Tigers may have a legitimate No. 2 ace in their rotation and it’s not who you think

The Detroit Tigers had plenty of reason to be excited about the front of their rotation heading into the 2025 season. Tarik Skubal was coming off a unanimous American League Cy Young Award-winning campaign, and Jack Flaherty was coming home after taking a brief detour to win a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But between the much deserved hype surrounding Skubal and Flaherty, the surprise breakout of former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize and the arrival of top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe, have been the larger talking points. We're forgetting somebody, though!

Right-hander Reese Olson got the win for the Tigers over the Los Angeles Angels last Sunday to improve to 4-2 on the season. He tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing three hits and three walks and striking out eight. It was his third scoreless start of at least five innings and his third straight start with at least seven strikeouts.

Over his last four outings, Olson has a 1.14 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 27 strikeouts to nine walks in 23 2/3 innings. In seven starts this season, he has given up just one home run – a first-inning solo shot to Freddie Freeman in the Tigers' opening series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Tigers may have a legitimate No. 2 ace in Reese Olson

Olson may not be the best overall pitcher in the Tigers' rotation, but he is by far the best at keeping the ball in the park. Only two qualified AL starters have a better home run rate than Olson's so far in 2025: Tyler Mahle of the Texas Rangers and Hunter Brown of the Houston Astros.

Much of Olson's success can be attributed to the effectiveness of his off-speed pitches, particularly his changeup. According to Baseball Savant, Olson ranks in the 99th percentile among all MLB pitchers in off-speed run value. He is also in the 91st percentile for whiff rate (33.5%), striking out batters 47.1% of the time with his changeup – the highest of any qualified pitcher in baseball this season.

It's early and there's still room for improvement, but Olson is quietly having a tremendous start to the season for the Tigers. It's time to give him his flowers for the important role he has played in keeping Detroit atop the AL Central.

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