Detroit Tigers: 3 under-the-radar pitchers the Tigers should sign

Jace Fry another left-handed option to consider.

Moving along with another lefty, we find ourselves at the former White Sox reliever who has seemingly lost his role in the competitive Sox bullpen. Jace Fry has a career ERA of 5.04 and 4.23 FIP. This past year, he was hurt going into the year and rehabbed in AAA before being thrown into the dead heat of the playoff race in September.

Needless to say, he didn’t do too well. His 10.80 ERA and 2.40 WHIP earned him a release at the end of the season, but there is reason to believe that 10.80 is not reflective of who he really is as a pitcher. His .450 BABIP shows that he was likely incredibly unlucky, especially given a 71.4% groundball rate and a 4.8% solid contact rate.

Fry has the stuff and induces weak contact. In a left-handed reliever, you really cannot ask for much more. His whiff rate puts him in the top 13% of the league, according to Baseball Savant, and with a career 27.3% strikeout rate, Fry can definitely slot into a mid-innings role to get outs.

The significant concerns arise in his control or lack thereof. His 2021 BB/9 was 8.1, and he has had two seasons with a negative K-BB%. That being said, his AAA numbers from last year also tell a different story, with a significantly decreased 12% walk rate. Given the right situations and coaching, Fry could look like a steal if the Tigers got him on a low-risk contract.