Detroit – There will be time for Tyler Holton to put all this into some kind of perspective; how he went from being a castoff in Arizona to securing a vital role in the Tigers bullpen in a matter of a few months. There will be time for him to stop and smell the proverbial roses.
Just not right now.
“I try not to sit back and reminisce and check out things like that midseason,” the Tigers’ rookie left-hander said before Saturday’s game. “I’ve never been one to do that.”
If he did, though, it might blow his mind. The 27-year-old has become one of manager AJ Hinch’s most trusted options in the bullpen. Since June 4, Holton has allowed just two earned runs in 23.1 innings with 25 strikeouts and eight walks. He’s holding hitters to a .200 batting average.
It’s not just a hot streak, either. Since he was called up from Triple-A Toledo on April 15, he ranks fifth among American League relievers with a 1.74 ERA and eighth with a 0.94 WHIP. He’s getting right-handed and left-handed hitters out with equal regularity.
The average exit velocity on balls put in play against him is 85.9 mph, which ranks in the top 7 percentile in baseball. The hard-hit rate against him, 30.7 mph, is in the top 9 percentile.
Not bad for a guy who was essentially cut twice in spring training.
“He’s had to earn everything,” Hinch said. “He was the last cut at the end of spring training but we held onto him because we believed in him. We thought he could really fit a staff. The more he’s pitched, the more confidence I start having in him. He can pitch in any inning of the game and that’s a rarity.
“Coming off the unknown of what his impact was going to be – I think both sides are thrilled with the work he’s done and the performance he’s shown.”
It’s been a journey, for sure, going back to 2018 when Tommy John surgery ended his final season at Florida State. He got back briefly in 2019, only to sit out the entire pandemic year of 2020. Between 2018 and 2021, he pitched 37 professional innings in rookie ball.
“It was tough not being able to play your first full season back off the surgery, but there were a lot of other things that went with it,” Holton said. “Just COVID itself. It was more than just, ‘Oh, I can’t play baseball.’ It was bigger than that.”
He kept himself in shape as best he could. The Diamondbacks, who had drafted him in the ninth round in 2018, held a month-long rookie minicamp where he was able to pitch competitive for a couple of weeks.
“I loved it,” he said. “My velocity crept up from like 89 to 91 mph. I felt like, wow, baseball is fun to play. It’d been over a year.”
He jumped from Double-A to Triple-A in 2021 and ultimately made his big-league debut with the Diamondbacks in 2022, pitching in 10 games. He came to spring training this year expecting to battle for a roster spot.
But a week into camp, the Diamondbacks unceremoniously lopped him off their 40-man roster to make room for former Tigers lefty Andrew Chafin. Irony.
Tigers’ president Scott Harris alertly scooped him off the waiver wire. And even though he didn’t make the club out of spring, he’s made up for lost time.
“Coming up here and having the confidence to do the job has been huge for me,” Holton said. “I feel like my role has changed over the year. I’ve done a lot of different things, which is really cool. Just try to do whatever job they ask you to do.”
While it would be wrong to compare Holton and Chafin since they performed different roles, it’s quite fair to say he has more than helped fill the void Chafin left.
“Yeah, that’s too easy,” Hinch said. “Lefty, lefty, Chafin went to Arizona and Holton came here. But Chafin was a late-inning guy and Holton hasn’t experienced that yet. But from a reliability standpoint and how often I use him and the various styles of hitter I’m willing to bring him in against, it’s the same.
“As a manager, it’s very comforting knowing I can bring him in and not care if they pinch-hit with a right-handed hitter or not. He’s been very effective and the more he continues to do that, the more leverage he’s going to get.”
Holton attacks the strike zone fearlessly with six pitches. He’s holding hitters to a .208 average with a 91-mph four-seam fastball. Off that he will pair an elite change-up (.190 opponent average with a 37.8% whiff rate), cutter (.265) and a slider (.083 opponent average, 2 for 24, with a 43% whiff) that he only throws 14% of the time.
He will sprinkle in a curveball and sinker occasionally, as well.
“His stuff is good, obviously,” catcher Jake Rogers said. “And his plan is good against righties and lefties. He’s not afraid to challenge guys in the zone early, no matter who is up there, with any pitch. It makes it real easy for me and Haasey (Eric Haase) to catch.
“He’s been nails.”
Again, Holton isn’t in a mood to reflect. He’s doing his best to stay grounded in the moment.
“At some point I will look back on the season and think of how special it is and was to have all these moments,” he said. “But it’s going by so fast. I’m just trying to stay in it mentally and don’t get ahead of myself.
“You can always worry about today. There’s enough going on.”
Around the horn
The Tigers are expected to call up right-hander Alex Faedo from Toledo to make a spot start on Sunday. Hinch said he wanted to wait until after the game Saturday before determining the corresponding move.
… Right-hander Spencer Turnbull (neck) is expected to start a rehab assignment this week. The where and when have not been finalized. “We’re talking to him about a couple of different options,” Hinch said. “There are a lot of things we need to do to put that wheel in motion. We haven’t done them all yet.”
Twitter: @cmccosky
Padres at Tigers
First pitch: 12:05 p.m. Sunday, Comerica Park, Detroit
TV/radio: Peacock/97.1, 1270.
Scouting report
RHP Joe Musgrove (9-2, 3.16), Padres: He’s 8-0 in his last 10 starts with a 1.76 ERA, holding hitters to a .228 average. He does most of his heavy lifting with a high-spin fastball (.210 opponent average) and wicked curveball (.203, 35% whiff rate). Because of his curveball and cutter, he’s been tougher on lefties (.220, .608 OPS) than righties (.279, .744). His chase rate (36%) is in the top 2 percentile in baseball. He’s a lot.
RHP Alex Faedo (1-4, 6.98), Tigers: The Tigers are trying to give lefty Tarik Skubal an extra day of rest between his starts, which created the need for a spot start or two. Faedo, who struck out nine in five strong innings in his most recent start in Toledo, will get the first one.