The Toledo Mud Hens, run by first year manager Gabe Alvarez have made their dent in the International League with a variety of player backgrounds. The Mud Hens started the season an abysmal 5-16, have catapulted themselves to a 39-36 record.

The backbone of the team has been their bullpen, which includes prospects, former prospects, former major leaguers working their way back, former independent and international arms, and guys waiting for their turn. The entire pitching staff as a whole ranks 4th best in ERA, WHIP, and walks allowed. Which captures the organizational philosophy of dominating the strike zone.

Prospects

Drew Sommers: The southpaw was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays back in February for former Rule 5 draft pick, Mason Englert. Sommers started out his collegiate career at San Diego State before transferring to Central Arizona College, a junior college, which he was drafted out of in 2022 in the 11th round. Similar to Dylan Smith, Sommers hadn’t pitched in AA prior to 2025, but succeeded nonetheless.

He threw 24.1 IP, striking out 22 and holding opposing teams to a 1.48 ERA. Sommers is a large man, standing at 6 ‘3 and listed at 250 pounds. The 24 year old features a sinker-slider mix. His sinker tops out at 96 MPH and his slider does a good job at breaking away from left handed batters on the outside half of the plate. Sommers is a sneaky pitcher to look for this year and as a possible spring training breakout in 2026.

Tyler Owens:

Owens was acquired at the trade deadline last season from the Texas Rangers along with current Marlins catcher, Liam Hicks, for Andrew Chafin. To avoid being selected in the Rule 5 draft, the Tigers added Owens to the 40-man roster. The 24 year old showed promise in spring training and opened eyes to many fans. He has been called up to the major league squad twice so far this season, making two scoreless appearances.

In Toledo this season, Owens has thrown his fastball 56% of the time, and it averages 95 MPH and can get up to 97 MPH without too much challenge. He throws his slider 34% of the time and his splitter plays as an antagonist, thrown 10% of the time. His walk and strikeout rates have been poor but he has gotten good whiff and chase rates. His 5.74 ERA is discouraging but doesn’t tell the whole story. As of right now, he is the next man up for the Tigers bullpen.

Former Prospects

Matt Manning: Manning is the longest tenured player in the Tigers organization. He was drafted 9th overall in 2016 out of Sheldon High School in Sacramento, California. The 6 ‘6 right hander had been a consensus highly rated prospect for many years, reaching top twenty status in 2020 from Baseball America. He was named to the All Star Futures game in both 2018 and 2019.

He was awarded the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year award in 2019 with the Erie Seawolves for leading the league in strikeouts, WHIP, and attaining a 2.56 ERA in 133.2 innings of work. Manning made his major league debut in 2021 against the Los Angeles Angels, and posted a 5.80 ERA in 85.1 innings pitched that year.

He pitched 63 innings of 3.43 ERA ball after missing three and a half months due to a right shoulder inflammation. In 2023, Manning was hurt, limited to 78 innings on the bump after taking a comebacker off his right foot against the Blue Jays, missing two months of time. He took another line drive off his foot in September of that year and ended his season immediately. Manning missed the opening day roster in 2024 and only made five starts, mainly as the 27th man apart of doubleheaders.

So far in 2025, Manning has become more of a two pitch guy, featuring a fastball and a frisbee-like sweeper. Since moving to the bullpen, he has added a tick on both his fastball and breaking ball. In Toledo, opponents are hitting .234, striking out 23.9% and walking 16% of the time.

He also has a 5.40 ERA in 41.2 innings of work. Manning is still on the 40-man roster and can be called up at any time if a roster spot frees up in Detroit but he certainly isn’t the next man up and his time in the organization is limited, especially with arbitration looming in the air and only one minor league option left.

Jordan Balazovic: A former Auburn commit, Jordan Balazovic was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 2016 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins out of St. Martin in Mississauga, Canada. The right-hander is very similar to Matt Manning, standing in at 6’5 with long legs and played on the same All Star Futures team in 2019, appearing on a few . The Twins added Balazovic to their 40-man roster after the 2020 season and he made his debut in 2023. Balazovic struck out 17 batters, walking 12, and had a 4.44 ERA in 24.1 innings.

He was designated for assignment the next February, released in July to sign with the Doosan Bears of the KBO League over in South Korea. In the KBO, Balazovic started 11 games, pitched 57 innings, striking out 69, and walking 28 with an ERA of 4.26. The Tigers were intrigued by his performance and signed him to a minor league contract in December. The 26 year old features a fastball that sits between 92-95 and is thrown 49% of the time, a 25% usage curveball, and a changeup and slider that share the rest.

