Cubs News: Things to watch for in the Detroit Tigers series

Chicago Cubs: One of baseball’s top prospects is set to face the Cubs in his second career start.

As mentioned earlier, the Tigers called up their number one asset last week in RHP Casey Mize. He was the Tigers’ first overall pick in 2018 out of Auburn University and is one of baseball’s top prospects. The 23-year old made his MLB debut against the White Sox in Chicago back on the 19th. He went 4 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out seven and not issuing a walk.

In his first start, he showed off his nasty splitter, as well as his moving fastball that sits in the mid-to-high 90s, and some breaking pitches. The splitter is his signature pitch that he can throw in the upper-80s that can fade and drop like crazy. When he throws it effectively, it is practically impossible to make contact. The fact that he is already ranked among pitchers with the best movement after one start on MLB.com says a lot.

Monday is Mize’s turn to pitch again for the second time in his MLB career. The Cubs offense has struggled and Mize is brand new to the majors. Something is going to give. Mize’s stuff is electric, but how he handles his first career start in Detroit will be interesting. If he can keep his command and locate his stuff, then it could be a long night for Cubs batters. Regardless it will be a game to watch.