Detroit Tigers minor-league tools series: Best Fastball

Detroit Tigers Honorable Mention-Fastball

• Ted Stuka
• Gio Arriera
• Carlos Guzman

Here we have three arms who spent time in Lakeland this season. Guzman is a former shortstop who converted to a pitcher back in 2017. He had a good season back at West Michigan in 2019 before injuries shut down his season.

He throws a fastball that hit 97 last season but averaged around 93.4. He still has problems with commanding what he wants to throw, which explains his BB/9 of 4.2. There is enough there with his fastball and changeup. He looked rusty when I first saw him in Lakeland, but to be fair, that was the season opener. Back in 2019 at West Michigan, he showed when he can command, he can be effective.

Ted Stuka has a fastball that has good arm side run but it’s not his go-to pitch, his slider and sinker generate more swings and misses. His fastball touched 98 this season, but like Guzman, needs to work on his command as he average 9 walks per 9 for the Flying Tigers.

Gio Arriera, who I saw at West Michigan in 2019 and on my Lakeland trip this season, was pumping 96-97in Lakeland with his fastball in the start I saw him. In the times I see him, his fastball had good movement, especially on right-handers. The velocity dropped as he went on and so did his command. There is upside to Arriera, who is a starter currently but could see him in the bullpen with a slider that has generated a 51% whiff rate last season.