Lakeland, Fla. — It was good to see the big guy again, smiling, wearing the Detroit Tigers home whites — even if it was during the drudgery of another minor-league minicamp.
Zac Houston, all 6-5, 280 pounds of him, was added to the camp roster late after another right-handed pitcher, Carlos Sanabria, was delayed because of visa issues.
“I was here doing some rehab stuff, but they told me they wanted me to start coming in with the minicamp guys,” he said. “I said, ‘OK.’”
It’s been a hellish stretch for him. Just three years ago he was knocking on the big-league door, invited to major-league camp in 2019 after dominating hitters over three levels — 238 strikeouts in 154 innings, opponents hitting just .135 against him — since the Tigers drafted him in 11th round in 2016.
Manager Ron Gardenhire was thinking Houston might be an option at the back end of his bullpen. Instead, things began to unravel. He struggled to throw strikes that spring and then after a solid start at Double-A Erie, he was promoted to Triple-A Toledo.
That’s when it went off the rails for him. He walked 14 and gave up 20 earned runs in 18 innings. On top of that, his shoulder started to hurt.
After sitting out the 2020 season, the shoulder continued to bark last year. He only pitched in five games at High-A West Michigan, all in July — a total of 6.2 innings. He did strike out 13 with just three walks, allowing one run, but he had to be shut down.
“I think we have it under control now,” Houston said. “I never went under the knife, but I did a ton of rehab the last couple of seasons. Hopefully it’s all taken care of now.”
It’d be a great story, for Houston and for the Tigers, if he could recapture that dominance he flashed earlier in his career.
Asked if he was staying strong mentally through all this, Houston said, “Of course. That’s all I got.”
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky