Brieske hopeful tweaked slider gets him back 'on top'

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Beau Brieske wanted to throw a better slider to complement the repertoire of fastball, sinker and changeup that he leaned on last year after returning from injury. So he did a deep dive into other pitchers’ sliders.

“Talking with guys when I could, around the clubhouse,” Brieske said, “but then also throughout the league, watching video. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to try to emulate, and then seeing it.”

He looked not only for grips, but mechanics. He looked for pitch characteristics and data. He looked for common denominators for pitchers who threw effective sliders.

“It seemed like most of the guys with the best breaking balls have a really deep grip,” he said. “So I changed to that and found something that I thought was comfortable and something I could get to on a consistent basis. Then I just started working with it, tried to develop the feel of what is a natural throw for me.”

The slider was Brieske’s third pitch, right behind his fastball and changeup, when he broke into the Majors as a Tigers starter two years ago. Opponents hit it hard, including three of his 14 home runs. It became his fourth pitch when he pitched out of the bullpen last year.

He held that pitch more like his fastball, he said, and it acted at times more like a cutter. This one, he said, is more like a choke hold.

Brieske threw it in his first Spring Training appearance on Monday against the Astros, throwing it for six of his 24 pitches, and it had a different look. While the average velocity of 85.4 mph was a couple ticks down from last year, the average spin rate of 2399 rpm was up 200 revolutions. He drew one swing and miss and no called strikes, but also none put in play.

He threw five more over his two-inning, 22-pitch performance in Saturday’s 7-3 loss to the Pirates, and the characteristics were similar, with a slightly higher average velocity at 86.8 mph. The spin was again up.

“The shape has changed a little bit,” Brieske said earlier in the week, “and I do think that it fits my arsenal a little bit better.”

Whether Brieske ends up in the bullpen or stretching out as a starter -- he would most likely begin the season at Triple-A Toledo if he returns to starting -- the slider is key for him.

“Last year, when my slider was on, I felt like I was on top of everyone. I could get anyone out on both sides of the plate,” said Brieske, who has four hitless innings this spring with a walk and three strikeouts. “I think I ran into trouble just running up counts. When I’ve got four weapons, I like my chances, especially if I’m on the attack and just going after guys.”

Flaherty throws two

Aside from a hanging slider that Henry Davis hit over Joker Marchant Stadium’s left-field berm, Jack Flaherty threw two effective innings over 21 pitches Saturday in his second start. His arsenal continues to trend up velocity-wise, while he was happy with pitch shapes.

“They came out swinging. I was able to throw a couple by some guys,” said Flaherty, who had two swinging strikes each on his four-seamer and slider. “I was able to put [the fastball] on the outside corner pretty repeatedly to lefties.”

The Tigers are building up Flaherty gradually. Saturday’s focus was on how he responded to sitting and getting back up between innings. He’ll begin stretching out during the next phase of camp.

“We are methodically going through the ups, which has been something that we’ve worked together with him to focus on,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s been very good. Today he was mechanically a tick off with some balls that were spraying a little bit, but he’s right where we want him to be. The uptick in fastball has been good to see this early.”

Quick hits

• Former Tigers slugger Tony Clark made his annual visit to camp Saturday as part of his Spring Training tour as executive director of the MLB Players Association. He was joined by Hall of Famer Dave Winfield and former All-Star Bobby Bonilla, who gave a big hug to his old manager, incoming Hall of Famer Jim Leyland.

• Javier Báez was scratched from Saturday’s lineup, but it was a misunderstanding. He was scheduled to start Sunday against the Yankees instead.