Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters on Saturday that left-hander Andrew Sears will have his contract selected tomorrow. The prospect is expected to make his big-league debut as a bulk reliever against the Royals on Sunday. Detroit has a full 40-man roster, so a corresponding move will be needed.
The 23-year-old Sears was only recently promoted to Triple-A. He fired 9 2/3 scoreless innings across two appearances with Toledo. The bump to Triple-A came after Sears posted a 2.57 ERA over nine games at Double-A.
“We are excited to promote him,” Hinch said, relayed by Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. “He’s got real weapons. His challenge will be, this is a pretty big leap given he only had a couple of games in Triple-A. But he’s demonstrated the ability to compete against anybody.”
MLB Pipeline ranks Sears as the No. 14 prospect in Detroit’s system. He was higher on the list before the Tigers brought in a slew of big-name prospects in the Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize trades. Eric Longenhagen and Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs slotted Sears at No. 11 heading into the year. The duo described him as a “low-slot lefty with a funky look” and praised his mid-90s fastball and sharp slider.
Sears sat at 94 mph with his four-seamer and sinker in his two Triple-A appearances. He leaned on the sinker more than any other pitch, throwing it 56.9% of the time. The slider was his preferred secondary offering with a 22.2% usage rate. Sears also mixed in a changeup.
Framber Valdez was in line to start on Sunday. It seems he’ll be pushed back to next week with Detroit opting for a bullpen game tomorrow. Sears has worked as a reliever in four of his 16 minor league outings this year. He entered in the second inning on Tuesday and tossed five hitless frames for the Mud Hens.
The Tigers don’t have a clear opening in the rotation, but an adjustment could be coming for Keider Montero. The righty is already at 137 2/3 innings between the minors and the majors this year. He’s less than 10 innings away from his career high as a pro. Montero has worked out of the bullpen at times this season and could return to a more flexible role. He’d make for a solid piggyback pairing with the left-handed Sears.
Photo courtesy of Greg Wohlford of the Erie Times-News via Imagn Images
