Drew Smyly: Detroit Tigers' No. 5 Starter Continues to Impress

Drew Smyly leads the American League in ERA.

Wait, what? Who?

The Tigers' 22-year-old rookie has given up six earned run in 34 innings and six starts this season.

But Smyly, who barely made the team out of spring training has little to show for it.

Smyly has an American League-best 1.59 ERA, 34 strikeouts and just 10 walks, but he is just 1-0.

Smyly retired the first 10 batters he faced in his sixth major league appearance Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners. He allowed just one run on two hits in six innings against the Mariners.

But his alleged power hitting teammates let him down again, scoring just one run, and Smyly got the short end of the stick with a no-decision.

The Tigers haven't stepped up offensively behind Smyly this season. In Smyly's starts, Detroit has only scored 4.3 runs per game (26 total). And several of those runs have come after Smyly has exited the game.

But Smyly won't blame his teammates for the offensive anemia.

"That's out of my control," Smyly told MLive.com's Chris Iott after Wednesday's game. "All I can hope to do is go out and be in a position to get a win. If you start trying to mess around with that, it's not going to go good for you. That's out of my control."

Despite not playing above the Double-A level before this season, Smyly is unfazed by the pressure, the moment and the spotlight. He is calm, collected and efficient with a 3.4-1 ratio of strikeouts to walks this season.

And the rookie doesn't need the home crowd support to help him.

He earned his only win so far on the road, and away from the friendly confines of Comerica Park, Smyly has a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings (three starts), with 16 strikeouts and five walks.

He has only given up two total earned runs at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium, Seattle's Safeco Field and New York's vaunted Yankee Stadium.

It almost seems like Smyly doesn't understand how big of a spot he is in.

Until you hear him speak.

His demeanor is refreshing, and so far, he hasn't let anything get to his head.

If Smyly can continue a fraction of the success he has had in his first six career starts and the Tigers bats begin to wake up like they are supposed to, Smyly will start to earn the wins he has deserved, and he may be looking at a nod for A.L. Rookie of the Year.

But people also shouldn't get ahead of themselves on that front. He is still facing teams for the first time, and opposing hitters will start to look at film of Smyly and study him. His gems will slow down, but because of his calm demeanor, he's ahead of the game on the mound.

And Smyly knows the offense is destined to pick up.

"It sucks losing 2-1 or 3-2 or whatever it is, but everyone knows we're going to start hitting. I mean, look at all the names in this lineup," Smyly said. "It sucks right now, but sooner or later it's going to turn around. It's just a matter of time."

His only goal is to help his team live up to the expectations it came into the season with. Because so far, Smyly has been one of the only Tigers to exceed expectations.