Michael Fulmer Bio
Michael Joseph Fulmer is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Red Sox. Fulmer won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 2016 and was selected to the All-Star Game in 2017.
Early Life and Background
Michael Joseph Fulmer was born on March 15, 1993, in Edmond, Oklahoma, USA. He grew up in Edmond and attended Deer Creek High School, where he starred on the baseball diamond. As a senior, Fulmer went 10–2 with a 0.72 earned run average, struck out 127 batters, and also hit .436 with six home runs, showcasing rare two-way talent.
Coming out of high school, Fulmer was viewed as one of the top pitching prospects in the country. He committed to play college baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks before deciding to enter the professional ranks. His combination of a powerful arm and athletic hitting ability made him a first-round selection in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Mets.
Path to Baseball
After being drafted by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft, Fulmer began his professional career that summer with the rookie-level Gulf Coast Mets. He posted a 0–1 record with a 10.13 ERA in four appearances, three of them starts. The following year, Fulmer advanced to the Savannah Sand Gnats, where he went 7–6 with a 2.74 ERA and 101 strikeouts over 108+1⁄3 innings across 21 starts.
Prior to the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Fulmer as the Mets’ seventh-best prospect. Injuries limited him to nine games that year, but he returned in 2014 to pitch at two levels, St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton, starting 20 games. His development through the Mets system set the stage for a pivotal trade that would launch his major league career.
Michael Fulmer Career
Early Career (2011–2015)
Fulmer’s first four years in the Mets organization included stints at multiple minor league levels and provided steady development as a starting pitcher. After finishing 2014 with a 6–11 record and a 4.38 ERA at St. Lucie and Binghamton, he returned to Double-A in 2015 and quickly became one of the top pitchers in the Eastern League. He was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week in August 2015 and finished the year 10–3 with a 2.24 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 22 starts between Erie and Binghamton.
On July 31, 2015, the Mets traded Fulmer and Luis Cessa to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder Yoenis Céspedes. The Tigers added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season, and his combination of stuff, polish, and minor league results positioned him as a near-ready arm for Detroit’s rotation.
Detroit Tigers Breakthrough (2016–2022)
Fulmer made his major league debut on April 29, 2016, against the Minnesota Twins, earning the win after allowing two earned runs over five innings with four strikeouts in a 9–2 Tigers victory. He quickly emerged as one of the top rookies in baseball, highlighted by an 11-strikeout performance against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 21 and a near no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels on June 1 in which he carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning. By early July, he had become the first Tigers pitcher since at least 1913 to allow one or zero runs in eight consecutive starts.
His rookie season ended with an 11–7 record, a 3.06 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 132 strikeouts in 159 innings, including a complete-game shutout against the Texas Rangers on August 14. Fulmer swept the major rookie awards, taking home the Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year, the MLBPA Players Choice Award for AL Outstanding Rookie, and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America AL Rookie of the Year Award with 26 of 30 first-place votes.
Fulmer built on that success in 2017, going 9–6 with a 3.19 ERA in the first half and earning his first American League All-Star selection. He finished the year 10–12 with a 3.83 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 164+2⁄3 innings, though his season ended in September when he underwent elbow surgery for ulnar nerve transposition. Injuries continued to affect him in 2018, when he went 3–12 with a 4.69 ERA and finished the year recovering from right knee surgery.
On March 19, 2019, the Tigers recommended season-ending Tommy John surgery after Fulmer experienced elbow pain during a bullpen session, causing him to miss the entire 2019 season. He returned in 2020 in an opener role and moved to the bullpen in 2021, recording his first career save against the Boston Red Sox on May 6 and posting a 5–6 record with a 2.97 ERA and 14 saves across 52 appearances. On August 2, 2022, Detroit traded Fulmer to the Minnesota Twins for pitcher Sawyer Gipson-Long, where he posted a 3.70 ERA in 26 relief appearances down the stretch.
Chicago Cubs Era (2023–2025)
On February 20, 2023, Fulmer signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. In 58 appearances for Chicago, he went 3–5 with a 4.42 ERA, 65 strikeouts, and 2 saves in 57 innings, serving as a reliable middle reliever. On October 19, 2023, the team announced that Fulmer had undergone UCL revision surgery and would likely miss the entire 2024 season, after which he became a free agent.
