Lest we forget, two years ago Rick Porcello was pitching against high school kids in New Jersey. Now he is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his last three starts in the big leagues.
        Watching him work lately, that’s hard to believe.
        “If any of those high school kids hit him, I would have signed them, too,” Jim Leyland declared Sunday morning, in the wake of the 20-year-old Porcello’s best game yet on Saturday night.
        Right now, Leyland looks like a genius.
        “People say it was a good decision to put him on the team,” the manager said. “It wasn’t a good decision. It was a common sense decision.
        “I like talent,” Leyland added.
        And this kid definitely has that.
        “But let’s not put him in the Hall of Fame just yet,” Leyland cautioned. “He’s going to have some ups and downs. He’s not over the hump.”
        In fact, there is no guarantee Porcello will even remain in the Tigers’ starting rotation for the rest of the year.
        “But I’ll tell you what, when he’s 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA, we’re not going to take him out of the rotation. He’s Nolan Ryan right now.
        “Right now, this kid is one of our five  best pitchers, and that’s what this is all about,” Leyland continued. “You’re supposed to have your best players in the big leagues. He’s a blue chipper. And he’s a blue chip person, too.
        “But will he still be one of our five best pitchers in July?  I don’t know,” Leyland admitted. “I don’t know how it’s going to play out.
        “He’s going to take some baby steps backwards. He’s going to get the (bleep) knocked out of him some nights. But he’s going to take some steps forward, too.
        “I promised Dave (Dombrowski), ‘If you let me take him, I’ll protect him,’ ” Leyland said.
        “I’m not going to get greedy. Even if he’s throwing a shutout or a no-hitter, when it gets to a point, I’m taking him out of there. I don’t care. That’s just the way it is. He’s got a long way to go and we’re going to take it slow.”
        If Porcello keeps pitching the way he has lately, that won’t be easy.