Detroit Tigers’ Justyn-Henry Malloy has big bat, bigger personality and tons of potential

LAKELAND, Fla. — Inside the Detroit Tigers‘ clubhouse, Justyn-Henry Malloy reaches into his locker and pulls out his Mizuno glove.

He runs his finger over the stitching. A sky-blue ribbon — promoting prostate cancer awareness — is stitched into the leather.

“My pops is currently kicking cancer’s butt right now!” Malloy says proudly.

Henry Malloy, his father, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the summer of 2020.

“I found that out right before I was going to Georgia Tech,” Malloy says. “Because of COVID and the cancer, he couldn’t take me to college because he couldn’t get on a plane.”

“How did that affect you when he was diagnosed?” I asked.

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“I cried, if I’m being completely honest,” Malloy says. “It’s the biggest shock factor and then, obviously, you’re scared because you don’t know what what’s going on. You don’t want it to get bigger. You obviously want it to just go away.”

Fortunately, the cancer was detected early.

“As a family, we just got closer,” Malloy says. “We prayed and it’s been getting better and better and he’s back to full activity.”

Malloy flashes a smile. He’s got this amazing charisma. His energy resonates, even when talking about something like cancer.

“He’s just got that joyful vibe to him,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch says. “He reminds me a lot of Jonathan (Schoop) with how he’s smiling every day, happy every day, interacts great with his teammates, which is great.”

The Tigers acquired Malloy from the Atlanta Braves in the Joe Jimenez trade. Cleary, the Tigers liked several things about Malloy:

He’s young — he turned 23 in mid-February;
He has a tremendous bat (.289 with 17 homers in 478 minor league at-bats in 2022);
He has versatility. He has played both third base and left field in the minors, but he also found time at first and second in college;
And his intangibles are off the charts.

It seems likely that he will start this season at Triple-A Toledo. Depending on injuries and how others are hitting, it’s not crazy to think he could end up playing for the Tigers this season.

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Because he has so much potential it’s scary.

In 2022, Malloy climbed rapidly through the Braves system, soaring from High-A to Triple-A, hitting at every level, and some considered him the Braves’ top positional talent.

“I love his bat,” Hinch said. “I think that’s what separates him. Strike zone judgments are really good. He obviously can impact the ball. We just have to convince him that as he takes these next steps, he doesn’t have to try to do too much or do to too many things differently. For him to be successful, his approach is really good. His contact is really good. He can hunt a few more heaters early in the count and not be so patient but his offensive mindset is very advanced, and that’s where the production comes from.”

Being prepared for this moment

Malloy was an only child with older parents.

“My pops is 75, and he’s a beast,” Malloy, 23, said. “Does hot yoga. I had an incredible upbringing. I never had to experience that ride home where you go 0-for-4 and your dad’s gonna be on you about it, or anything like that. My parents really just pushed me in all the right ways. They put me in every possible position to succeed. And I’m forever grateful to my parents.”

As Justyn-Henry started playing travel ball in New Jersey, his father made sure that his son played up on teams with older kids, just so he could learn from that experience.

“I felt that his skills would develop faster,” Henry Malloy said about his son. “I think he was 9 years old, and he was playing with 10-year-old kids. And he kept doing that.”

When he was 13, he was playing with 16-year-olds.

“One time, I think he was 12 and he was playing with 18-year-olds,” Henry Malloy said.

He never pushed his son to go into baseball but he gave him opportunities — or rather, searched out opportunities — to chase his dreams.

“He would be up all night on a computer, searching for teams that I could play on and figuring out how much it would cost, in terms of putting a budget together, because every weekend, we were in a hotel,” Malloy says.

By having his son play up at every level, Henry Malloy felt his son would be more prepared for high school.

More prepared for college — a freshman playing with seniors.

And ultimately, more prepared for the MLB — a rookie playing with 10- to 15-year vets.

“It makes you kind of grow up and you mature a little bit more and then you mature a little faster,” Justyn-Henry Malloy said. “My parents are super-wise, just being older and have lived through life.”

Henry Malloy worked as an accountant in New York City.

“He wears a suit, goes into the city — he’s some hotshot accountant,” Justyn-Henry said proudly.

When Henry Malloy came home from work, even if he was dog tired, Justyn-Henry would beg his father to go play baseball. Henry Malloy would pitch to his son and when his right arm wore down and got tired, he learned to pitch with his left.

“He’s a dawg!” Justyn-Henry says with pure love and pride.

One thing was pushed.

Academics.

Justyn-Henry went to St. Joseph Regional High School, a private, all-boys Catholic school in New Jersey. The school has a motto: the Vir Fidelis, the faithful man.

“I felt like I went to college before college,” he said.

He started out at Vanderbilt — another great school — and transferred to Georgia Tech — yet another great school.

“Georgia Tech was just another perfect fit,” Malloy said.

The shock wearing off

Malloy walked into spring training with a youthful exuberance, just being around Javier Báez and Miguel Cabrera, but the shock has worn off.

“Everything’s been great,” Malloy says. “Just being able to meet the guys. I came into camp wanting to be a sponge and just getting to know everyone, and then all of a sudden, you guys are boys, right? You’re in the cage every day and you’re working every day and you start to form these relationships. So I think it’s pretty cool to start forming relationships, especially with guys in this clubhouse who have so much knowledge and being able to just learn in this really, really cool environment.”

Nothing surprises him. Because he’s been preparing for this moment his entire life.

“It was important for him to not be intimidated, but also it was important for him to be able to work with older people and not be afraid of them,” Henry Malloy said. “Because if he goes to the MLB he’s gonna be around players who are older.”

Working primarily at third base, Malloy has gotten a crash course on infield nuances from Alan Trammell, the Hall of Famer.

“He’s with us every day,” Malloy says. “He’s given us pointers on literally everything that he knows. Any small thing. He has such a good eye.”

“Could you give me an example?” I ask.

“If you’re getting a ground ball and you’re getting it before the (infield) grass, then set your feet and throw,” Malloy says. “Because that ball was hit hard enough to get it to you.”

So instead of throwing on the run, Malloy has learned to set his feet and rifle the ball across the infield.

“Small things like that and it makes so much sense,” Malloy says. “Like you wouldn’t even think about.”

Too many third basemen?

Malloy has a locker next to Colt Keith, another highly acclaimed prospect who is working at third base. Malloy and Keith seem inseparable, paired up in the same groups, going from field to field together.

What would the Tigers do if both come up through the system and both are hitting? The Tigers would do backflips and find places for both of them to play.

If you can hit, they’ll find a place in the lineup.

And that’s what the Tigers love about Malloy.

“He can hit,” former Tigers manager Jim Leyland says about Malloy. “He’s got a big bat.”

Yes, he’s got the big bat.

But it’s more than that. He’s got the whole package: the big personality, the solid foundation from a tremendous family, the natural sense to navigate a clubhouse of veterans and enough humility to know to keep his mouth shut.

Tigers fans are gonna love him.

Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.

To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

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