Justyn-Henry Malloy brings patience at the plate and in personality to Detroit Tigers

If Justyn-Henry Malloy hits, he's going to be a fan favorite for years to come.

Malloy is confident and humble, enthusiastic and sensible, and if you ask teammates and coaches, he's one of the nicest people they've ever encountered. He refuses to let the way he performs on the field affect the way he carries himself off the field. He always has a smile on his face.

He credits his parents, Henry and Jacqueline Malloy, for helping him become the person he is today.

"That's all parents," Malloy said. "Great teaching points that as a young man I value so much more now because I'm starting to understand in the adult mindset what they were trying to instill in me when I was a really young kid. Really, that's not me. I am who I am, but that is all my mom and my dad."

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Less than a week ago, the Detroit Tigers promoted Malloy — an offense-first outfielder who will spend plenty of time as the designated hitter — from Triple-A Toledo for his MLB debut on June 3 against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

The 24-year-old, a 2021 sixth-round draft pick by the Atlanta Braves whom the Tigers acquired in a December 2022 trade to help reshape their offensive identity, recorded his first hit in the third game of his MLB career. It came with a bang: A home run off Rangers right-hander José Ureña, spoiling a perfect game in the sixth inning.

It was the first of possibly many hits in what could be a long MLB career.

"People talk about it like getting a monkey off your back," Malloy said. "It feels like getting an angry gorilla off your back. For my parents to be here and see it in person, I thought that was pretty cool because they're leaving tomorrow. To be able to give that moment to them was sick."

The Tigers plan to give Malloy runway to see if he can stick around at the highest level, so expect his name to be in the lineup almost every day. It's only been a week, but Malloy seems comfortable as a big leaguer, both in the batter's box and in the clubhouse.

His parents say he has always been wise beyond his years.

"We're older, so he was always around older people," said 70-year-old mother Jacqueline. "He had older friends in baseball playing up. He's like the best person I know. He's determined to be positive. We're good people, but he's so much better than us."

And he's always loved baseball.

"One day, I came home from work, and he was sitting on the couch," said father Henry, age 76. "He had a baseball uniform on, a hat on and a bat in his hand."

This moment between father and son took place about 16 years ago, but Henry remembers like it was yesterday. It's a moment he will cherish for the rest of his life.

"Dad, I figured out what I want to do," Malloy said.

"What's that?" Henry responded.

"I want to be a baseball player," Malloy said.

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Malloy has been preparing for his MLB debut since he was 8 years old. His mother said he never had a backup plan, though he studied history, technology and society at Georgia Tech. His plan evolved from a dream to a reality over the course of many years, culminating in his first game with the Tigers.

The Tigers believed Malloy's bat was ready for the big leagues as early as the end of last season, but they delayed his arrival because they wanted him to develop defensively in right and left field.

In the offseason, the Tigers blocked Malloy's primary path to the majors by trading for veteran outfielder Mark Canha. This season, Malloy didn't get called up from Triple-A Toledo until outfielder Kerry Carpenter suffered an injury that warrants a lengthy stay on the injured list and first baseman Spencer Torkelson got demoted to Triple-A for performance reasons.

Malloy watched from afar as Toledo teammates Colt Keith, Andre Lipcius, Parker Meadows and Wenceel Pérez (plus five pitchers) made their MLB debuts over the past two seasons.

He waited his turn with class.

"For me, playing general manager is never my job," Malloy said. "I like to play player. For me, be happy for those guys that are getting those opportunities because if you truly believe that your opportunity is going to come, it doesn't matter. It's seeing those guys and then just rooting them on and being in a clubhouse where you're turning the game on, and you have 40 guys rooting another guy on that was just in your locker room. Because that's what I would want, right? I would want the boys back in Toledo to be rooting for me and happy for me to get this opportunity, so I want to do the same for other people who are getting that opportunity as well."

His teammates vouch for his kindness.

"He's always a great guy," said Pérez, reunited with Malloy in the major leagues after getting to know him in the minor leagues. "He's a great person. He likes to talk a lot. He likes to be involved with the team. That makes him great. He's a great player, too. I'm proud that he's here. He deserves it."

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Malloy has earned his way to the big leagues with his consistent performance.

He is one of 22 players with more than 800 plate appearances in the minor leagues in the 2023-24 seasons. Among the 22, Malloy is one of four with at least an .890 OPS, along with Baltimore Orioles infielder Coby Mayo, Orioles shortstop Jackson Holliday and Los Angeles Dodgers infielder/outfielder Austin Gauthier. Among the four, Malloy ranks first in pitches faced, ahead of second place by nearly 200 pitches. In that group, his 18.5% walk rate ranks first and his .416 on-base percentage ranks third.

Malloy has been a successful hitter in the minor leagues for his entire professional career.

"It's a lot of plate appearances at Triple-A where he's dominating a level," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "We talk about performance mattering in the minors and waiting for your opportunity, and here's his. He brings an infectious smile. He brings a great offensive approach. I think that youthfulness that he brings will be good for our team."

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He hit .272 with 30 home runs, 156 walks, 209 strikeouts and an .889 OPS across 189 games at the Triple-A level across parts of three seasons, from 2022-24, before getting called up. He draws walks at an elite rate, but his passive approach comes with the downside of too many strikeouts.

His outfield defense remains a weakness — so much so that Malloy started his first four games as the designated hitter before starting his fifth game in left field. The Tigers believe Malloy can make the routine plays in the outfield, but he needs to expand his range with more experience.

"I'm not trying to set the record of most DH days by a rookie, making his debut," Hinch said. "He needs to factor in, for so many reasons, and he can. I don't want him to feel like we're avoiding him or not wanting to play him out there."

But Malloy joined the Tigers because of his offense.

Henry and Jacqueline Malloy watched from the top of the lower bowl, down the third-base line, when their son crushed the first home run of his MLB career in Texas. They threw their arms in the air when the ball landed in the seats in left-center field. A video of them celebrating the home run went viral on social media.

They're proud of their son.

And Malloy is thankful for his parents.

"I think every son really just wants to make their parents happy and make them proud," said Malloy, who estimates he's watched the viral video about a hundred times. "To see their reaction, it's so genuine, it's so pure, it's mom and dad being happy for their kid. Now being a young adult, I appreciate even more my parents and how they brought me up as a kid."

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' Justyn-Henry Malloy powers ahead with patience