These 3 Tigers pitchers have seen huge upticks in velocity in spring training

Yesterday we discussed Jack Flaherty and his uptick in velocity during his spring training start on Saturday. If that's real, that's a major development for the Detroit Tigers. But he's not the only one who has seen a bump in velocity. Several Tigers pitchers, both starters and relievers, have seen their fastballs have a bit more life to them this spring.

It's time to talk about those pitchers. We're only about a week and a half into spring training, so there's still plenty of time for things to change, but these are some things we've noticed so far.

One pitcher who won't be on this list that technically also saw an increase in velo is Jason Foley. He touched triple digits on his sinker in an outing last week. The reason he won't be featured here is because his sinker averaged 97.3 mph last season, and would regularly touch 99. Hitting 100 on the gun was always possible with him. It's still great to see, but it's not something that's unexpected.

The three we're about to talk about? Yeah, I don't think anyone saw these velo bumps coming. Let's get started with the most recent development.

Matt Manning

Manning used to be able to touch 100 on the radar gun, and his fastball would consistently sit 96-98. Those days have long since past...or have they?

In Sunday's spring training outing, Manning's fastball averaged 95.4 mph and went over 97 several times. He even got a whiff on the pitch.

This comes after Manning's fastball averaged just 93.4 mph in 2023. That's a 2 mph increase in average fastball velocity. That's rather significant.

Manning needs this so bad. He's been very inconsistent when healthy. His surface numbers have always been decent, but the peripherals have never liked him. It always looks like he should be pitching worse than he actually is.

His extention makes the fastball his best pitch already, but now with higher velocity? Oh man. He could have one of the best heaters in the league, straight up.

If this is real, that's a huge development for Manning and the Detroit Tigers. This is a big year for Manning, so here's to hoping the uptick in velo carries over into the regular season.