Detroit Tigers Could Have Next Unicorn Pitcher on Their Hands

The Detroit Tigers have a unique pitcher in their farm system, and he could be the next unicorn if he reaches his ceiling.

A Detroit Tigers hat and glove | Jason Getz-Imagn Images

Everyone in Major League Baseball is looking for that next "unicorn" type of player who can do things that nobody else can, and the Detroit Tigers may have that on their hands.

Already sitting with superstar ace Tarik Skubal leading their rotation after he put together a Triple Crown-winning effort to secure himself the 2024 American League Cy Young Award, someone in their minor league system is starting to turn some heads, as well.

While Kenny Serwa isn't one of the Tigers' top 30 prospects, he possesses a unique knuckleball that will make him someone to watch throughout his time on the farm.

The 27-year-old rookie has had a journey to get to this point.

Serwa was supposed to enroll at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind. on a scholarship, but they decided to shut down the baseball program before he got there. That resulted in him going to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville where he looked like he was going to be an MLB draft pick in 2020 before that got truncated to five rounds because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, he opted to transfer to UCF before finishing his college career at Dayton in 2022.

Without interest from big league clubs, he pitched for some independent professional teams and became a client of Tread Athletics, where he started working on his craft.

That's where a pitch that he possesses immediately caught the attention of everyone there; a high-velocity knuckleball.

According to Lynn Henning of The Detroit News, Serwa has thrown the fastest knuckleball ever recorded at 88 mph, but he also has another variation of it that's in the 75-82 mph range to keep hitters off balance. He pairs that with a four-seam fastball that tops out at 94 mph, a devasting combination that made it an easy decision for Detroit to take a chance on him.

The Tigers signed him to a minor league contract this offseason and sent him to High Single-A West Michigan following spring training, where his skill set has been on full display.

#Tigers @KennySerwa was nothing short of sensational tonight, notching his first win of the season and collecting a season-high in strikeouts.

Final Line:
▶️ 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
57 pitches (39 for strikes)

First three outings combined:
▶️ 11 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 12 K pic.twitter.com/PTMYW0rOPd

— Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) April 18, 2025

He was sensational in his first three starts, not allowing a single run and giving up just three hits while striking out 12 batters in 11 innings pitched with just one walk.

The combination of control and nasty stuff could catapult him through the pipeline this year if he can keep it up.

Serwa was finally damaged in his fourth outing of the season, getting tagged for three runs on two hits in just 1 2/3 innings of work. But he still struck out three batters despite not showing his pinpoint control with two walks issued.

What the ceiling is for Serwa isn't known just yet.

Since he's now working in a Major League organization that has been able to develop and hone the craft of its pitchers, he should be in a good position to reach the top end of his capabilities.

Because of that, the unicorn-ness that Serwa possesses could be realized. And if that becomes the case, Detroit could be seeing a unique knuckleballer pitching in the Majors for them at some point in the near future.