On February 8, 2024, Fulmer signed a two-year, minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. He returned to action in 2025 and was selected to the active roster on April 13, making his Red Sox debut the following day against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was designated for assignment on April 18 and elected free agency on April 20. On April 23, 2025, he signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs, was designated for assignment on June 26, and elected free agency on June 30 after clearing waivers.
Driving Style and Strengths
Although this page focuses on a pitcher rather than a driver, Fulmer’s craft on the mound has long been defined by his powerful fastball and developing secondary arsenal. He throws four-seam and two-seam fastballs that average 94–97 MPH and top out at 99 MPH, paired with a slider in the 88–93 MPH range and a changeup that sits 85–88 MPH. After a rough start to 2016, he leaned more heavily on his changeup, holding opponents to a .167 average against the pitch, and in 2017 he added a knuckle curve that he had previously thrown in high school.
Notable Events and Milestones
Fulmer’s signature moments include his 2016 rookie campaign, which featured an 11-strikeout debut home start, a near no-hitter against the Angels, a 33+1⁄3-inning scoreless streak that broke the Tigers’ rookie record, and a complete-game shutout of the Texas Rangers. He became the first Tigers rookie pitcher since Pat Underwood in 1979 to strike out 11 in a game and only the second pitcher in major league history to pitch four consecutive scoreless outings of six innings or more while allowing three or fewer hits, joining Jake Arrieta.
Michael Fulmer Career Wins
Michael Joseph Fulmer has compiled a diverse set of wins across both starting and relief roles during his major league career. His most productive stretch came with the Detroit Tigers, where he combined 11 wins in his 2016 rookie season with subsequent victories in 2017 and 2021. He added further wins in relief with the Tigers, Twins, and Cubs.
Major League Highlights
Fulmer’s first major league win came in his debut on April 29, 2016, against the Minnesota Twins, a 9–2 Tigers victory in which he allowed two earned runs over five innings and struck out four. He went on to win 11 games that season, the most in any single year of his career, while helping lead Detroit back to relevance. He earned a win in 2017 against the Cleveland Indians and added his first win of 2021 on April 14 against the Houston Astros, pitching five innings of two-run ball in a 6–4 Tigers victory.
Other Wins & Performances
In 2023 with the Chicago Cubs, Fulmer went 3–5 with a 4.42 ERA across 58 appearances, contributing two saves and 65 strikeouts in 57 innings of middle relief. With the Minnesota Twins in 2022, he went 2–2 with a 3.70 ERA in 26 appearances, helping stabilize the late innings down the stretch.
Michael Fulmer Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Fulmer is a product of the Edmond, Oklahoma, community and built his baseball foundation at Deer Creek High School. While not a racing family in the motorsport sense, the Fulmer family supported his development as a two-way player, and his senior-year production drew national attention.
Personal Life
Michael Joseph Fulmer married his girlfriend, Kelsey Miles, in January 2016, the same year he broke into the major leagues. During the offseason, Fulmer has worked as a plumber’s assistant, a trade he returned to as he has navigated injuries throughout his career.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season was a year of transitions for Michael Joseph Fulmer. He began the year with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox before Boston selected his contract on April 13, and he made his Red Sox debut the following day against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing three runs in 2+2⁄3 innings. He was designated for assignment on April 18 and elected free agency on April 20.
On April 23, 2025, Fulmer signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs and was designated for assignment on June 26 to make room for the returning Shota Imanaga. He cleared waivers and elected free agency the following day. On July 3, he signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals, where he posted a 5.89 ERA across 15 appearances for Triple-A Omaha before being released on August 16. On August 19, he signed with the Seattle Mariners, going 0.75 with 18 strikeouts over 12 innings for Triple-A Tacoma before electing free agency on November 6.
With a healthy arm following his 2023 UCL revision surgery, Fulmer showed the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that made him a Rookie of the Year, but frequent transactions kept him from holding down a steady major league role. As he enters free agency, his Triple-A performance in 2025 suggests he remains an option for clubs looking for veteran bullpen depth.