Tigers’ Matt Boyd walked a tightrope in 2018

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesMatt Boyd remained a bit of an enigma in 2018. Despite a serious loss of velocity that persisted into the summer months, Boyd pitched well early on before struggling in June and never really getting on a roll again. For the third straight year, he alternated a few months of dominance with long patches of mediocrity.

Overall, Boyd threw 170 1⁄3 innings in 2018, putting up a 4.39 ERA, with a 4.45 FIP. That’s excellent value for a player making slightly more than the league minimum. For the second consecutive year, FanGraphs WAR (fWAR) valued him as a league average pitcher. He continues to be a veritable workhorse by today’s standards, topping 160 innings,…