Tigers tab Below to make Wednesday start

Tigers tab Below to make Wednesday start
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 07/19/11 12:43 PM ET

DETROIT -- Duane Below grew up within an hour's drive of Tigers home games at Comerica Park. He'll now get a chance to pitch there.

After plenty of speculation over who would get the Tigers' fifth starter spot out of the All-Star break, the team is turning to the 25-year-old left-hander. With the better part of four solid months at Triple-A Toledo on the resume, Below will don the Old English D to make his Major League debut against Oakland on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.

The team announced the decision Tuesday morning, ending more than a week of speculation that included top prospect Jacob Turner, who was moved up two days in Double-A Erie's rotation to coincide with Detroit's open spot, and Charlie Furbush, who made two starts for the Tigers leading into the All-Star break and was supposedly scratched from his scheduled start for the Mud Hens on Tuesday. Both were believed to be in consideration for the spot at some point. It appears the Tigers will instead be watching Turner's innings as he nears the end of his second pro season.

Who gets the rotation spot for the long term will still be the hot topic for speculation. Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski has said they're looking to trade for a starting pitcher before the July 31 deadline, and every indication suggests they're searching hard for one. They'll likely keep searching no matter how well Below pitches Wednesday, but a strong outing would definitely help his future prospects in Detroit.

Of all the pitching prospects at Triple-A Toledo, Below has been the quietest, but he has been quietly consistent. He's 9-4 with a 3.13 ERA in 18 starts as a Mud Hen this year, allowing 99 hits over 115 innings. He's unbeaten in his last four outings, allowing six runs on 20 hits over 26 innings in that stretch with 10 walks and 18 strikeouts.

Below grew up in Britton, Michigan, a town with a population around 700 located between Toledo and Ann Arbor. He went to school at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Mich., located on the western side of the state.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.