scoreless innings against Triple-A Louisville earlier this year after entering the game in the third inning.
With the current rotation consisting of only four pitchers (Tarik Skubal, Kenta Maeda, Bryan Sammons, and Kreider Montero), a strong performance from Hurter could secure him a more extended look in the majors, whether as a starter or a bulk pitcher. The Tigers’ rotation depth has been impacted by the trade of Flaherty to L.A. and recent injuries to Reese Olson, Casey Mize, and Matt Manning. There were discussions before the All-Star break about right-hander Beau Brieske potentially joining the rotation in the second half, but he has remained in a multi-inning relief role out of the bullpen.
