Detroit Tigers Pitching Prospect Showing Flashes of Success During Spring Training
The Detroit Tigers have a lot to look forward to when it comes to their farm system, and more specifically their pitching prospects, as they begin to develop and show signs of high-level talent during spring training. Jackson Jobe is drawing the headlines and for good reason, with a new pitch added to his repertoire and a strong few games, he has shown some successful reps this spring.
Another pitcher from the Tigers has also been extremely effective as well, and he was ranked among the top 30 prospects on the team by MLB.com for this season. That player is Tyler Owens, who has been given a few shots to play so far for the Tigers during spring training, and has made the most of all of them.
In 2025 so far he has pitched five appearances for 4.1 innings, and in that span he has produced four strikeouts, no walks, a 0.00 ERA, 0.46 WHIP, .125 batting average against, and contributed to a save and a win for his record.
Owens has bounced around the league before now as well, having been drafted in 2019 by the Atlanta Braves before a move to the Texas Rangers, and then finally a trade in July of 2024 which sent him to the Tigers. Ultimately he was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on March 9 with other players, which means he will likely be starting the year off there.
The positive that comes from that news is that it is the highest he has been in any MLB team's farm system so far, having only made it to Double-A previously with all three teams he has played for. For the Detroit affiliate Double-A Erie in 2024, Owens had a 3.31 ERA, 1.224 WHIP, and accrued 20 strikeouts to seven walks, two saves, and only one home run allowed in 16.1 innings of work.
The pitcher also did well at Double-A Frisco, the affiliate team of the Rangers, in 2024, which indicates he is quickly developing and explains his option being to Triple-A to start the 2025 season.
This will give Owens a great opportunity to go up against fringe MLB talents and hone his skillset against some of the best players in the minor leagues. While he has shown extreme improvement to start off spring training, a few months at the top farm system level will most certainly do him well as he continues on the track to his eventual MLB debut.
