Detroit Tigers Tyler Holton has been proficient since joining their team and bullpen this season. The left-hander currently has a 1.94 ERA in 55 2/3 innings and has finished seven games. This past Wednesday he picked up his first career save and become one of the top go-to relief options for Manager A. J. Hinch.
Long Journey
It has been a long journey for Holton to get to the big leagues. He was enjoying a successful college career at Florida State where he won 13 games. Holton certainly would have won more but was sidelined by a UCL tear in 2018. The Arizona Diamondbacks still drafted him in 2018 and he made his professional debut in 2019 after a full year of rehabbing his arm.
In 13 games at the Rookie-level Low-A he won four games with a 2.39 ERA across 37 2/3 innings pitched. Holton did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was back in 2021 but struggled between Double-A and Triple-A with a 6.72 ERA. He, however, remained confident he could be an MLB pitcher.
Big Leagues
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Holton had a good Spring Training in 2022 and was one of the last players sent to the minors. But, on April 28, 2022, the Diamondbacks selected his contract and promoted him to the big leagues. He would make his MLB debut that night, tossing a scoreless inning of relief. He finished the season with ten appearances and a 3.00 ERA with six strikeouts in nine innings pitched.
In a surprise move as Spring Training 2023 was getting started, the Diamondbacks designated him for assignment. Most thought he would compete for a job since Arizona was once again rebuilding their bullpen. He was immediately claimed by the Tigers but failed to make the team out of camp. He was assigned to Triple-A but was recalled on April 15.
Many Pitches
Detroit Tigers Tyler Holton has been proficient since joining their bullpen. He is unique in his pitching style, mixing in six different pitches. Holton features a changeup, curveball, cutter, four-seam fastball, sinker, and slider.
He has been one of their best arms in the bullpen against both left- and right-handed hitters. His ground-ball rate has been one of the best in the American League and he protects late leads as well as anyone. Unfortunately, the Tigers have not had many leads for it to matter much in the standings or for anyone to know how good he has become.
Tigers Certainly Happy
The Tigers are certainly happy with what Holton has done for them. We know this has not been the season that everyone was expecting from them—especially after another poor start to the season with a 10-19 record.
Thanks to their bullpen, they did have an excellent June which put them close to .500. Players like Holton stepped up and performed well as he continued to string together good outings, which led the team to rely on him more and more.
Gamble Paid Off
While Holton was nothing more than a gamble of a waiver claim when the Tigers brought him in– and that gamble has paid off. All they were hoping for was that he could eat up innings and be useful. Well, he certainly has shown he can do that and more.
With the season winding down and 50 games left to play, the Tigers will be looking at which players to bring back for the 2024 season. They are elated with how things have gone with Holton working out of the bullpen and he should be an important part of their team next season.
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