After posting a 3.43 ERA through seven starts in Triple-A, Detroit Tigers prospect Jacob Turner will officially be handed the ball on Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals for his 2012 season debut.
Alex Avila will join Toledo on Monday to begin an injury rehab assignment. Jacob Turner will start for Detroit on Thursday. #tigers
— Brian Britten (@BBritten_Tigers) June 17, 2012
The 6-foot-5 Turner went 0-1 with a 8.53 ERA over three summer starts with the Tigers last year, but has been red-hot recently for the Mud Hens and appears ready for another crack at the big league rotation. Over his last three outings Turner yielded a grand total of three runs to drastically cut his earned run average, and he'll hope to keep things rolling against a familiar Cardinals team on Thursday.
Raised in the St. Louis area, Turner was actually the 2006 World Series... as a Cardinals fan. The 21-year-old hurler will also be facing a St. Louis manager in Mike Matheny who seems to know a little bit about what Turner is capable of on the mound. From MLB.com's Jason Beck:
Mike Matheny's son went to same high school as Jacob Turner in St. Louis. Now he'll be trying to manage the Cardinals to beat him.
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) June 17, 2012
With injuries to both pitchers and position players popping up left and right for manager Jim Leyland, this seems like a perfect time for Turner to re-join the big club after failing to make the rotation to open the season.
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