BREAKING NEWS: the Detroit Tigers have announced the sing of two crucial player….

Detroit Tigers camp: 3 biggest questions left

LAKELAND, Fla. – Reece Olson pitched four innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, and entered the clubhouse after the game dripping with sweat from pitching into the bullpen. After the walk, Olson went to work. And as spring training draws to a close, every pitch means something. Olson is competing with Casey Mize and Matt Manning for the final two spots in Detroit’s rotation. That’s the biggest question remaining as camp enters its home line. “Some days you can’t objectively assess the situation,” manager A.J. Hinch said.

Most of the time in baseball, dilemmas like this (5 spots vs. his 6 starting pitchers) tend to resolve themselves. Someone will be hurt or rejected. The problems that keep managers and executives up at night often don’t require real solutions. But with just over a week left in camp, what if the sport’s adage turns out to be wrong? So far, all pitchers in Detroit’s rotation have remained healthy.

All six candidates, especially the three vying for seats, performed well. In almost every conversation between observers around the dugout, you can hear whispers about who is most likely to make the team. On Sunday, Olson pitched four innings and allowed only one run, a home run.

He struck out four batters and did not walk any. He also impressed with his changeup, which he overcame three defensive mistakes and threw an unusual 29 percent of the time Sunday. Olson said this spring he has gained confidence in his three secondary pitches: changeup, slider and curveball. This is remarkable for a pitcher who posted a 1.51 ERA in six starts last season and struck out batters per inning. Olson has a 3.68 ERA this spring, and there’s nothing in his numbers to suggest he can’t continue to perform well in the big leagues.

The problem is that the pitchers who support Olson are making their own persuasive arguments. They have some big names as well. Matt Manning was a former first-round pick and one of the best players in all of Tigers camp. Velocity has been improved and, more importantly, the secondary repertoire, consisting of two different slider and footswitch functions, has been greatly improved. Manning averaged just 5.8 K/9 last year, but addressed concerns about his inability to get off the bat this spring by recording 11 strikeouts in eight innings. He was too good to be ignored.

And 2018 No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize has finally returned from Tommy John surgery. Mize’s velocity reached the mid-90s and he showed significant improvement in the movement of his four-seam fastball. He had some issues with the feel of his slider, but with the arrival of spring, his fastball also improved. Mize’s seven walks in 10 2/3 innings may be a little concerning, but he probably has the highest ceiling of any of these pitchers and is eager to get back to the big leagues.

Early talk of tandem starts and starting one of these pitchers in the bullpen now seems unthinkable. So who do you trust the most to win regular season games?

It’s a tough question, but Hinch and Scott Harris are being paid handsomely for the answer. The bullpen will also have to make some tough decisions at the end of camp. So it looks like Alex Faedo, Beau Briske, and Joey Wentz could compete for the two spots. All of them left a strong impression on me this spring. Who is left out of the lineup may have to do with secondary factors. For example, Wentz doesn’t have a minor league option, meaning the Tigers would have to draft him and risk losing him if they don’t send him north. Last season’s ERA was 6.90, but Wentz has revised the vertical entry angle of his fastball and has shown better results this spring, with 14 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings. But is this enough? Faedo and Briske showed even better results. Briske pitched 9 2/3 innings this spring without allowing a run. His fastball is between 97 and 98 mph. And while he has some work to do to land his secondary passes in the right spots, he looks like a versatile power hitter.

Faedo was also great, giving up just two runs and striking out 13 in 9 2/3 innings. His slider looks like a real weapon to use out of the bullpen. This upgraded change also revives the idea of ​​Faedo as a starter, so there are worlds where it makes sense to keep him out of the Triple-A rotation until the Tigers need a starter in the big leagues. That’s not the case with players like Miguel Diaz or pitcher Drew Anderson, who spent the past two seasons in Japan honing his technique and making a huge impression this spring.

“From a pitcher’s perspective, we still have a week left,” Hinch said. “The number of applicants has far exceeded even our optimistic expectations.”
When the Tigers signed Gio Urshela, a group of 13 position players appeared to be ready pending injuries. But is everything really that simple? During Sunday morning’s meeting, Hinch said he wanted to make it clear to the players remaining in camp that their efforts are not going unnoticed. Outfielder Brye Madris is batting .368 in camp, and minor league signee Keston Hiura is showing the image of the hitter he once considered a Brewers prospect. “You don’t want to get too much feedback at the end of camp,” Hinch said. “But we wanted to let them know we were aware.”

The Tigers’ bench will likely continue to consist of Carson Kelly, Zach McKinstry, Andy Ibanez and Matt Vierling. But just like the names above, Ryan Kreidler isn’t going down without a fight. Of the players remaining in camp, Kreidler may have the most realistic chance of rebuilding the roster. Kreidler has always been known for his infield defense and has value in the lineup as the player best suited to fill shortstop Javier Báez’s role. The Kreidler problem has long been a question. Last season, he hit just .225 in Triple-A, and was plagued by serious injuries for the second year in a row. But this spring, Kreidler had an impressive batting average of .321 and an OPS of 1.008. Additionally, Kreidler has 10 strikeouts in 36 at-bats, giving him a strikeout rate of 27.8%, which suggests Kreidler’s weaknesses.

But on Sunday, Kreidler hit his second home run of the spring, reminding us that even if he doesn’t make the opening roster, he’s likely to fit firmly into the Tigers’ 2024 plans. “It’ll be interesting to track his progress this spring,” Hinch said. “He kept his head down. he did his job. He is trying to apply pressure to make a good impression. We know he can be trusted in many ways, and we know the more he hits, the better his chances will be.