Multiple reports from the Detroit Tigers’ beat writers suggest that right-handed reliever Dylan Smith will be called up from Triple-A Toledo on Friday. Smith would join to bullpen in Kansas City as they begin a road trip against the Royals and then the Chicago White Sox before returning to Detroit. The club has not announced a move or commented on the reports as of this writing, but that’s pretty standard as they normally won’t announce a promotion until the last possible moment.
The move was first announced by the Tigers Torkmoil account on X, and both Cody Stavenhagen of the Athletic and Evan Woodbery of MLive have confirmed Smith’s impending call-up on social media.
Smith turned 25 years old on Wednesday of this week. He was drafted out of the University of Alabama back in the 2021 amateur draft with the Tigers third round pick. He would join college teammate Chase Lee in the Tigers bullpen after a really successful transition to relief work with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves this year.
Corresponding moves
The trick is figuring out the corresponding move. They currently have an open spot on teh 40-man roster, but Smith is not on the 40-man roster yet, and the Tigers will need to open another 40-man spot to active Parker Meadows, likely by the time they return back home next weekend. Still with Meadows nearing a return, any of three outfielders at the Triple-A level could be DFA’d, including Akil Baddoo, Ryan Kreidler, and Brewer Hicklen. So finding a spot shouldn’t be difficult.
There’s also been plenty of concern online and speculation from the beat writers about starter Jackson Jobe after the rookie saw his average fastball velocity drop during his start against the Giants on Wednesday, and then was not made available to reporters after the game. Still, the Tigers are extremely hush-hush about injuries in general, and it’s entirely possible Jobe was just dealing with some fatigue if anything. They were headed out on the road and while blocking access is against the rules, it does happen.
Even if there is something amiss, Jobe was never likely to throw the full season based on his modest innings progression, and the Tigers will presumably take even the first hint of extra fatigue or inflammation as a good reason to shut him down for a few weeks and try to make sure they have him rested to pitch through October.
Also playing into these calculations is the fact that right-handed starter Sawyer Gipson-Long’s progression is going very well. He made his first rehab start at the Triple-A level on Thursday evening and threw 53 pitches, one-hitting his opponent in a very expeditious 5 1⁄3 innings of work without a walk and with five strikeouts. He’s probably no more than two rehab starts from being available for the Tigers rotation. Reese Olson is also expected to be back in fairly short order. So things are lining up to give Jobe a breather even if his issues are pretty minor. Still it’s all speculation where Jobe is concerned right now. He might be 100 percent good to go, closed clubhouse after the game or not.
Dylan Smith profile
Smith was drafted as a starter, and his 2022 debut went okay as he made 21 starts and threw 88 1⁄3 innings at the A-ball levels. From there his stock slipped rapidly as a forearm strain that took months to fully rehab and resolve cost him much of the 2023 season. Smith avoided surgery and did make his first appearances at the Double-A that season. He was also able to pitch in the Arizona Fall League to make up some lost innings, but the 2024 season didn’t go much better as he dealt with some shoulder trouble. By that point he was off most prospect lists and a career as a major league starting pitcher didn’t look to be much of a possibility anymore.
However, he had improved in a few areas. He leaned into his fourseam fastball and his plus slider, and at times we saw 97-98 mph velocity on the heater last year. The Tigers decided to convert him to relief in 2025 and started him back out at the Double-A level. Smith seized the new opportunity and has been on a great run, reaching Triple-A Toledo after striking out 37 percent of hitters faced at the Double-A level with no home runs allowed over 20 innings of work. He only made two appearances with the Triple-A Mud Hens, but he looked just about ready for the major leagues though he will still issue a few more walks than you’d prefer.
Smith is a good athlete with a smooth, fluid delivery and tends to keep good tempo from either the wind-up or the stretch. He works with a fourseamer that has sat 94-95 mph this season but which can top out at 98 mph. The Tigers have helped him improved the vertical movement on a pitch that had more of a twoseam look early in his minor league career. His 85 mph slider is his best weapon, however. The slider has pretty traditional shape but gets good depth and Smith has significantly improved his feel with the pitch, throwing a tighter version for strikes and then dialing up more of a wipeout edition for whiffs when ahead in the count.
Smith has the makings of a solid split changeup with good velocity separation at 83 mph, but it remains a show-me pitch against left-handers. If he can refine it with the Tigers’ coaches that would really boost his effectiveness all around. His overhand curve is just something he’ll break out as a change of pace and probably won’t use in relief.
Smith should be pretty effective against right-handed hitters. He doesn’t give up too much hard contact in the air, and he’s been piling up the whiffs. Lefties may give him more trouble in the majors, but he handled them just fine with the fastball-slider combination in the minors. All in all there’s a lot to like, and getting a chance to work with Chris Fetter and his staff will be good for him.
The Tigers current roster is so deep that there aren’t a lot of obvious places in which to improve significantly. The bullpen is really the only unit with a real weakness. The Tigers could really use another power right-handed with good swing and miss stuff, and it’s possible Smith can fit the bill with some work.
