Tigers looking ahead with Grapefruit opener

LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Tigers have the unique position of opening their Grapefruit League schedule against the same team they’ll face to start the regular season. But there’s much more separating the matchups against the Blue Jays than 33 days on the calendar.

Detroit's likely second baseman on Opening Day, Josh Harrison, is scheduled to undergo a physical exam on Saturday to formalize a one-year contract with the Tigers, and he won’t be in uniform with the team until at least Sunday.

The club's most productive hitters, Miguel Cabrera and Nicholas Castellanos, also won’t be playing. They’ll be back in Lakeland working out at Tigertown before seeing their first Spring Training action on Sunday against the Phillies at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Still, Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays at 1:07 p.m. ET game in Dunedin begins the evaluation process on several decisions manager Ron Gardenhire and general manager Al Avila need to make before their club heads to Toronto. Among them:

• Lefty Matt Moore will make his first start with the Tigers as he tries to shore up a rotation spot. Though Avila said Moore was signed to be a starter when he reached an agreement on a one-year deal in December, Gardenhire is promoting the idea of competition in camp, and he has indicated his rotation isn’t set yet. Moore, who spent the first half of last season in the Rangers' rotation before moving to the bullpen, is trying to show he has the stuff to start again.

• Grayson Greiner will start behind the plate as the Tigers move on from James McCann at catcher. Gardenhire and the staff would love Greiner to take over the primary catching duties, but the 26-year-old has just 30 games of Major League experience. He’s also coming off offseason surgery to remove a bone chip from his right wrist.

• JaCoby Jones starts in center field as he tries to show improved at-bats. Jones has focused this spring on plate discipline and contact in an effort to cut down on his strikeout rate. The Tigers love his defense in center, but they need more offense from him. Detroit also needs a leadoff hitter, a role Jones has the athleticism and speed to fit if he can improve his on-base percentage from .266 last year and .258 for his career.

Other Tiger position players scheduled to start on Saturday include Jordy Mercer (making his Tigers debut), Jeimer Candelario, Niko Goodrum, Christin Stewart, Mikie Mahtook and John Hicks.

The game will be broadcast on radio on 97.1 FM in Detroit, and on MLB Gameday Audio. Dan Dickerson and Jim Price will be on the call.

Mize working on stretch

Casey Mize rose to the top of the Tigers’ Draft board last year by dominating Southeastern Conference competition. His first outing in a Detroit uniform saw him learn some lessons against Southeastern University, mainly on his work out of the stretch with runners on base.

Mize, who pitched two innings in relief of starter Spencer Turnbull, overpowered hitters in a perfect 13-pitch third inning. His fastball sat at 94-96 mph, according to a scout in attendance, and topped out at 97 mph on his sixth pitch of the afternoon, according to the Joker Marchant Stadium scoreboard. Mize went to work on his secondary pitches in the fourth inning, telling catcher Jake Rogers, who homered in the 13-2 win, he wanted to throw some splitters and his retooled slurve for a strike.

“I did both of those things in the first two outs,” Mize said. “We met at the mound, and I said, ‘All right, we checked our two boxes there.’ And then I gave up three hits.”

All three hits were singles, but Mize fell behind in the count on the last two, giving up a single on a 3-0 fastball. He believes the struggle came from his stretch, which he reworked this offseason.

“I really liked it at Auburn because I pre-set the hips,” he said, “but my feet were spread out really wide, so it was hard to get a lot of momentum forward. So I brought my feet closer together, still pre-set my hips, but I got a higher leg kick than I did at Auburn and got more momentum. I’ve been working on it, but today’s just a reminder to work harder.”

The three singles led to a run as Southeastern University rallied from a 2-0 deficit, eventually tying the game before the Tigers surged late behind a 10-run eighth inning.