The former top pick silenced doubts with a masterful five-inning performance, signaling a fierce return alongside Tarik Skubal to transform Detroit’s rotation into a formidable postseason force.
Much like the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Casey Mize always seems ready for another fight, even after having numerous limbs removed. That's why he's still standing. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft has been pitching lights out in 2026 — when he's not on the injured list.
Mize landed on the IL for the second time this season on May 29. At the time, he was one of the few saving graces in a struggling Tigers rotation. He had been pitching like the true No. 1 overall pick Detroit drafted eight years ago.
Despite a 2-3 record, Mize was hitting a stride that began last season and has only improved this year. Through nine starts, he was allowing fewer than four hits per game. His 2.1 WAR already ranks among the best marks of his career. Most impressively, Mize allowed just 12 earned runs in 47.2 innings pitched, good for a stellar 2.27 ERA.
This production comes from a pitcher whose best season, outside of overall record, was back in 2021. That year, Mize posted a 3.71 ERA across 30 starts while finishing with a 7-9 record. His 3.4 WAR remains a career high, and his 118 strikeouts stood as a personal best until last season, when Mize finally started to rediscover the mojo he once flashed as a top prospect.
In 2025, he blew past his previous strikeout total, finishing with 139 punchouts and a career-best 14-6 record. His ERA dipped back under 4.00 at 3.87 for the first time in three years, a stretch that included a missed season due to Tommy John surgery.
Now, it looks as if Mize has worked through many of the growing pains that come with being selected first overall. Instead of trying to live up to expectations, he's simply going out and pitching. When healthy, that approach has led to the best baseball of his career.
The only concern now is whether Mize can stay healthy. Only his body knows that answer. What we do know, however, is that his return to the mound couldn't have gone much better.
Mize delivered a dominant rehab performance for Single-A Lakeland against Clearwater.
Per a post from Jason Beck of MLB.com, Mize threw 55 pitches, 36 of which were strikes.
After surrendering a first-inning home run to Nathan Humphreys on a 94 mph fastball, Mize settled in and allowed just two more hits over five innings. He walked one batter and struck out five.
The outing wasn't nearly as publicized as Tarik Skubal's Single-A rehab start on Sunday, but when you combine those two appearances with Justin Verlander's pair of starts for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, the Tigers are on the verge of receiving a pitching boost unlike anything they've had in years.
Almost unfairly for the rest of the league — and perhaps for some of the current pitchers on the roster — Detroit's rotation is about to receive an injection of talented, hungry arms capable of dominating any lineup on any given night.
We've already learned that Skubal could be in line to return to Detroit just six days after his Single-A outing. Now we'll wait to see whether Mize follows a similar path, which could potentially line him up for a start Monday against the Astros in Houston.
I'm not saying there's any report confirming that timeline, but the reports and videos coming out of Lakeland show that Mize is on the mend, and so are the surging Tigers.
The Gritty Tigs are roaring back, and leading the charge could soon be the five-headed rotation Tigers fans have been waiting months to see.
