quot;He's tremendous,quot; Leyland said. quot;He's one of the best young arms and pitchers in the game right now. You just have to hope you catch him on a bad night. He's real good, and (Rick) Porcello is going to have to pitch good.quot;

Greinke left the Royals during spring training in 2006 with social anxiety disorder.

Zumaya to rejoin team

Leyland said reliever Joel Zumaya (shoulder) will rejoin the Tigers on Saturday or Sunday in Kansas City.

In Tuesday and Wednesday night appearances with the Toledo Mud Hens, Zumaya pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four. The final hurdle to clear in his rehabilitation assignment was pitching on back-to-back days and showing no unusual soreness.

quot;They say he's ready for the big leagues,quot; Leyland said. quot;He had good velocity and a pretty good breaking ball.quot;

Leyland had not decided what role Zumaya would have, saying only that the reliever would be quot;used from the sixth inning on.quot;

Relievers Fernando Rodney, Ryan Perry and a healthy Zumaya will fill setup and closer roles for the Tigers .

Porcello sent ahead of team

The Tigers sent tonight's starter, Porcello, ahead to Kansas City on Thursday. The rest of the ballclub was not scheduled to arrive there until about sunrise today.