Lakeland, Fla. — From the beginning of spring training, Tigers manager AJ Hinch cautioned against making hasty judgments about players early in camp. The evaluation process will be long, he said, and will involve a lot more than performance data from the exhibition games.
Watching 6-foot-7 right-hander Trey Wingenter pitch against the Cardinals Tuesday brought Hinch’s words back into focus. Evaluations of game performances can be tricky. Early evaluations will often be useless. Especially for someone coming off surgeries like Wingenter — he could look like a completely different pitcher in two weeks.
He threw 10 fastballs with an average velocity of 96 mph. He located his 83-mph slider reasonably well. He got through his inning on 15 pitches, including nine strikes, with one single and one strikeout. But, the three balls put in play against him were smoked — exit velocities of 105.7 mph, 101 mph and 101 mph.
“He’s got power with his fastball and his breaking ball is power, but he’s not primarily a fastball pitcher,” Hinch said. “His most effective pitch is his breaking ball. We want him to throw it more for strikes. But, he gets some funny swings from right-handed hitters, for sure.
“He’s a guy who is going to benefit most from getting strike one.”
It’s hard to understand how an 83-mph pitch is a power slider. But, Wingenter is a large man with long arms. His extension, just under seven feet, ranked in the top 4 percentile in baseball back in 2019, his last season before he endured Tommy John surgery (2020) and back surgery (2021).
So, when that slider leaves his hand, it’s traveling a shorter distance with the late, horizontal break. It’s a knee-buckler for right-handed hitters.
“What made my career when I was healthy was the slider,” Wingenter said. “The slider has been the key to my whole career. When I kind of figured it out in Double-A, that’s when things started taking off for me.
“And that’s a pitch I’ve had to work hard at, coming off the injuries, to get it back to where I want it to be. It’s getting closer.”
In 2018 and 2019, the average velocity on Wingenter’s slider was 86 mph. His spin rate in 2018 was 2.256 rpms, and in 2019 it was 2,180 rpms. So far this spring, it’s maxed out at 83 mph with 2,118 rpms.
He’s still in build-up mode.
“The more reps, the better it’s going to get and the harder I’m going to be able to throw it, and the more effective it will be,” he said.
It’s unknown whether he can get those pitch metrics back up in time to be a viable bullpen option to start the season. But, considering that he’s essentially had to rebuild his mechanics from the ground up after the back surgery, he’s on a good track.
“It’s just now getting to where I’m trusting everything and it’s feeling normal again,” Wingenter said.
He had the back surgery with the Reds and then was released, leaving him to handle the rehab work on his own. Not an optimal setup.
“I haven’t really been coached after this rehab,” he said. “It was good to get in here and have some guys get their hands on me and clean up some things. You can only do so much by yourself, watching your own video and coming to conclusions.
“It’s nice to have another set of eyes; two, three, four, five different sets of eyes.”
One of those sets of eyes belonged to first-year assistant pitching coach Robin Lund. Using biomechanical data, he quickly noticed that Wingenter wasn’t using his lower body as effectively as he needed to. They worked to alter his posture, getting him to stand taller on the mound, which would keep him from losing energy and power when he lifts his leg to activate his delivery.
“If I’m standing taller, that means my head is not moving too much,” Wingenter said. “And if the head’s not moving, you can be more consistent. It’s hard to throw strikes and hit your spots if your head is moving.”
Wingenter said the Tigers’ revamped player-development department played a role in him accepting the club’s minor-league deal with the camp invite.
“The Tigers have been really impressive with how they attacked this thing from all three aspects, and understanding that you can’t just get a little pitch cue to fix your issues,” he said. “If you have an inefficiency or weakness, you have to address it in the training room, address it in the weight room and then address it on the mound.”
Hitting 96 mph with his fastball is encouraging, certainly.
“I feel really good right now,” he said. “I feel like 97 mph is going to play really well with my slider, and anything above that is a bonus. But, for spring training, the progress has gone as good as it’s gone in my career as far as velo in early March.
“For the first time, the elbow, shoulder and back feel good. It’s nice to work on baseball stuff instead of just trying to feel good enough to go pitch.”
Crunch time
Hinch met with the team before the game Wednesday to remind everyone that the heat is about to get turned up.
“We’re reaching the mid-part of spring,” he said. “You can get super comfortable with your routine, but you’ve got to maintain your work. The volume increases. The intensity increases, too. Guys are trying to make the team.”
It’s getting close to crunch time for several pitchers who are in the mix to either make the club as bulk-inning relievers or be stretched out to be starting pitcher depth at Triple-A Toledo.
“We have to declare who we’re continuing to build up and who we’re going to bring back on shorter (innings),” Hinch said.
Among those in that category are Beau Brieske, Garrett Hill, Rule 5 draftee Mason Englert, Alex Faedo, and Rony Garcia.
“We have to declare if they’re in the competition to protect us in the rotation or developing a role in the bullpen. There’s a handful of jobs that are wide open. These next couple of weeks will be pretty critical for the bullpen arms to display themselves.”
Where does Holton fit?
Lefty Tyler Holton continues to impress. He allowed a couple of singles with three strikeouts in 1.2 innings in the Tigers’ 2-1 spring win over the Nationals. He hasn’t allowed a run yet this spring.
“He can make pitches,” Hinch said. “His changeup is really effective. His fastball is pretty good and he can cut it. He’s a real pitcher, a well-rounded pitcher. He’s been a lot of different roles in his career. But, it’s really good he’s got that equalizer against right-handed hitters.”
That would be the changeup. He threw nine of them against a right-handed-heavy Nats lineup, and got five called strikes with it. Mixing the cutter, a 91.5 mph four-seamer and a sprinkling of sliders and two-seamers (two each), he collected eight whiffs on 13 swings and eight called strikes.
Hinch was asked if he was fighting for one of the bulk-inning roles or perhaps as the second lefty to complement Tyler Alexander.
“There are no specialists anymore,” Hinch said. “These guys are going to have to be able to go 15 to 25 pitches. But we are still getting to know him (Holton). The key is to figure out when best to utilize him in competition. Those bridge roles are important regardless of handedness.”
Twitter: @cmccosky