Tigers RHP Michael Fulmer is Sporting News' 2016 American League Rookie of the Year, as selected by a panel of 164 AL players. SN has given out Rookie of the Year awards since 1946.

Michael Fulmer’s welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment was pretty unforgettable.

The Tigers’ 23-year-old right-hander made his major-league debut against the Rays on April 29, and Twins leadoff man Danny Santana hit a comebacker to Fulmer on his second pitch of the game.

“I run over to first and look up, and I’m tossing it to the greatest hitter on the planet standing at first base,” Fulmer said. “That was pretty cool.”

Fulmer’s first major-league season started with that toss to two-time AL MVP and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera, and Fulmer’s season finished with a stellar 3.05 ERA in 26 starts, with only 136 hits allowed in 159 innings.

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That effort earned him the Sporting News American League Rookie of the Year award. As with all Sporting News awards, the rookie of the year is voted on solely by MLB players.

“It’s an honor to earn a little respect from these guys,” Fulmer told SN. “I respect everybody I play against, so to get noticed like that, it’s really awesome.”

Fulmer was pretty awesome, too, after a slow beginning.

Four starts into his career, he had a 6.52 ERA and had yet to last more than five innings. Before his next start, against Tampa Bay on May 21, pitching coach Rich Dubee and catchers James McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a conversation with Fulmer.

“They all sat me down and said, ‘This is do or die. You need to start throwing your changeup more,’ ” Fulmer said.

The rookie was on board, of course. That’s a pretty strong recommendation. During his between-start bullpen, he threw 30-something changeups. “Got to about seven or eight and something clicked,” Fulmer said. “I found something at the bottom of zone, had good movement. I don’t know how I did it, I can’t tell you, but after that it stuck.”

According to the numbers on BrooksBaseball.net, Fulmer had thrown a total of 25 changeups in his first four starts; against the Rays, he threw 29. And he threw them in every situation. Effectively.

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Fulmer went seven innings in that start, allowing just four hits and one run, while striking out 11.

Yeah.

That was the beginning of a pretty insane 10-start stretch, during which Fulmer posted a 0.83 ERA. In five of those starts, he went at least six innings and allowed zero runs. He worked into the eighth inning three times and struck out 55 in 65 1/3 innings.

“It was the defense, and Salty and Mac behind the plate,” Fulmer said, deflecting the credit. “They did everything. I just try not to think out there. Whatever sign the catcher puts down there, I just nod and smile and try to execute to the best of my ability.”

Clearly, he executed very well.

His path to the SN AL Rookie of the Year award had a few turns. Fulmer was one of three prep right-handers from Oklahoma taken in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Dylan Bundy went fourth overall to the Orioles, Archie Bradley went seventh overall to the Diamondbacks and Fulmer went 44th overall, as a supplemental pick for losing free-agent Pedro Feliciano, to the Mets.

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“It was cool getting to compete against those guys and to see the state of Oklahoma get some recognition for baseball for the 2011 draft,” he said with a laugh. “It was really awesome to see.”

He showed promise early in his career, but dealt with a series of frustrating injuries (meniscus clean-up, removing bone spurs from the elbow, etc.) that, at times, halted his progress. Fulmer made sure to make the most of that time, though. He watched video of pitchers he wanted to emulate and studied pitch sequencing.

His biggest advancements in his changeup actually happened when he was sidelined and working on different grips. The proverbial blessing in disguise.

He opened the 2015 season healthy and pitching for the Mets’ Double-A club in Binghamton. Through 15 starts, he had a 1.88 ERA and more strikeouts (85) than hits allowed (73). The Mets weren’t the only team that noticed, and on July 31, less than a half-hour before the non-waiver trade deadline, he was shipped to the Tigers in a trade that sent slugger Yoenis Cespedes to New York.

“It felt good to be traded, honestly, especially when I was down in Double-A,” Fulmer said. “You get that sense, that feeling that another team expects you to do well. That’s why they traded away one of their superstars for a young guy like myself, so I was thrilled with the trade.”

Cespedes was an instant hit with the Mets, of course. He popped 17 homers in his 57 games with the team and helped lift his new club from outside the playoff picture all the way to the World Series. Fulmer said Cespedes’s success didn’t add any pressure, though.

“I mean, there’s nothing I can do about that,” Fulmer said. “He’s an All-Star outfielder for a reason. They traded for him for a reason. Obviously he’s pretty good. I was happy for the Mets when they got to the World Series, I was rooting for them. A few of the guys I played with in the minor leagues were on that team, so it was cool to see that, especially the starting staff. It was cool to see them do what they did.”

And Tigers fans feel it’s pretty cool to see what Fulmer’s done for their team, too.

Previous Tigers rookies to be honored by Sporting News include Harvey Kuenn (1953), Mark Fidrych (1976), Dave Rozema (1977), Mike Henneman (1987), Justin Verlander (2006) and Austin Jackson (2010).

VOTING RESULTS

1. Michael Fulmer, Tigers-61

2. Tyler Naquin, Indians-35

3. Gary Sanchez, Yankees-27

4. Nomar Mazura, Rangers-13

5. Tim Anderson, White Sox-9

Other-19

THIS WEEK’S SN AWARD SCHEDULE

Monday: Rookies of the Year (AL and NL) and Managers of the Year (AL and NL)

Tuesday: Comeback Players of the Year (AL and NL)

Wednesday: AL All-Star Team | NL All-Star Team

Thursday: MLB Player of the Year