'Michigan has become home' for Rule 5 pick Englert

DETROIT -- Every day, Mason Englert prepares for his offseason workouts by practicing the Wim Hof Method, a system of controlled deep breathing created by a Dutch extreme athlete that improves mental focus and pain management. One of the pillars is cold therapy, exposing the body to extreme temperatures. To do this, Englert says, he starts his day by taking a dip in the Grand River.

Yes, that Grand River, the one in Michigan.

“I absolutely love it,” the Tigers’ newest pitcher said. “It’s really good for my mind and body, and I’ve really gotten into it.”

Englert, 23, was born and raised in Texas and became a high school legend in the state -- his streak of 55 1/3 scoreless innings broke David Clyde’s Texas prep record -- before the Rangers drafted him in 2018. However, he makes Michigan his offseason home to be with his girlfriend in Grand Rapids. He sticks around in the winter and works out at a local facility, and he has learned to embrace the cold season. His agent is a former Tigers shortstop and Texas native, Michael Hollimon.

With the Tigers’ move Wednesday to snag Englert in the Rule 5 Draft, his transition to adopted Michigander is nearly complete. If he can crack Detroit’s Opening Day roster, don the Old English D and take the mound for the home opener at Comerica Park, the state’s unofficial holiday, he could well be considered a local story.

“I got a huge rush of emotions,” Englert said of the pick. “I grew up in Texas, but Michigan has become home. I live here and absolutely love it here. It couldn’t have been a better team to pick me. I’m absolutely excited.”

The Tigers didn’t draft Englert looking for a hometown hero. The challenge of carrying a prospect on the active roster for a season is too daunting to make emotional picks. But president of baseball operations Scott Harris has repeatedly mentioned using every method possible to find talent to close the gap on other organizations. It should be no surprise that the Rule 5 Draft is a big part of that.

“We think he has the shapes and the power that can compete against Major League hitters. We're going to see if he can do it,” Harris said of the Tigers’ No. 26 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. “We're excited to get a pitcher like that in front of [pitching coaches Chris Fetter, Robin Lund and Juan Nieves] and see if they can help him take that next step in his development. We've talked a ton about the development ability of this staff, and this is just another sort of ball of clay to hand to them.”

Englert’s journey from former Rangers prospect to potential Tigers pitcher is more than the distance from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to Detroit. He bypassed a college commitment to Texas A&M to sign with his hometown Rangers for a $1 million bonus, more than twice the slot value assigned to the fourth-round Draft pick. But before he could make his pro debut, he suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery to repair.

Before Englert could think about pitching in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the Minor League season. He didn’t pitch in a pro game until May 2021, 35 months after he was drafted.

Englert made the most of it.

“Tommy John was a great experience,” said Englert, his positive mindset evident, “because I wasn’t as experienced lifting as some of the college or other high-school guys out of our [Draft] class. So I got a year and a half to just get in the weight room, get my strength base in, felt really good, learned a lot of things, did really good work with the Rangers rehab team.

“I almost got a false sense of [security]. I just started throwing harder in bullpen [sessions], so I was like, ‘I’ll never get hit again.’ Felt like I was on top of the world even though I was throwing to invisible hitters, striking all of them out.”

The Tigers view Englert like a late bloomer with untapped potential, especially after a midseason tweak to his delivery helped bump his fastball velocity by a tick or two into the mid-90s.

“I definitely think there’s more in the tank,” Englert said. “Could be from being a little healthier, further up from surgery, but I actually think there’s some things movement-wise within my body and physically within the weight room that I can develop and bring up the fastball and all the other pitches a little bit more.”