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Tigers 'best-kept secret' is 2.25 ERA pitcher who isn't one of big-three relievers in Detroit
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- Tigers 'best-kept secret' is 2.25 ERA pitcher who isn't one of big-three relievers in Detroit
Tigers 'best-kept secret' is 2.25 ERA pitcher who isn't one of big-three relievers in Detroit originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Detroit Tigers have a ton of talent on their roster, and it's thanks to the team trying to capitalize on the window they have with Tarik Skubal .
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While there's been plenty of focus on the outside additions to the pitching staff, one of the more important pitchers is a 2.25 ERA reliever who's been with the team for some time.
As Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report pointed out, the Tigers' "best-kept secret" on the roster is lefty reliever Brant Hurter . The secret weapon for Detroit out of the bullpen isn't one of the big three relievers, but the 27-year-old Hurter.
Tigers' Brant Hurter is 'best-kept secret' in bullpen
"Brant Hurter is another one to know in the arm barn, if you don't already," Kelly writes. "Between 2024 and 2025, Hurter pitched to a 2.49 ERA across his first 53 MLB appearances. If he's able to continue to pitch at that level, A.J. Hinch is going to have a bevy of options to work with in the bullpen."
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Detroit has three big relievers, with Will Vest , Kenley Jansen , and Kyle Finnegan taking center stage out of the bullpen for the Tigers this season.
While those righty relievers might be more impactful from an outsider's perspective, the impact that Hurter brings to the team cannot be ignored.
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The 27-year-old has a 2.25 ERA in three outings so far in 2026, even though he has just one strikeout in 4.0 innings of work and a 1.250 WHIP.
But the numbers to focus on are his 2024 and 2025 production. He had a 2.58 ERA in 10 games in his rookie season, and last year, in a full-time reliever role, he posted an impressive 2.43 ERA in 43 games across 63 innings pitched.
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Opposing teams might key in on Jansen, a possible future Hall of Famer, along with returning relievers in Vest and Finnegan. But the lefty Hurter is the Tigers' "best-kept secret" who can be a dominant reliever in 2026 as the Tigers pursue a World Series.
