Grand Cards: Andy Oliver Gets The Call

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Andy Oliver Gets The Call

2009 Upper Deck USA #USAB-AO Andrew Oliver

BIG news was brought to my attention by Bless You Boys: Andy Oliver has gotten the call to replace Rick Porcello in the Tigers' rotation. You might know Oliver as "The Tigers Best Pitching Prospect Not Named Jacob Turner"

Oliver is slated to start on Friday against the Braves. I would imagine that his stay in Detroit will be relatively short lived a la Justin Verlander circa 2005 or Andrew Miller circa 2006. Still, this is more than just a spot start, where we knew that these top pitchers were getting one start and then going back down. As far as I can tell the spot is ostensibly Oliver's until 1) Rick Porcello gets back on track or 2) Oliver sucks big time.

All of this is very exciting, as the lefty is a promising piece of the Tigers' pitching future. It will be interesting to see how he makes the leap.