Detroit Tigers: 3 prospects on the verge of becoming irrelevant

RHP Reese Olson

I've been on the record saying how much I like Reese Olson as well. I love his stuff, particularly his offspeed stuff. He has a plus changeup and a really good slider. The fastball on the other hand, well, that's a different story.

Not only does he not throw very hard, but he has trouble commanding his heater as well. The lack of velocity wouldn't be a huge issue if he could locate it, but he can't do it consistently. He really needs to improve his command this season.

It's a shame, because he really knows how to miss bats. He struck over 12.5 batters per nine last year in Double-A Erie. But he really struggled to locate his fastball in some starts.

Because of that, I've also written about the potential of him being a reliever long term. It could allow his fastball to play up, thus making his secondary pitches more effective. I still think that is very much in the cards, but the Tigers still seem keen on having him start, which is totally fine. They should let him be a starter until he 100% proves he can't do it.

Sadly for Olson, he's battled a nagging injury this spring, and just today the Tigers sent him down to Triple-A. It hasn't been the luckiest of camps for him.

I still believe in Olson. Here's hoping he has a big year, but first things first. He needs to get healthy.