Welcome to “Five Things We Liked From Last Week”, a weekly list of… five things we liked from last week:
1. Casey Mize
Heading into Wednesday’s game against the New York Mets, this was the situation for the Detroit Tigers and for Casey Mize, Wednesday’s starting pitcher:
– Detroit was 2-7 in their last 9 games.
– The Tigers rotation had been scuffling a little as of late.
– Casey Mize had a 7.20 ERA (but 4.15 xFIP) in his last 8 starts.
Needless to say, it was a big game not only for Casey, but for a Tigers team trying to get back on track.
And Mize rose to the occasion.
Five innings pitched, one earned run, five hits, no walks, three strikeouts.
It was a clutch performance from Casey, who has had a really solid year overall for Detroit in 2025, despite a tough stretch recently. After Wednesday’s game, he’s now tossed 125.2 innings, with a 3.87 ERA / 4.11 xFIP, 20.7% strikeout rate, 6.0% walk rate, .264 batting average against, 40.1% groundball rate and 1.22 HR/9.
The Tigers ultimately won Wednesday’s game 6-2, with Mize setting the tone, the bullpen holding up despite a few hiccups, and some clutch hits from Detroit’s lineup.
The most likely scenario is that the Tigers will lean into pitching chaos in the playoffs if they’re able to hold onto their division lead. But even in that strategy, you need pitchers who can go multiple innings and be effective, whether starting or in relief; and with performances like today, Casey is making his claim to be in the mix for important innings down the stretch and ideally into October.
2. Jahmai Jones
Eleven (long) weeks ago in this space, we highlighted Jahmai Jones’ arrival in Detroit, along with his strong performance in his first few weeks with the big league club.
At the time, Jones had been a member of the Detroit Tigers for a total of 15 days. As mentioned, his performance in those 15 days was well above average, and at the end of our discussion on Jones, we stated: “Players like Jahmai Jones are easy to root for, and the hope is he gives Tigers fans a lot more to cheer about over the next few months.”
Well, a few months have passed, and it turns out Jones has in fact given Tigers fans a lot more to cheer about.
All Jahmai has done since his debut with Detroit is hit .267/.357/.525 in 115 plate appearances, equating to a 143 wRC+ that ranks 9th among all outfielders with at least 100 plate appearances in 2025. That includes his performance on Monday, where he hit a leadoff home run against the New York Mets and added three more hits for a 4 for 5 day at the plate.
If that’s not enough proof of how well Jones has performed, just take a gander at his Statcast page:
Jones has a tough role for Detroit, as he generally starts only against left handers, and pinch hits against tough lefty relievers in the highest leverage spots. But he’s taken off in his role, and gives Tigers manager A.J. Hinch an excellent weapon against left handed pitchers.
Kudos to Jahmai for his perseverance. He began 2025 in AAA, marking his fifth straight season playing at that level, which would be tough on any player. But he stuck with it, and the hard work has been paying off not only for him, but for the Detroit Tigers in 2025.
You may have heard this before, but players like Jahmai Jones are easy to root for, and the hope is he gives Tigers fans a lot more to cheer about over the next few months… again.
3. Izaac Pacheco
Back in 2021, the Tigers used their second round pick on a tall, left handed hitting high schooler named Izaac Pacheco.
To start his professional career, Pacheco got 125 plate appearances in the Complex League later in ’21, slashing .226/.339/.330 (91 wRC+) with a solid 14.4% walk rate but elevated 34.4% strikeout rate.
Detroit promoted Izaac to Low A to begin the 2022 season, where he performed well enough (117 wRC+ in 371 PAs) to earn a promotion to High A to close out the season. He hit an adjustment period in 73 High A plate appearances, but ended the year hitting a combined .254/.331/.408 (111 wRC+). Even more encouraging, the strikeout rate dropped to 21.8%, while the walk rate was still strong at 10.6%.
Pacheco was back at High A to start the 2023 season, and the adjustment period he faced in ’22 continued into ’23. He ended the year batting .211/.283/.352 (85 wRC+), with a still above average 9.3% walk rate, but a strikeout rate that rose to 31.5%.
