Detroit Tigers: 4 options to replace Gregory Soto as the team's closer in 2023

Brendan White

You may not have seen this one coming, but White is a dark horse candidiate to not only make the team out of camp, but be the team's closer in 2023.

White was drafted in 26th round back in 2019. He was a surprise add to the 40-man roster at the Rule 5 deadline back in November. He pitched in Double-A last year and a had nice season, putting up a 2.67 ERA and striking out 73 batters in 67.1 IP.

He has the prototypical fastball/slider mix, but the slider is his money maker. Here's an excerpt from Tigers Minor League Report on White and his pitch arsenal:

""White’s slider is his best pitch by far. It is said by scouts to be the second-best slider in the entire organization, just behind Jackson Jobe. The ridiculous spin rate he can generate makes the pitch so good. While there is no publicly available data on the spin rate for minor league pitchers, there are multiple videos posted on Brendan’s Twitter of the pitch reaching over 3,000 revolutions per minute (RPM). For reference, only 3 MLB pitchers averaged over 3,000 RPM on their sliders in the 2022 season." "

- Benjamin Kramer, TMLR

His fastball isn't overpowering, but the movement on his pitches is what is able to make him so effective. Plus, we all know Chris Fetter likes himself a good slider. White sounds like he'll fit right in with this bullpen.

If he's able to prove himself in spring ball and early in the season, don't be surprised to see him closing games at some point in 2023.