How Beau Brieske Can Still Help the Tigers Bullpen Despite Rough 2026 Debut
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Another loss hit the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon in Chicago, dropping game two of the three-game series with the White Sox by the final score of 7-1. The Tigers can't seem to get any momentum building, and their odds of making a comeback deplete more and more every day.
If there was one positive for Detroit on Saturday, it was seeing the return and 2026 season debut of reliever Beau Brieske. While Brieske's stat line might not make people jump for joy with confidence, there was some impressive underlying stuff added to his outing against the White Sox.
At the end of the game, Brieske completed 1.1 innings of work after relieving starter Framber Valdez. In his outing, Brieske allowed three runs on three hits, two of which were home runs, yet also struck out three and walked none, throwing 30 pitches in total, with 23 landing for strikes.
Commanding the strike zone has been a difficulty for several Tigers relievers this season, so while Detroit didn't get the outing they wanted from Brieske, they can't complain that he wasn't trying to be aggressive on the mound.
On top of that, Brieske was touching 97 mph on his fastball, and both home runs were seemingly the same pitch, a fastball on the inner part of the plate that two lefties got their bat head around to crush. More often than not, Brieske will make the adjustment going into his next outing, knowing he needs to find better placement on his main weapon.
Why Fans Should Hold Out Confidence in Brieske
Back in 2024, Brieske was one of the Tigers' main threats to come out of the bullpen, or even to start some games with some pitching chaos. That season, Brieske pitched in 46 games, recording 67.2 innings of work and holding an ERA of 3.59.
The same pitcher is still somewhere within Brieske. Having battled through injury to return to the MLB roster, it wasn't unlikely that he could have some troubles after facing minor league hitters. The 23 strikes were very encouraging, something that Detroit needs more of nowadays.
In his career, other than his 2025 campaign, Brieske has been a positive WAR player for the Tigers. One bad outing might feel like the end of the world now, given the frustration up and down the organization, but at the end of the day, Brieske's going to put his head down and work to help this bullpen lower its ERA and help close up some games.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.