Hens’ VerHagen gets call to face Indians
7/18/2014Mud Hens pitcher Drew VerHagen was having problems with his cell phone Wednesday — and those problems nearly caused him to miss the biggest news of his career.
“My phone was dead, but I was able to turn it on [Wednesday] and found out I had a voice mail from [Mud Hens manager Larry Parrish],” VerHagen said. “He gave me the news, and I was really very excited about it.”
“The news” was that VerHagen will be promoted to Detroit on Saturday to start the first game of the Tigers’ doubleheader against the Indians.
This year, VerHagen has made 19 starts for Toledo in just his second full professional season. The 23-year-old right-hander is 6-7 with a 3.67 ERA, having allowed 117 hits and 25 walks while fanning 63 in 110 1/3 innings.
“At first I was shocked it was happening,” VerHagen admitted. “Then I started to think about the path I took to this point.
“[Getting the word I was being called up] was really a good moment.”
VerHagen will join the Tigers today as they begin their series with the Indians.
The 6-6, 230-pounder said he does not know what plans Detroit has for him after the start.
“I am just focused on my next start, focused on getting outs,” he said.
“My goal is to give them a quality start.”