| Detroit Free Press
Watch: Detroit Tigers introduce AJ Hinch as manager
Detroit Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch and GM Al Avila introduce new manager AJ Hinch, Oct. 30, 2020.
Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch has made his first coaching staff hire since taking over the team Oct. 30, making Chris Fetter his pitching coach, a source with knowledge of the hire told the Free Press.
The source requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel moves.
Fetter, 34, has spent the last three seasons as Michigan baseball‘s pitching coach, guiding the Wolverines to the 2019 College World Series championship series.
He replaces Rick Anderson, who was the most recent pitching coach under former manager Ron Gardenhire.
Before being hired at Michigan in July 2017, Fetter was the Los Angeles Dodgers minor-league pitching coordinator. He joined the Dodgers in 2016 after working as Ball State’s pitching coach for one season.
[ From 2011: Chris Fetter masters the numbers and the mind ]
Fetter graduated from Michigan in 2009 and was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the ninth round of the MLB draft. He pitched four seasons in the minors — posting a 3.56 ERA — before joining Double-A San Antonio as an assistant pitching coach in 2013. When Fetter was coaching in Double-A for the Padres, Hinch was the organization’s vice president of professional scouting.
He worked for the Los Angeles Angels for three seasons (2013-15) as a minor league scout before shifting gears to Ball State.
Fetter quickly built a track record for developing MLB-ready talent with the Wolverines. In 2020, starting pitcher Jeff Criswell was selected No. 58 overall (second round) by the Oakland Athletics. He was U-M’s highest draft pick since David Parrish, who went No. 28 overall in 2000.
In 2019, Tommy Henry went in the second round to the Arizona Diamondbacks, as did Karl Kauffmann to the Colorado Rockies. Meanwhile, Jack Weisenburger was picked in the 20th round by the Athletics.
As a first-year pitching coach at Michigan, Fetter’s leadership helped four pitchers find their way to professional baseball — William Tribucher (14th round, Rockies), Jayce Vancena (31st round, Tigers), Alec Rennard (free agent, Pittsburgh Pirates) and Troy Miller (free agent, Toronto Blue Jays).
Along with its run to the College World Series title, Michigan’s pitching staff finished 10th in the nation and led the Big Ten Conference with a 3.46 ERA. During the 2018 season, Fetter’s pitchers also had a 3.46 ERA, placing them No. 23 in the country and third-lowest in the Big Ten.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.