The Tigers are calling up righty reliever Dylan Smith, as first reported by Tigers Torkmoil. He is not on the 40-man roster. The Tigers already have an opening in that regard, so they’ll only need to make an active roster move involving a pitcher on Friday.
It’s a nice birthday gift for Smith, who turned 25 this week. He’s in his fourth professional season. A third-round pick out of Alabama in 2021, Smith struggled early in his minor league career while working as a starter. That was partially due to injury, mostly forearm and shoulder issues. Detroit moved him to the bullpen this year as a result.
Smith has quickly found upper minors success while working in shorter stints. He posted a 1.80 ERA with a massive 37% strikeout rate through 20 innings at Double-A Erie. Smith climbed to Triple-A Toledo last week. He’s only pitched twice, firing 2 1/3 scoreless frames while punching out five of eight opponents. He’s averaging 94 mph on his fastball in his Triple-A work.
Baseball America did not include Smith among Detroit’s top 30 prospects over the winter. Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan at FanGraphs placed him 35th in the system in their write-up during spring training. FanGraphs credited Smith with a plus slider and good life on his fastball.