Unfortunately 2024 was a bit more of the same for Izaac, who was back at High A and had a similar year to 2023 except for walk and strikeout rates that went in the wrong direction.
That left the 2025 season as a bit of a make-or-break year for the still 22 year old. And we’re happy to report that it’s been a “make” year.
Back at High A for the third full year in a row, Pacheco is hitting .264/.397/.512, good for a 160 wRC+ that ranks first in High A among all qualified hitters. The walk rate is all the way up to 17.8%, and while the strikeout rate is still a bit elevated, it’s dipped down to 29.3%. He also has a career high 17 home runs, and his ISO has doubled from 2024.
A strong 2025 campaign has put Pacheco back on the radar, which brings back memories of another tall, left handed hitting second round pick the Tigers drafted three years before Izaac: Parker Meadows.
Meadows spent the 2019 and 2021 seasons in Low and High A (the 2020 minor league season was cancelled due to the pandemic), and faced a similar adjustment period to what Pacheco did. He had a wRC+ of 82 and 79 in those two seasons, with similar swing and miss concerns that Pacheco has faced. But he broke out in 2022, eventually making his way to Detroit in 2023 and being a major factor in the Tigers turnaround in 2024.
Sometimes it takes taller players with long levers a bit more time to find their swing against advanced pitching. The hope for Detroit is that Pacheco is one of those players, and that he’s starting to settle in. Pacheco should start the ’26 season in AA, and if he continues to show the progress he’s made in ’25, like Parker Meadows he could eventually find his way to Detroit.
4. Jake Miller
After missing the past four months with an injury, it was good to see left handed starter Jake Miller back on the mound on Saturday.
Heading into the 2025 season, Miller was arrow up in the Tigers organization after a dominant 2024 season.
Miller spent the ‘24 season split between Low A, High A and Double A, and may have been Detroit’s best starter in the minor leagues. In 87.1 combined innings, Jake posted a 1.85 ERA / 2.56 xFIP, with a 30.4% strikeout rate, 5.0% walk rate, 43.9% groundball rate and .201 batting average against.
551 minor leaguers threw at least 80 innings in 2024, and Miller ranked 3rd in ERA, 7th in xFIP, 39th in strikeout rate, 29th in walk rate, 14th in K-BB% and 51st in BAA.
Prior to his injury, Jake was back at AA to start the 2025 season, and had picked up right where he left off in 2024: 17 IP, 2.12 ERA / 3.37 xFIP, 23.9 K%, 6.0 BB%, 31.9 GB% and .222 BAA.
On Saturday, Miller’s first game back from injury was in a rehab appearance down in Lakeland, and he looked strong, going two innings and allowing an unearned run on three hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Per the always excellent TMLR X account, Jake threw 30 of 40 pitches for strikes and racked up 11 whiffs. He also hit 95 MPH with the fastball.
Miller’s second rehab appearance occurred yesterday, but unfortunately he took a 105 MPH comebacker to his back, and had to exit the game after an inning. The hope is that he’ll be back on the mound in short order.
Jake generally sits 92-94 with the heater and can touch 96. He also has an array of solid breaking pitches to back it up, and has decent command of all of it. He certainly has the stuff to compete at the highest level, and his performance when healthy is hard to argue with.
Starting pitching depth is a bit of an issue for Detroit heading into the 2026 season, and if Miller continues to stay healthy and perform, he’ll be right in the mix for a spot with the big league club later next summer.
5. Beau Ankeney
In what’s become a recurring theme around these parts, we have another 2025 draftee to report on who made his professional debut this week.
2025 14th rounder Beau Ankeney made his pro debut on Wednesday, with the Lakeland Flying Tigers.
The Tigers plucked Ankeney in the 14th round after he had a big year for Loyola Marymount in 2025, launching 22 home runs in just 274 plate appearances and posting a 1.164 OPS.
In his first professional plate appearance, Beau walked on five pitches, and he ended his first professional game going 0 for 4 (with that walk).
Ankeney has big time power in his right handed swing, and will be fun to track the rest of this year and into next year. It can only help for these ’25 draftees to get some game action this season, to see what works and what areas they need to improve for next season. Congratulations to all these players in making their professional debuts.
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Chris Brown 
Rogelio Castillo 
Jerry McKennan