Detroit Tigers rookie Reese Olson breaks down five-pitch repertoire that he learned to mix

Finding the right mix of pitches can be one of the most difficult things for a young pitcher to learn in the major leagues. What worked against hitters in the minor leagues doesn't always translate to the same results at the highest level.

In his rookie season, Detroit Tigers right-hander Reese Olson learned to mix his pitches in different ways against different teams, execute his pitches, follow the scouting report and make in-game adjustments.

The 24-year-old, who made his MLB debut in early June, went through ups and downs before an exceptional finish to the 2023 season. He appears to have a bright future with the Tigers.

"So, Reese Olson is going to be a really quality pitcher at this level," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said in early September. "He's a young pitcher who's developing. He's calm in the competition, which is important. He's got weapons, which is even more important. And he's not afraid."

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Olson posted a 3.99 ERA with 33 walks and 103 strikeouts over 103⅔ innings in 21 games.

In his final six starts, Olson registered a 1.51 ERA with 13 walks and 35 strikeouts across 35⅔ innings. The included six innings of one-run ball (with five strikeouts) Sept. 20 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

The Tigers, under former general manager Al Avila, acquired Olson from the Milwaukee Brewers for left-handed reliever Daniel Norris at the 2021 trade deadline. Two years later, his on-field performance was influenced by pitching coach Chris Fetter and assistant pitching coach Robin Lund.

"The biggest thing for me this year is trusting in everything," Olson said. "There have been times where I've tried to make my stuff too nasty, but the biggest thing is trusting that my stuff is good enough. I don't have to make it better than it already is."

The Tigers look forward to uncovering Olson's long-term potential, but in the immediate future, he should arrive in spring training with a spot in the starting rotation. Before his final start, Olson discussed the five pitches in his nasty arsenal that helped him unlock a stellar first season (percentage of pitches thrown in parentheses).

Slider, 84.8 mph (30.6%)

The results: 534 pitches (323 to right-handed batters, 211 to left-handed batters), .217 batting average, .216 expected batting average, .433 slugging percentage, .444 expected slugging percentage, 2,989 RPM spin rate, 41.6% whiff rate.

The emergence: "The Brewers came to me after my first season, and they wanted me to add a pitch. They thought a slider would be good, so I went early to spring training in 2020, before it got shut down (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and went into the pitching lab."

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The development: "It's kind of the same pitch, but it's a little bit different than it was when I first started throwing it, but it's still pretty similar, so I stuck with that one and kept getting better and more comfortable with it over the past two years. I was just trying to be a little bit more behind it and throw it a little bit harder, figuring out ways to throw it harder. I messed with where my fingers are placed, more on the ball as opposed to more on the side of the ball. I'm now in the middle of the ball instead of being on the side of it so much."

The grip: "I hold it like a four-seam fastball and rip it. I supinate (palm toward the body and upward at release), so I think about throwing it with the side of my hand."

The spin rate: "With the Brewers, I didn't really pay attention to the spin. We didn't really have any of that. After I got traded (in 2021), I didn't really start noticing spin until last year (in 2022), when we were getting our reports and started paying attention to that stuff. I spun it hard last year, but not quite as hard as I am this year. When I moved farther over on the rubber, to the third-base side, it jumped."

Four-seam fastball, 94.8 mph (28.6%)

The results: 499 pitches (143 to righties, 356 to lefties), .179 BA, .268 xBA, .396 SLG, .586 xSLG, 2,281 RPM spin rate, 15.6% whiff rate.

The emergence: "It's the first pitch you learn. Trying to make it a true four-seam my whole life has been an issue. It would run on me (toward the middle of the strike zone), so I'm trying to keep it straight to have more ride. It's still something I'm trying to do now, but obviously, I've been throwing it my whole life."

The development: "I'm trying to keep it consistent and have it be more of a true four-seam. It's one of those things. You have to find a cue. You have to find a little pressure (point), maybe with fingertips, just a cue with your fingers."

The grip: "It's standard."

The command: "To start the game, if I have four-seam command, if I'm able to establish that, then everything else opens."

Sinker, 94.8 mph (19.8%)

The results: 345 pitches (328 to righties, 17 to lefties), .270 BA, .282 xBA, .348 SLG, .405 xSLG, 2,135 RPM spin rate, 12.3% whiff rate.

The emergence: "That was my first meeting in the offseason when I got added to the 40-man (roster in November 2022). I had a Zoom call with Fett and all the pitching coaches. They wanted me to start tinkering with the sinker. It's another look for righties, whether I'm starting it out (of the strike zone) and having it come back in (the zone), or running it off the plate, it's just another look that's separate from the four-seam. If I'm able to throw both of those to righties, it's pretty tough on them."

The development: "I was throwing it in the offseason, trying to find a grip. I got to spring training and started throwing it a little bit more. The metrics got to a spot where it was going to play, and I stayed with that the whole time. I found a feel for that pitch pretty quickly."

The grip: "It's just a standard two-seam grip."

Changeup, 87.8 mph (15.1%)

The results: 264 pitches (100 to righties, 164 to lefties), .208 BA, .270 xBA, .283 SLG, .360 xSLG, 2,089 RPM spin rate, 35.9% whiff rate.

The emergence: "I didn't really throw one in high school. First year in pro ball, I added the changeup. Well, I had a changeup, but I didn't really throw it. I started trying to throw a good changeup (in 2018), and I've stayed with the same grip since."

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The development: "Growing up, it's one of those things you don't really throw to righties, but when you get to pro ball and start facing better hitters, it's a really good pitch if you can master that (to right-handed hitters). Having the confidence to throw it to both sides, then they have to respect the four-seam up and respect the changeup down. I think my changeup is pretty good. Last year (in 2022), it was probably my best pitch. I have a lot of confidence in it."

The grip: "I messed around with a few grips and found one that I liked. I just ran with that one."

The usage: "I think the usage was down (in 2023) because I didn't really have a great feel for it for a month and a half. If you were to take out eight starts where I didn't have a great feel for it, and you looked at the most recent six, it would probably be back to normal where the changeup is probably my third-most used pitch."

Curveball, 78.8 mph (5.8%)

The results: 101 pitches (21 to righties, 80 to lefties), .167 BA, .233 xBA, .222 SLG, .283 xSLG, 2,800 RPM spin rate, 31.1% whiff rate.

The emergence: "It's a bigger separator from the other stuff. My changeup and my slider are harder and closer in velocity, and having the curveball, it's like 6 mph slower. I've thrown that one my whole life. I didn't throw a slider in high school because trying to have the two pitches (curveball, slider) be separate from each other — like being distinct pitches — was something I struggled with when I first started throwing the slider."

The development: "I spiked it a little bit. That was another one in 2020 spring training with the Brewers, trying to find the separation from the slider. I've gotten to a point where I'm pretty comfortable because they are two very distinct pitches."

The grip: "I had to get my index finger out of the way. More middle-finger dominant helped me get more topspin."

The usage: "I would like to throw more curveballs. Slider heavy the first time through (the batting order), and then when you face the guy for the second time, you can throw a curveball they haven't seen. That might be the first time I threw it the whole game. If I can throw that in a two-strike count for the first time and land it, it's more often than not going to be swing-and-miss or weak contact."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers rookie Reese Olson breaks down five-pitch repertoire