Fulmer makes case for multiple awards

Tigers starter is in line for Rookie of Year, with Cy Young also in play.

Michael Fulmer is the new American League ERA leader.

Does that make the Tigers rookie right-hander a serious AL Cy Young Award candidate?

That’s an interesting question now that Fulmer (2.25 ERA) has reached the number of innings qualified for the ERA lead.

The next-best ERA is 2.82 by Royals right-hander Danny Duffy.

Fulmer also ranks first among pitchers in the AL in WAR (5.1) and third in WHIP (1.02).

Fulmer should be the front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year. And by those numbers, it seems the 23-year-old Fulmer is at least in the conversation for the Cy Young.

It’s worth noting that baseball writers sometimes overlook winloss records; Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez won the 2010 AL Cy Young Award despite a middling 13-12 record and missing the MLB All-Star Game; he did lead the league in ERA at 2.27.

And then there’s history. The only pitcher to win Rookie of the Year and Cy Young in the same year is Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, doing so in the National League for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Richards improving

The Angels some good news last week. Garrett Richards, who sustained a season-ending tear of his ulnar collateral ligament in early May, was cleared to throw after imaging tests and an examination showed “significant improvement” in his elbow since his last evaluation in lateJune. Richards, the team’s top starter, hopes to pitch in Arizona Fall League games or in simulated games in October. If all goes well, he could be ready for the start of spring training in February.

Sitting pretty

The Yankees will pay Alex Rodriguez $20 million not to play next season. Or as team publicists prefer to spin it, a record contract for a designated sitter.

Hit the showers

From the You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up file comes word that a Twins-Astros game in Minneapolis was rained out — on Umbrella Night.

News flash

Dateline St. Petersburg, Fla.: The Tampa Bay Rays, averaging just 16,438 fans a game, announced plans to double that by putting Pokemon Go targets inside the stadium.

Papi farewell

David Ortiz was given a loud ovation during each at-bat Monday in Cleveland. He lined out in the first, bounced into a double play in the fourth and singled in the eighth. Ortiz took off on a 3-1 count and would have stolen second, but it was ball four. Before the game, Cleveland presented a check for $10,000 in Ortiz’s name to a local recreation center.

No Kidding

The Mariners announced plans to erect a Ken Griffey Jr. statue outside Safeco Field sometime next year. Prospective sculptors can only pray the local pigeons have no-hit stuff.

MIKE STONE / ASSOCIATED PRESS Tigers rookie right-hander Michael Fulmer, 23, leads the American League in ERA by a wide margin now that he’s pitched enough innings to qualify in that category.