Detroit Tigers: 5 Reasons Drew Smyly Will Be the Real Deal for a Long Time

In the wake of Smyly's impressive start on Saturday afternoon, many fans and media pundits are beginning to look to Detroit's No. 5 starter.

Even though it's only four starts, Smyly is picking up where he left off in 2011, which earned him the title of Detroit Tigers' Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

However, are we getting excited too soon? Are four starts enough to showcase what a year may have in store?

The answer is simple. Drew Smyly is the real deal, and he isn't going anywhere any time soon. 

Here are five reasons why people should be on notice because this 22-year-old left-hander will be in Detroit for a long time to come. 

5. Learn from the Best

As a young pitcher attempting to adjust to the bright lights and heavy pressure of the major league, what could be more beneficial than having the best pitcher in all of baseball on your team?

While no one is asking Verlander to be a mentor to young Smyly, it will be almost impossible for Smyly not to improve just by mere observation and listening.

Verlander's work ethic and competitiveness have been discussed at great lengths over the past few seasons; therefore, Smyly has the opportunity to see how Verlander deals with a loss, handles a win and prepares for each and every game.  

By doing this, Smyly will certainly become a better pitcher for years to come; as this season progresses, Smyly and Verlander could be a devastating combo for teams to attempt to defeat, but they will no doubt be fun to watch. 

4. Only Just Begun

One of the best attributes of Drew Smyly is his age. 

At only 22 years of age, Smyly has a long career ahead of him. His impressive start to this season, however, should not be taken out of context. 

While he's an impressive pitcher and could ultimately be the dominant left-hander who Detroit was sorely missing before the season started—a regression is to be expected.

At some point this season, Smyly will get hit pretty hard. When that happens, Smyly may learn the greatest lesson of all. In order to experience great success, sometimes a player needs to experience great failure. 

Because of his young age, Smyly will be able to learn from every start—expect to see Smyly in the old English D for a very long time.

3. Great Stuff

He may not feature a great deal of pitches, but Smyly has great control and balance between the four pitches he uses.

Smyly features a fastball, change-up, curve and a modified cutter. He's able to throw a powerful fastball around 95 mph when he wants to, his change-up needs a bit of work in order to throw off opposing hitters and his cutter is a dangerously nasty pitch.  As the Detroit Free Press noted in a recent article, his cutter can take on many forms.

Smyly stated, "It's such a good pitch because it's not a pitch that necessarily misses bats, but it's just enough to get them to miss the barrel of the bat."

If he can continue his pace, there will be no doubt that Smyly's name will come up when discussing possible Rookies of the Year. 

While it is impossible to expect perfection from him the entire season, Smyly's ability to pinpoint those four pitches could be devastating to other teams this season. 

2. Supporting Offense

While Detroit's offense has been nonexistent in the past few series, there's no denying the potential this lineup has to offer.

Also, it's hard to argue with the fact that this is just a phase; fans should not expect these Tigers to continue to struggle at the plate. At some point, this team will hit, and when they do, they will put up monster numbers.

There's nothing better for a young pitcher than to receive a healthy dose of run support—not that Drew Smyly needs it. In just 22 innings of work, Smyly is boasting a 1.23 ERA. 

If he's able to hold teams to just three to four runs per game or less, Smyly will be able to do exactly what the Tigers brought him up to do. 

This team was designed to score runs, and they will start doing that again in a big way very soon. Until then, they will lean on Smyly's ability to get hitters out consistently.

Once Smyly's talent combines with a potent Tigers' offense, teams will have an almost insurmountable task ahead of them.

1. Confidence

His confidence is evident.

Whenever he's on the mound, Smyly feels as if he can beat any team at any time. One of his greatest advantages, however, is the fact that teams have never seen him before. 

Players can watch all the film they want, but experience is the No. 1 teacher. Right now, teams are learning that this kid can pitch.

There were a couple times during the Tigers' 7-5 victory over New York where Smyly was behind in the count 2-0 and threw a couple curveballs for strikes. Many pitchers are afraid to do this because it may result in a 3-0 count, which means the pitcher is practically forced to throw a fastball and give the batter what he wants.

Because of his confidence, Smyly is able to keep hitters guessing, which will be a huge asset as he continues his career with the Tigers.