Detroit Tigers: Watch Nick Maton hit walk-off home run vs. Pirates

Nick Maton's second home run with the Detroit Tigers was a walk-off

Nick Maton was acquired along with Matt Vierling and Donny Sands by the Detroit Tigers from the Philadelphia Phillies in the Gregory Soto trade back in January.. The trade was seen as something that looked questionable on paper, but when you dug deeper, it seemed like it could work out for the Tigers. Five games into spring training, and it already seems like the Tigers are doing well in this deal.

Maton hit a walk-off home run today against the Pittsburgh Pirates to give the Tigers an 8-7 win. It was already his second home run of the spring. The win improved their record in Grapefruit League play to 2-3. Here's the video, from Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press.

Sadly the game was not televised, so this is the best video we have of the home run. Nevertheless, it's nice to see the Soto trade paying dividends already, even if the games don't count yet. Maton was known for crushing fastballs in Philly, and both of his homers this spring have come on heaters. This is great for a team that struggles to hit fastballs last year.

Maton has also gotten rave reviews for his defense. Here' a diving play he made at third base in yesterday's game against the Blue Jays:

Maton is still just 26 years old and has several years of team control left, so he is going to have plenty of chances to shine with the Detroit Tigers. He's clearly very athletic and has already shown the ability to hit for power, as has his teammate and trade partner, Matt Vierling. These are the kinds of players you can expect Scott Harris to acquire going forward. This could end up being a great trade for the Detroit Tigers.