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Is Alex Bregman an option for Detroit Tigers at trade deadline?
Mike Ferrin, co-host of Power Alley on MLB Network Radio, explores the possibility of the Tigers trading for Alex Bregman this season.
- Detroit Tigers reliever Tyler Holton has regained his form after a slump, providing a boost to the team’s bullpen.
- Holton pitched 2⅓ scoreless innings against the Cleveland Guardians on July 4th, reaching higher velocity on his fastball.
- Manager A.J. Hinch praises Holton’s versatility and temperament, suggesting he could be used in various roles.
CLEVELAND — A month ago, Detroit Tigers reliever Tyler Holton couldn’t find the part of the strike zone that has made him one of the best middle relievers in baseball for the last two seasons. And when he did, he instead threw it over the middle.
For a pitcher without swing-and-miss stuff, the results were predictable — Holton struggled. But since giving up three runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 19, Holton has looked like his old self. That’s a boon for a team with an overworked bullpen that struggled for much of June.
On Friday, July 4, against the Cleveland Guardians, the left-hander threw as hard as he has all season. He pitched 2⅓ scoreless innings to bridge the game from starter Reese Olson to closers Tommy Kahnle and Will Vest.
Credit adrenaline.
Along with the Fourth of July. And the rivalry with Cleveland. And packed Progressive Field. And Steven Kwan, the Guardians’ pesky leadoff hitter who lurked on first base as Holton entered with one out in the fifth inning and the Tigers nursing a 2-1 lead.
All of that left Holton feeling “amped.” And when José Ramírez singled to put runners at first and second with two outs — Kyle Manzardo, the first batter Holton faced, flew out to left field for the second out — Holton began to find his inner “psychopath.”
Normally, he tops out at 91 mph with his sinking fastball. Against Carlos Santana, with Kwan and Ramírez on base, Holton reached 93 mph. That may not seem like much, but as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday afternoon before Game 2 of the series, “it gives (Tyler) more margin for error.”
Holton got a flyout from Santana to end the threat. He returned to pitch the sixth and hit 94 mph, a relatively significant bump for a pitcher who has always relied on placement and deception to get outs.
He’d love to harness that extra power.
“If I could work on it and master it,” he joked Saturday, “I’d have it every time.”
It’s hard to recreate the conditions of nights like Friday, though. Which means Holton generally has to manufacture an edge himself. Or find his inner “psychopath.”
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That’s easy to do in a one-run game with runners on base against a division rival before a throaty and jumping stadium. Yet finding that to open games — something Holton has been asked to do a handful of times this season — is trickier.
Actually, Hinch would use Holton at any point in a game if he were available, even close.
“I think it’s invaluable what he can do,” he said. “He can bridge the game. I could close him, (start him) the first inning. It takes a certain temperament and understanding of yourself to be able to do that. We have eight or nine relievers on any given night, and I love all of them, but not all of them have that temperament to be able to handle that range of adrenaline that he’s talking about.”
Hinch joked that he needed to help Holton find the crazy the next time he pencils him in to start a game. As long as the Tigers are without a fifth starter, that will undoubtedly happen.
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Holton knows the extra velocity he found won’t be consistent. Yet his command can be and has been lately. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last five outings, giving up four hits over 7⅔ innings during that span.
He credits execution more than anything, as well as his rediscovery of the edges of the strike zone.
“Just trying to be a little more attentive with my pitches,” said the 29-year-old. “I’ve gotta believe that I’m capable of being this kind of guy. Having the ability to hit edges. Being able to do that is hard but at the same time, I’ve been doing it a while.”
Friday night was the latest proof, seducing hitters to chase balls out of the zone, and ending his outing with a punchout of Kwan with a sinker after a six-pitch battle. He howled on his way to the dugout.
He’d done his job, just as he has for a few weeks now.
“Definitely nice to get that strikeout there,” he said, allowing himself a little smile.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
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