Detroit Tigers Star Pitcher Named Top 10 Reliever in Major League Baseball

A lot has been made about the strength of the Detroit Tigers' starting rotation, but they also have one of the best relievers in baseball.

Tigers pitcher Tyler Holton celebrates a strikeout in the 6th inning against Guardians in Game 4 of ALDS at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers are loaded with pitching talent, with reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal headlining their starting rotation.

Recent World Series champion Jack Flaherty follows, and promising talent like former first overall pick Casey Mize, 25-year-old Reese Olson and top prospect Jackson Jobe form a rotation that has the upside to be among the league's best.

But the pitching strength on this club does not stop with the starting rotation.

It continues to roll in from the bullpen when their starters exit.

In the 2024 season, Tyler Holton established himself as one of the very best pitchers in the game. He followed up an excellent 2023 campaign by proving it again, posting a 2.19 ERA across 94.1 innings pitched.

As Buster Olney of ESPN continues to rank the top 10 at every position in Major League Baseball before Opening Day, he paid some respect to Holton on his relievers list, giving the Detroit star the No. 9 spot on the list.

"Holton was the ultimate hybrid reliever last season -- and a workhorse, starting nine games and collecting eight saves in 66 outings while throwing 94⅓ total innings," Olney wrote. "He held opponents to a .173 batting average."

While most relievers reach that level by consistently dominating hitters with overpowering fastballs and high strikeout rates powered by unhittable put away pitches, Holton is something of a throwback, with a fastball that only averaged 91.8 mph last season while striking out well under a batter per inning.

But the results he gets are undeniable.

According to Baseball Savant, Holton is in the 91st percentile for average exit velocity allowed, the 81st percentile in expected batting average against and the 85th percentile in barrel rate.

The left-hander features a cutter that runs in on righties and a sinker that runs in on lefties.

His straightforward strategy of throwing in and away from barrels has been effective for him in limiting hard contact.

Against right-handed hitters, he pairs the cutter with a solid changeup, and when facing lefties, a sweeper that holds hitters to a .130 batting average against complements the sinker.

A five-pitch hurler, Holton also throws a four-seam fastball that he throws to batters on both sides of the plate, but more often to righties.

Holton appeared in all six games of Detroit's playoff run last year, helping to oust the Houston Astros with two scoreless relief apperances before faltering against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS.