Despite his newfound top prospect status Houtteman remained in Buffalo at the beginning of the 1947 season before being recalled to the Tigers in July. He was relegated to the bullpen for a time, and saw little action. But after Hal Newhouser, Fred Hutchinson and Dizzy Trout were used in two days, Tiger manager Steve O'Neill decided to start Houtteman against the Washington Senators for only the second start of his career. He tossed a five-hit shutout and Tiger general manager Billy Evans said, "In 40 years I've never seen a better pitching job by a first-year pitcher. We now know that Houtteman is really a big leaguer". He followed this with another five-hit victory against the Boston Red Sox, then pitched a three-hit shutout in September against the St. Louis Browns. He finished the season at 7–2 with a 3.42 ERA, seven complete games and two shutouts. His performance in 1947 caught the attention of New York Yankees star and future Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, who said of Houtteman and Bob Lemon, "They have more stuff and more pitching sense than any other young fellows I've seen come up in a long while".