On a busy day of roster moves for the Detroit Tigers' organization, the team officially assigned left-handed pitcher Daniel Schlereth to Single-A Lakeland on Friday to begin what could amount to a lengthy rehab assignment:
Daniel Schlereth has been assigned to Lakeland to begin an injury rehab assignment today.
— Brian Britten (@BBritten_Tigers) August 3, 2012#tigers
The 26-year-old reliever admitted he was experiencing problems with his throwing shoulder back in April, and was then quickly placed on the 60-day disabled list by the team. Though he showed promise last season with a 3.49 ERA over 49 appearances for Jim Leyland's playoff-bound Tigers, Schlereth's six-game stint in 2012 has left him with rather brutal numbers in both earned-run average (10.29) and WHIP (2.71).
Many in Detroit's organization remain confident that Schlereth still has immense potential and should still develop into the best lefty specialist in the bullpen, but it's clear that he'll have to spend a good deal of time in the minors impressing coaches after ignoring surgery earlier this summer.
For more news on Schlereth's recovery, stay with this StoryStream. Be sure to check out Bless You Boys for more Tigers coverage, and head over to Baseball Nation for even more MLB analysis.