LAKELAND, Fla. — Beau Brieske looked filthy — the highest compliment possible for a pitcher.
Brieske was on the mound Monday morning on the backfield at TigerTown, throwing a live batting practice, mowing down everybody he faced.
He struck out Roberto Campos with ease. It didn’t seem to matter who went up there, Brieske chewed them up. He has been the most impressive pitcher in this minicamp.
Brieske rides his fastball at the top of the zone, moving it all directions. He has a plus changeup. And he has been willing to try new things. He unveiled a new slider on Monday, a pitch he has been working on for just a few days.
Already, it featured plenty of nasty.
It’s like he can make his pitches dance all over the strike zone, moving the ball side to side, up and down, and back and forth, leaving hitters guessing.
And it’s drawing rave reviews from Tigers catchers.
“It’s his velo – upper 90s,” catcher Josh Crouch said. “He’s 95-97. Between the command and the competitiveness, it’s awesome.”
Brieske was taken in the 27th round of the 2019 draft – the 802nd pick overall and has soared through the Tigers’ system, climbing to Double-A Erie. After no minor league season in 2020 because of COVID-19, Brieske soared through the Tigers minor league season in 2021. He spent 13 games in High-A West Michigan, striking out 76 with 15 walks in 62⅔ innings.
That gave him a promotion to Erie, where he continued to look fantastic. He struck out 40 with eight walks in 44 innings.
For the year, he had a 1.01 WHIP — an excellent number.
“I love Beau,” catcher Dillon Dingler said. “I worked with him a lot last year and he was one definitely one of my favorites to catch. Had a good feel for all of his pitches. I think the biggest thing that stands out with him is how much confidence he has in every one of his pitches. He’s not scared to go away from certain one, in certain situations. He has that much confidence not only in us, but himself to kind of execute whatever he wants to do.”
Right now, Brieske looks like he’s headed toward becoming a legitimate MLB pitcher.
Probably not this year. But his stuff is outstanding. He just needs some refinement.
He is the No. 27 prospect in the Tigers system, according to MLB Pipeline, and that number seems low.
NEW BROMANCE: Top Tigers prospects, both 19, ‘almost like brothers now’
HOME-RUN KING: This Tigers prospect no longer under the radar after homering over it
A NEW WORKMAN: How Tigers prospect Gage Workman became the best kind of thief
Santana continues to sizzle
Cristian Santana, the youngest player in this camp, continues to impress.
In Monday’s live batting practice, Santana crushed a home run over the left-field fence off prized right-hander Jackson Jobe.
“I went up and talked to him after,” Jobe said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, how are you hitting that?’ I went with two sliders and had him 0-2. I went with another slider that he took (for a ball), and I went sinker in that he fouled off.
“And then I go fastball up and away. I don’t know how hard it was, but he got around it. Props to him. Good swing. I know he’s a good player.”
Santana, an 18-year-old shortstop, signed with the Tigers in January 2021 for a franchise-record $2.95 million signing bonus. He cruised through the Dominican Summer League last season, hitting .269 with nine home runs. He then worked out with 2021 National League MVP runner-up Juan Soto in the Dominican Republic.
“It was the first time I’ve seen him hit live and he impressed me,” Dingler said.
“The kid has talent,” Tigers shortstop Izaac Pacheco, a 19-year-old selected No. 39 overall in the 2021 draft, said. “He has tremendous work ethic. He’s so raw and natural, and you know he’s going to go up to the plate and show something.”
MORE ABOUT HIS GAME: Meet Tigers’ prized prospect Cristian Santana, a confident 18-year-old shortstop
VETERAN’S CONFIDENCE: Ex-Red Sox in Tigers’ camp is banking on big things from Javier Baez, Cristian Santana
Madden dominates
Before Jobe tossed his 25-pitch live batting practice, Tigers right-hander Ty Madden — the No. 32 overall pick in 2021 — did the same.
Madden, a 22-year-old from Texas, faced 20-year-old catcher Danuerys De La Cruz, 23-year-old outfielder Danny Cabrera, 19-year-old shortstop Manuel Sequera and 18-year-old outfielder Roberto Campos.
Madden carved them up with ease.
“It’s a good outing for both of them,” Dingler said of Jobe and Madden. “Pitchers at this time are still trying to feel out pitches, work on things that maybe they didn’t do last time. You know, if they were fastball heavy last outing, they wanted to work on more off-speed this time. But both did well. They both impressed me, just like they do every day.”
MLB LOCKOUT: Once MLB returns, Matt Manning will show he has ‘all the tools’ to help Tigers
SUNDAY’S OBSERVATIONS: Why Tigers unveiled some funky but interesting drills in camp