Shift on rubber helping Rick Porcello

As Scott White has pointed out recently, Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello has experienced a nice run of starts lately.

Porcello was a popular spring breakout candidate after dominating spring training with his curveball. But that success didn't initially carry over to the regular season. Porcello's most recent surge has been propelled by a shift on the pitching mound, which was initially pointed out by FanGraphs.com. Porcello has moved closer to the first base side of the rubber, and it seems to have helped him pitch better. Porcello is also relying on his breaking pitches a little more over his recent streak.

Porcello will take on the Twins Friday, and could be in for another strong start. While his surface level stats still look ugly, his advanced rates are promising. Porcello has a 4.86 ERA, but his 3.67 FIP is a better indicator of how well he can pitch. He should be added in Fantasy leagues before other owners take notice.