Detroit Tigers: Reese Olson's stuff continues proving it can handle big leagues

Detroit Tigers pitcher Reese Olson continues to prove himself.

While the Detroit Tigers may have only ran out Reese Olson for two starts in his very young big-league career, he has started to prove himself already. He's shown that he has the stuff to play in the big leagues; frankly, it has been dominant at times.

Olson made his second start against the Philadelphia Phillies after the Detroit Tigers opted to use an opener in Tyler Holton. But Reese Olson still put together another masterful outing on the mound for Detroit after coming in to relieve Holton with a little "opener" strategy being employed.

Frankly, Olson is a "stuff over velo" guy, and it has been exciting to see him on the mound in a Tigers uniform. It's not to say he's a soft velocity guy, but he's not going to reach back and grab the upper-90s a whole lot. He'll be in the mid-90s and reach back for some more here and there, but it's not that firehose arm.

That is totally okay for Olson as well. He has excellent stuff to attack hitters, and the results have been pretty great early in his big league career. He's pitched in just 10.0 innings as a big leaguer, walking two, allowing five hits, and punching out nine opposing hitters while allowing just three earned runs.

However, he's still been really effective overall and done a good job at managing his game on the mound and being an arm the Tigers faithful should be excited about. Olson's slider is downright pretty. It's got great break to it and can be a real problem for big-league hitters, including the likes of Bryce Harper, who struggled against him.

Even though he punched a backside sac fly the other way, there were some tough swings earlier in that at-bat. Olson got the best of Harper on a punchout the first time around, and Harper showed why he's got that massive contract the next time, punching a backside flyout that scored Schwarber, doing a job.

The telecast had Craig Monroe saying, "Olson's got that look on his face, wondering how the heck Harper was able to get the barrel to that pitch," and it's an accurate thing to say. But the point is, Olson was solid overall, making good pitches and setting himself up for success in counts.

There's a lot to like with Olson and his stuff, and he looks like someone who could be a problem as a big leaguer for quite some time. I hinted at some long-term reliever risk in the long term, but if he is able to show stuff like he has lately, he might be just fine as a starter.

Either way, the Tigers faithful should be really excited to watch Olson make more starts in a Tigers uniform.