Detroit Tigers: A.J. Hinch starts to assemble his coaching staff

The Detroit Tigers have announced Chris Fetter as the new pitching coach along with Josh Paul, Juan Nieves, and Ramón Santiago, also being given new positions.

For the Detroit Tigers, this offseason has turned out to be quite exciting, and no signings have been made for the actual on-field product. With the hiring of A.J. Hinch came some decisions regarding a new coaching staff for Hinch.

For Hinch, there were plenty of options, including some of the in-house names who stuck around and were awarded new roles. But the announcement was made that Chris Fetter was named the organization’s new pitching coach in a phenomenal choice by Hinch.

Fetter has been the pitching coach for the University of Michigan, who was in the College World Series during the 2019 campaign. While with Michigan, Fetter has transformed things for that program and was one of the more highly-regarded pitching coaches across the country.

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Other than the hiring of Fetter, the Tigers also announced Josh Paul would return as the quality control coach, and Ramón Santiago would return as a first/third base coach for the organization.

Beyond that, the Tigers also announced the promotion of Juan Nieves to the role of assistant pitching coach.

For the organization, this allows the coaching staff to start taking shape, which is something that Hinch was tasked with soon after the organization hired him.

Fetter may not have the big-league experience as a coach, but with the respect garnered at the college level after time with Michigan and Ball State, he is a fun name to keep an eye on.

Fetter should be able to work well with this pitching staff, especially given their upside and prowess as some of the best young arms coming up in the game.

In terms of the coaches returning, things should not be too much different, all of them were likely to stick around, and Nieves was given a new opportunity with his promotion. As the offseason continues, Hinch can start working with the coaching staff to iron out plans as the Spring moves forward.

The Tigers should be able to make several improvements; while they will not jump through hoops and be a contender, they will not be a 110-120 loss team like they were in 2019’s full season.

With a new coach who seems like he was the right hire, a staff with plenty of upside, and a lot of room for development and growth, the Detroit Tigers have plenty of opportunities in front of themselves.