Back to health from the intercostal strain that forced him to the disabled list in early July, Detroit Tigers pitcher Drew Smyly has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo and is expected to start on Tuesday.
The #Tigers have activated Drew Smyly and optioned him to Triple A Toledo.
— Tony Paul (@TonyPaul1984) July 29, 2012
Due to the fact that the Tigers recently acquired Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez to round out the pitching rotation, Smyly is expected to remain with the Mud Hens for the remainder of the year to continue his development. Seeing as how impressive he looked through 15 starts with the club earlier this year though, Smyly is essentially one injury away from getting another shot in the big leagues this season.
Still just 23 years old, Smyly visibly slowed down as the year wore on after creating a huge buzz right out of the gate. Over his first seven major league starts the left-hander owned a sparkling 2.31 ERA despite not receiving much run support. Aside from whiffing 10 batters in his most recent start on July 6 though, Smyly ended his brieft stint in the Tigers' rotation with a 4.42 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.
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