How Many Saves Does Gregory Soto Have?
Gregory Soto has 15 Saves.
Soto pitched two scoreless innings against the Rangers on Wednesday, despite a single and a walk. He struck out three batters.
The lefty hasn’t recorded a save since June 15, but he’s still pitching well, with a 2.78 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 35.2 innings.
Despite the dip in saves, Soto leads the squad with seven this season. With six saves, Michael Fulmer (neck) is in second place, but he’s now on the 10-day injured list.
Soto, along with righty Jose Cisnero, who recorded the team’s two most recent saves before Soto’s on Wednesday, should continue to see save opportunities.
This is the culmination of a long journey from a power pitcher with poor control in the Tigers’ farm system to one of the most dangerous bullpen pitchers in baseball for hitters.
Soto, a 17-year-old Dominican Republic native, spent six seasons as a starting pitcher for the Tigers, progressing from the rookie levels to Single-A and High-A.
With that stuff, that’s a short time to be in the minors, and the Tigers finally gave up and moved him to relief in 2019.
In 2020, former Tigers pitching coach Rick Anderson recommended switching to a slide step, and while Soto still alternates between a tiny leg kick and the slide stride, it was that shift that catapulted him into a dominant relieve pitcher.
While he’s still capable of a wild performance, the modification enables him to find his timing far more quickly inside an outing.
With modifications that turned his low-80s slurve into a bonafide power slider at 89-90 mph, the Tigers suddenly possessed a legitimate weapon.