TODAY: The Tigers officially selected Brieske’s contract in between games of today’s doubleheader with Colorado. Right-hander Angel De Jesus was optioned to Triple-A, and righty Kyle Funkhouser was moved to the 60-day IL to create 40-man roster space.
APRIL 21: The Tigers announced this afternoon that right-hander Beau Brieske will start Saturday’s game against the Rockies. The 24-year-old will be making his major league debut. Brieske is not on the 40-man roster, so Detroit will need to make another move in that regard to formally accommodate the selection of his contract.
Brieske signed for just $75K as a 27th-round pick out of Division II Colorado State-Pueblo in 2019. The Arizona native overcame that lack of draft pedigree to reach the big leagues less than three years later, a testament to his strong work in the minors. Brieske pitched well in 11 relief appearances during his post-draft summer. He didn’t appear in 2020 because of the canceled minor league season, but he traversed a pair of levels last year.
Assigned to High-A Lakeland to open the season, Brieske pitched to a 3.45 ERA with a stellar 30.2% strikeout rate over 13 starts. That earned him an August bump to Double-A Erie, where he posted a 2.66 mark in eight outings. Brieske’s strikeout rate fell to an average 23.3%, but he walked 6% of opponents or fewer at both levels.
That strong performance was paired with a better arsenal that caught the attention of prospect evaluators. Naming him the #18 prospect in the organization this past winter, Baseball America wrote that Brieske had pushed his fastball into the 92-95 MPH range with good life at the top of the strike zone. BA praised his average or better slider and changeup and above-average command and suggested he’d blossomed into a legitimate starting pitching prospect. Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein at FanGraphs largely echoed that sentiment in their write-up of the Tigers’ farm in January, slotting him #10 in the system.
Brieske opened this season with Triple-A Toledo, where he’s allowed five runs in ten innings over his first two starts. Despite his lack of experience at the minors’ highest level, the Tigers will add him to an MLB rotation that has lost Casey Mize and Matt Manning to the injured list in recent days. Manning, in particular, is expected back in fairly short order, at which point Brieske might wind up optioned back to the minors. Whether his initial call is a lengthy one, Brieske’s addition to the 40-man solidifies him as a near-term depth option for the Detroit rotation.
Or perhaps a Brieski against Arizona , with Seth Beer.
What a Beau this fella is.
Any ideas who will be DFA’d to make room? Zach Short?
If the injury to Mize is severe enough he could just be moved to the 60 day IL
Mize already visited multiple specialists and was told he didn’t need surgery and he’s only expected to miss 1-2 starts. Manning could be a different story though. I hope not. We’ll see…
It’s said that Baez could be back on Saturday. So Short does indeed seem the most expendable player on this roster, even more so since Kreidler emerged as SS prospect of note last year. Another candidate would be Angel de Jesus, but he is still considered a prospect.
Gruß,
BSHH
Baez, Castro(s) in front of him in Detroit. Kreidler and Lopez in front of him in Toledo. Makes sense. He’s been playing second for the hens.
Short isn’t really needed now.
Looks like they moved Funkhouser to the 60 day IL. I was really hoping he’d be healthy soon.
Yeah, Hinch had already said we wouldn’t see Funk in April so I guess this isn’t a huge surprise. Hopefully we’ll see him back in a month or two, but I honestly think we have one of the best bullpens in the MLB even without Cisnero and Funk which says a lot. And we have Chafin set to be activated within the next week which is exciting..
I like to see someone that no one was watching come along and force his way into the mix.
Looks a bit hasty, but the team needs arms and he seems to at least hold his own at each level.
Wasn’t he Jethro and Ellie Mae’s next door neighbor back home?
I was more of a Barnaby Jones fan-but that was in syndication.
That nouveau-jazz opening credit sequence, and Lee Meriweather’s (the secretary)mahongas….and I watched it first-run….
Too bad his last name isn’t Brewski!
BILL BRASKY!!
Gotta love old Will Ferrell SNL references!
When the farm is solid, having to dfa someone will sting.
Does MLB still have 27 rounds? He would be the 1st in his round to make the show.
Tigers fans been raving about this Briske dude for a minute. I am not impressed with this guy. I see a long reliever and not a starter. Detroit’s rebuild is gonna get derailed by pitching and defense. I will be betting against Detroit for this game. He is gonna get rocked.
So far, the pitching has been pretty good and the defense seems a bit better than last year. If anything, the their offence is the big problem.
does seem a bit overhyped
I don’t see how he’s over hyped. MLB Pipeline has him listed as the Tigers #22 prospect. I wonder if he’s not underrated.
Brieske has pitched well in the minors, but he definitely has not been hyped at all.
im talking about what people on this site say of him. i think he’s reasonably ranked by evaluators.
DS830, just let him pitch! Most teams need 7 starters just to get through the injuries. A #4-#5 is pretty much middle of the rotation these days. Brieske uses the whole strike zone and will likely improve given that he’s had less than 1-1/2 years of professional baseball under his belt.
Last year, Brieske was named Minor League Pitcher of the Year by the Tigers. However, most think his ceiling will be a BOR starter. So they are basically similarly impressed like you are.
Gruß,
BSHH
I’m really looking forward to seeing Brieske pitch.
High-A is West Michigan, Lakeland is Low-A.
Will watch. I hope for the best, but will be surprised if he lasts 3 innings.
It was a fairly good outing (3 runs in 5 innings) for a major league debut. I look forward to seeing him again.
Agree. Just 2 pitches that took him deep. I thought he had very acceptable command and showed ML poise. It was a professional debut and I believe he deserves more starts.
His initials are BB, but he doesn’t walk a lot of batters. Well done.
There was a right-hander named Brieske
And scouts said to sign him was risky.
Good thing his debut
Will be at home, too,
‘Cause Coors can drive pitchers to whiskey.
*tumbleweeds*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl69cELK0Yk
I can hear them chanting Beau brewskie …all day long trade him to Milwaukee he’ll become a legend.
Downside to Mize, Manning injuries is losing 2 young starters. Upside though is finding out if others in system are capable to step up and become part of future rotation. Need 8-9 capable starters now to see how they pitch, to make the season