AJ Hinch dismisses concerns about Will Vest despite worryingly bad start to Tigers’ season

The velocity is down. Walks are up. Usage patterns are shifting. The easy reaction is to panic.

For a reliever coming off a 23-save season, those are usually the warning signs fans latch onto — the beginning of something going wrong. But AJ Hinch isn’t buying that narrative when it comes to Will Vest.

“His identity isn’t shifting,” Hinch said, cutting through the noise around Vest’s early-season numbers. And right now, that might be the most important takeaway for a Tigers team already navigating a rocky start.

On the surface, the concerns are understandable. Vest’s fastball velocity has dipped from 96.7 mph last season to 94.9 mph in a tiny early sample. His usage of that pitch has dropped, too, while his slider usage has jumped from 23.8% to 31.7%. That’s the kind of profile change that can trigger alarm bells — especially for a pitcher whose success has long been built on a riding, deceptive four-seamer.

Context matters, though. Vest still isn’t operating at full strength after a stomach virus ripped through the Tigers’ clubhouse and hit him particularly hard, costing him seven pounds in just two days. Pair that with back-to-back outings in the cold at Target Field, and suddenly that missing velocity doesn’t look so mysterious.

And in the meantime, something else has emerged — something far more interesting than concerning. Vest's slider, once merely a secondary pitch, is becoming a weapon.

He’s generating a staggering 59% swing-and-miss rate with it so far this season, building on a pitch that already held hitters to a .206 average and minimal power a year ago. In a small sample this season, opponents are just 2-for-9 against it with four strikeouts.

AJ Hinch remains confident that Will Vest's struggles are temporary, and Tigers fans hope he's right

As Hinch pointed out, Vest’s command hasn’t been as sharp early on, leading to more hitter-friendly counts. When that happens, pitchers naturally lean on secondary pitches to regain control of at-bats. Add in catcher game-calling — with Dillon Dingler and Jake Rogers clearly recognizing what’s working — and the uptick in sliders starts to make sense.

This isn’t a reinvention. It’s an adjustment. It's an important distinction, because the Tigers don’t need Vest to become something new. They need him to be the same reliable late-inning arm who thrived last season — just with a few more ways to get there.

Seven outings don’t define a season, especially not for a reliever working through illness, weather, and early-April timing. If anything, the emergence of a more dominant slider could end up strengthening Vest’s profile long-term — giving him a legitimate put-away pitch regardless of handedness.

So yes, the radar gun readings might raise eyebrows. But inside the Tigers’ clubhouse, there’s no sense of urgency or fear that something is broken. If anything, there’s a quiet belief that once Vest’s fastball ticks back up — and it likely will — hitters are going to have an even bigger problem on their hands.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow