Tigers' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Preview | Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Jackson Jobe, Jason Foley, Reese Olson and More

Let's wrap up our look at the Detroit Tigers by looking at the team's pitchers. We looked at hitters in another story.

We've covered the Marlins (hitters and pitchers), Blue Jays (hitters and pitchers), Brewers (hitters and pitchers), Astros (hitters and pitchers), Cubs (hitters and pitchers), Royals (hitters and pitchers), Dodgers (hitters and pitchers), Rangers (hitters and pitchers) , Nationals (hitters and pitchers), Orioles (hitters and pitchers), Reds (hitters and pitchers), Red Sox (hitters and pitchers), Mets (hitters and pitchers), Twins (hitters and pitchers), Giants (hitters and pitchers), Athletics (hitters and pitchers), Pirates (hitters and pitchers), Mariners (hitters and pitchers), Rockies (hitters and pitchers), Rays (hitters and pitchers), Braves (hitters and pitchers) and White Sox (hitters and pitchers) already.

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Top Fantasy Pitchers

There's several Detroit pitchers on the ADP list, led by Tarik Skubal. He's going at pick 10.74 on average, which makes him the first pitcher drafted.

Jack Flaherty is next at pick 128.26, before Jackson Jobe checks in at pick 182.5. Jason Foley and Reese Olson are going just outside of standard league drafts more often than not.

Skubal was the top fantasy pitcher a season ago, and many expect the 28-year-old to repeat that feat in 2025.

He started 31 games for Detroit, going 18-4 with a 2.39 earned run average. Skubal struck out 228 batters over 192 innings.

It was his first time over 150 innings in his five-year career, but many expected big things from him after posting a .280 ERA across 15 starts in 2023. Now Skubal is the best fantasy pitcher in the game and oftentimes going in the first round.

There's risk involved when taking any pitchers early, but Skubal is the best fantasy pitcher in my eyes, and if you want him, it'll take a pick near the end of the first round, or early in the second.

Flaherty had a bounceback season in 2024, starting with Detroit and ending with the Dodgers.

Across 28 total starts, Flaherty went 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA - he had a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts with the Tigers. He struck out 194 batters in 162 innings.

Flaherty has some durability issues, and could regress a bit this coming season, but I think his ADP is pretty good even if you factor in those things. I have no issues taking him around that ADP, and think he is going to exceed that pick's fantasy production by quite a bit. I actually wouldn't mind taking him 10 or so picks earlier.

Jobe is the team's top prospect, but is not projected to open the season in the big leagues.

He appeared in two MLB games last season, allowing a hit and a walk over four frames. He struck out two batters. Jobe has looked good this spring and should be the first starting pitcher called up this regular season.

I wouldn't really be thrilled with spending a standard league pick on a player who begins the season in the minors, but the deeper a league gets, the more willing I'd be to roster Jobe.

Foley is the team's projected closer, but is supposed to share that role with Beau Brieske and Tyler Holton.

In 69 games last season, Foley had a 3-6 record, but 3.15 ERA and 28 saves. He struck out 46 batters over 60 innings.

Brieske had a 3.59 ERA and 4-5 record across 46 appearances, which included 12 starts. He picked up one save and struck out 69 batters over 67 2/3 innings.

Holton posted a 2.19 ERA and 7-2 record across 66 games, which included nine starts. He struck out 77 batters over 94 1/3 innings and earned eight saves. 

There's appeal with each reliever if they are closing games, but splitting the role, none are great standard league options. I'd prefer to have them all in deeper leagues. Holton was the top fantasy scorer in points leagues last season, followed by Foley and finally Brieske - I'd rank them that way for 2025. 

Olson made 22 starts in 2024, going 4-8 with a 3.53 ERA. He also had 101 strikeouts over 112 1/3 innings.

There's durability issues to worry about with Olson, which is why he's most often falling outside of standard league drafts. While he's a better deep-league option to kick off the season, he has standard league streaming value right from the jump.

Other Starting Options

According to FanGraphs, Casey Mize and Kenta Maeda are the other two projected starting pitchers for Detroit. Brant Hurter is the projected long reliever, while Alex Cobb, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Ty Madden and Jose Urquidy are all injured starting options.

Tommy Kahnle, Will Vest, Andrew Chafin and John Brebbia are other projected bullpen arms, while Alex Lange is an injured reliever.

Mize made 20 starts among his 22 appearances in 2024. He went 2-6 with a 4.49 ERA, while striking out 78 batters over 102 1/3 innings. Mize has deep-league value, and could maybe be a standard league streaming option, but he'd have to improve his ERA and strikeouts to reach that level.

Maeda made 17 starts across his 29 appearances in 2024. He went 3-7 with a 6.09 ERA. Maeda struck out 96 batters over 112 1/3 innings. He's had success in the past, but is definitely a better deep-league option to start the season.

If Maeda or Mize struggle, Jobe could be called up, sending one of the two projected starters to the bullpen.

Hurter went 6-1 with a 2.58 ERA across 45 1/3 innings last season. In one start and 10 appearances, he struck out 38 batters. He could also fill in for an injured or struggling starter, but doesn't have very much fantasy value in a long relief role.

With three potential closers already, those three are the bullpen arms you want to target. It'd take multiple injuries to get another reliever in the mix for fantasy relevance.

Cobb is likely to miss the first few weeks of the season, but is another starting option when he's healthy again. He might have a hard time cracking the rotation depending on how the projected starting five looks and the development of Jobe.

Gipson-Long is expected back in May or June, but the team could be even more cautious with him depending on how the rotation is looking.

Madden doesn't have a return timetable yet, but he'll likely miss at least a few weeks of the regular season.

Urquidy underwent Tommy John surgery in June of 2024, so a late-season comeback could be in the works for him. 

Any pitcher getting starts in Detroit are at least deep-league options, and most could also be standard league streaming options in the right matchups.

Lange is another late-inning option when he's healthy again, but he's already on the 60-day IL, so it'll be a bit until we see him on the mound again.

Top Prospects

Jobe is the No. 5 prospect in all of baseball, which is why he's so highly regarded going into the season. 

Madden, Troy Melton, Tyler Mattison and Tyler Owens are more top-30 prospects of the team expected to help out in 2025.

Jobe has a 2.97 ERA across 233 minor league innings so far. He also has 261 strikeouts, 81 walks and a .213 average against him.

Madden made a start across six appearances for the big league team in 2024. He went 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA, 17 strikeouts and eight walks over 23 innings. Madden has a 4.30 ERA, 403 punchouts, 131 walks and a .241 average against him in 337 1/3 minor league innings.

Melton has pitched in 48 minor league games, covering 197 2/3 innings. He's got a 3.87 ERA and 218 strikeouts, 54 walks and a .254 average against him.

Mattison has a 3.26 ERA across 99 1/3 minor league innings so far. He also has 145 punchouts, 47 walks and a .195 average against him.

Owens has 220 2/3 minor league innings under his belt. He's got a 4.04 ERA, 238 strikeouts, 84 walks and a .256 average against him.

Keider Montero, Wilkel Hernandez and Wilmer Flores are three more pitchers age 25 or below who are in camp with Detroit this spring.