Fulmer shows why he’s Tigers’ top prospect

MINNEAPOLIS — Throwing a 97-mph fastball for his first pitch, Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer would have been understandably filled with adrenaline in his Major League debut.

Hitting 97 on the radar gun isn’t unusual for the 23-year-old, though. In fact, Fulmer was quite composed, a trait seen from his catcher Bobby Wilson and manager Brad Ausmus well before Friday’s 9-2 win over the Twins.

“I talked to him probably an hour before the game,” Ausmus said. “He was pretty calm.”

Fulmer pitched five innings and earned the victory, allowing two runs on seven hits. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder walked one and struck out four.

Fulmer’s fastball sat in the upper-90s to go with a hard slider, and he also mixed in a changeup. Fulmer retired the first batter he faced, Danny Santana, on a weak grounder back to the mound and struck out Brian Dozier for the second out.

“I just kept telling myself, ‘Get the first batter of the game out,'” Fulmer said of his tactic for staying calm. “Once that happened, I kind of settled in. [Nick] Castellanos was over there at third. He came in after I got the leadoff hitter out and he was like, ‘First one’s down. It’s the …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com