DETROIT -- With his sudden ascendance in the Detroit Tigers' rotation, rookie pitcher Michael Fulmer has captivated the fan base in Motown, and it’s not just Tigers faithful taking notice. The 23-year-old has elbowed his way into the rookie of the year conversation with a 7-2 start and 2.40 ERA in his first 11 games as a Tiger. Already we have a good idea of how his teammates and coaches feel -- they have been heaping praise upon Fulmer for his poise, the fearless way in which he attacks hitters, and the mettle he possesses when taking the mound -- but he’s raising his profile around the league as well.

To get a sense of how Fulmer is projecting to other teams, ESPN.com asked an MLB scout to share his thoughts on seeing the former first-round pick during his most recent start, on June 22 against the Seattle Mariners, in which Fulmer gave up one run and three hits in 4 1/3 innings pitched. The scout, who is not permitted to speak publicly about an opposing team's player, provided a glimpse of how opponents might assess and prepare for one of the quickest rising talents in the Tigers organization.

Initial thoughts: After the first two innings of watching Fulmer live for the first time, the scout told ESPN.com that he was surprised by Fulmer’s size: “Big, physical and durable,” he said. He also was intrigued about his delivery, which features a stiff lower half and is somewhat abrupt, compared with the fluid, more athletic delivery employed by other pitchers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, the scout noted, but it made him initially question command: “He's very upright. He finishes tall.”

Takeaway: “There's more effort to this kid's delivery,” the scout said. “More than I expected.”

Upon further review: After watching him pitch the third and fourth innings, the scout was able to further hone in on Fulmer’s repertoire, and he was immediately struck by his fastball: “When this guy is pounding in, it’s a heavy 95 [mph]. He gets in on guys' hands, will break bats.”

He also was impressed by one slider in particular that Fulmer threw (after the game, Fulmer admitted: “I don't know how many sliders I threw for strikes, honestly”). It was against Seth Smith, down and in for a third strike. “That’s a plus pitch,” the scout said.

Still, the best pitch he saw from Fulmer? His changeup. And the fact that Fulmer has been incorporating that pitch significantly more since a rocky stretch in his first four starts, when he was largely relying on his fastball-slider, is a strong sign about how he is learning to adapt. “That's a really positive development on his part on having a sustainable starting career,” the scout said, explaining that the slider is much harder on a pitcher's elbow, whereas the changeup is far less taxing. The scout also noted that his changeup fades arm side, down and away, which was useful when facing a left-handed-heavy lineup like the Mariners' because, even with Fulmer admittedly not at his best, it helped him induce weak groundouts.

Isolating one particular at-bat, against Norichika Aoki in the fifth inning, provided the scout some additional insight into his attack:

“The fact that he threw a first-pitch changeup with runners in scoring position with one out and two on shows me he has good confidence in his changeup,” the scout said.

Final thoughts: After hitting back-to-back batters, Fulmer was pulled in the fifth inning, making that outing the shortest yet in his first 11 starts as a Tiger (he later said he was not feeling well, battling both lightheadedness and dizziness after the first inning). The scout noted that the command issues on display may have stemmed from the fact that he has a tendency to pull his body off to his glove side (both Fulmer and manager Brad Ausmus remarked about Fulmer “yanking” the ball in this particular start). Overall, though, there was a lot to like about the young flamethrower, whom the scout described as a “big, strong, physical right-hander with a heavy fastball and two solid secondary pitches.”

Granted, it was a small sample size and, given Fulmer’s recent success, perhaps not the most representative of his body of work thus far, but this was the final assessment:

"I'm impressed with how heavy his fastball is and he shows signs of being a power pitcher with a feel for both his slider and his changeup. I think command will always be something he battled because of the nature of his delivery, but he has three legitimate big league pitches,” the scout said. “I think [the Tigers] found themselves a long-term rotation piece.”