So far in Toledo, Balazovic has had a 2.10 ERA in 25.2 innings pitched, walking only 5.9% of batters which is 85th percentile in all of AAA, and has batters chase 31.8% of the time, which is 81st percentile. The future of Jordan Balazovic is uncertain in the Tigers organization but he has certainly revived his professional baseball career.

Big League Experience

Beau Brieske: 

With over 200 innings at the big league level, Brieske has plentiful experience on a big league mound. He was sent down earlier this month after an erratic eight inning appearance in Baltimore. The 27 year old right-hander was shelved for two weeks in April for right ankle inflammation and has not looked like himself all season long.

The former division two draft pick was a staple of last season’s miraculous playoff race, along with bullpen mates Jason Foley, Tyler Holton, and Will Vest. Last year he threw 67.2 innings, finishing and starting both 12 games with a 3.59 ERA. Brieske’s peripherals don’t look too good this year but he has been knocked a bit unlucky on the mound.

His ERA is 6.55 but his xERA (expected ERA) is 3.73 which is 55th percentile in all of Major League Baseball and opponents are only hitting an xBA (expected batting average) of .222 against him. Brieske is still on the 40-man roster and is looking to reset things in Toledo so he can rejoin the Tigers later this season.

Ryan Miller: 

Ryan Miller was drafted in the 6th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Clemson by the Diamondbacks. He’s been passed around through many different transactions, played in the American Association, and had a 13 inning stint with the Angels last season where he struck out 11 batters and walked 8.

Miller is predominantly a sinker-slider pitcher. His sinker sits around 93 MPH and is thrown 45% of the time. The slider is thrown 29% and sweeps away from right handed matters and can be snuck into the outer half of the zone against lefties. Miller throws from a low 3/4 arm slot which makes his slider look more deceiving. He is 29 years old and is well past prospect status, and is more of a team project but nevertheless a great depth piece to have.

Brendan White: 

White was added to the 40-man roster in November of 2022 to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft after showing a promising sweeper in Erie of that year. This was one of Scott Harris’s more notable roster moves as President of Baseball Operations. He made his debut in June the following year and was a mainstay of the bullpen for the remainder of the 2023 season.

That year White featured impressive ground ball and whiff rates, but was optioned to Toledo before opening day come 2024. A little more than a month into the season, White experienced some elbow issues that sidelined him for the rest of the year.

He has since been removed from the 40-man roster. The 26 year old right hander so far this year has thrown his fastball 37%, sweeper 35% , and his slider 27% of the time. The fastball appears to be flatter than previously and is down a tick in velocity, averaging 93 MPH, but was 94 MPH in 2023 jumping up to 97 MPH at times. White has had issues commanding the strike zone, walking 11.2% of batters faced and only striking out 18.7%. The Siena College alum is still trying to get back into the mix after a detrimental injury last year.

Bailey Horn: 

The former Auburn Tiger was drafted in 2020 by the Chicago White Sox, the same class as fellow left-hander, Garrett Crochet. Horn was originally claimed off waivers by the Tigers in November before the Cardinals scooped him up in waiver wire in January. The Tigers reacquired him in a trade in March.

Horn threw 18 innings for Boston last year and had a 6.50 ERA. So far this year he pitched one game for Detroit against San Diego, throwing an inning and a third and showed promise with a fastball that reached 97 MPH mixed with a lethal sweeper.

He just came back from a left elbow injury that sidelined him for almost a month. In Toledo, Horn has struck out 29 batters in 22.1 innings and has had an ERA of 4.43. Opponents have an average exit velocity of 86.2 MPH which is 80th percentile in AAA. With the Tigers recent bullpen struggles, they might see some need in a hard throwing left hander sometime later this season.

Toledo Mud Hens Recap:

The Mud Hens bullpen showcases many players that can certainly work their way to Detroit, especially with the current struggles of the big league staff. Four of these players are currently on the 40-man roster and can easily be placed on the big league roster as long as a space frees up. The Tigers have started to make moves regarding struggling pitchers, demoting Beau Brieske and releasing John Brebbia.

The starting rotation has been very encouraging as well, with the breakout of guys like Dietrich Enns and Wilkel Hernandez. Troy Melton recently made his debut in the Glass City and may have a shorter path to the big leagues than others in the past. The trade deadline is approaching and all big league squads will not ignore the pitching factory that has spawned from the Tigers front office.