Tigers Relievers Excited To See What Nesbitt Can Do In Detroit
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - With Joe Nathan and Bruce Rondon on the disabled list, the Detroit Tigers will get a closer look at the rest of their bullpen. One reliever whom other Tigers look forward to seeing more from is Angel Nesbitt, who made his major league debut with a scoreless one-third of an inning Wednesday.
Last season, Nesbitt turned in an 0.79 ERA in 24 appearances for Single-A Lakeland and a 2.23 ERA in 24 appearances for Double-A Erie.
Fellow Tigers reliever Ian Krol was impressed by how Nesbitt looked in spring training and excited to see how that performance would translate to the major leagues.
"He's a hard thrower, he goes at guys, he's got a great slider, he's got a great feel for his pitches, but there's this one move that he does," Krol said Thursday. "It's kind of like it freezes the batter a little bit. He doesn't really come set when there's nobody on base; he just kind of comes and goes, and it's pretty crazy because you look at it when you're playing catch with him and you don't really notice anything, but in the game, those two, three seconds of a pause can get the batter set and ready, so it's pretty cool. I like the way he does that.
"I've never seen anybody do that before," Krol added.
What impressed veteran reliever Joakim Soria about Nesbitt was the composure he showed on the mound in his outing Wednesday.
"He's so calm," Soria said. "He seems like he's so calm when he's pitching. He's knowing what he's doing, and hopefully he'll stay the whole year like that.
"It is unusual, but obviously he's made for this," Soria added. "He has good talent, good pitches, and like I said, he's steady."
Joba Chamberlain also listed Nesbitt as one reliever he is looking forward to seeing more.
"He did great in spring training," Chamberlain said. "I love the way he attacks the zone. I love the way he goes about his business. It's going to be exciting to watch him do it in the regular season. There's so many young arms we have down there that we got a chance to get to know and to see what they can do, so I'm excited to see all these kids come about."
For Nesbitt and others in the Detroit bullpen, the temporary absence of Rondon and Nathan may mean more opportunities, and Chamberlain expects that to help the Tigers by strengthening the team's bullpen depth.
"That's going to go a long way," Chamberlain said. "We start with 25 guys on this roster at the beginning of the year, but it's going to take a lot more to do what we want to do and get to where we want to go. We understand that.
"Sometimes one man's trouble is another man's come-up," Chamberlain added, "to be able to get some experience and be put into situations that he may not be in, so it's going to do nothing but help us get better, get stronger, and come together."
