Blaine Hardy

Hardy put together a solid 2016 season that he split between Triple-A and the majors. The 29-year-old began the season in the minors, where he had tremendous success, posting a dominant 1.72 ERA in 31.1 innings of work for Triple-A Toledo. Hardy frequently fluctuated between the majors and Triple-A, but was pretty decent during his time in the big leagues this season, earning a 3.51 ERA and a 7.01 K/9. He was also a late-bloomer for the Tigers. As of Aug. 4, Hardy's 2016 major league ERA was 5.84, but a strong finish to his season allowed it to eventually come down to 3.51. One thing he has excelled at has been keeping the ball in the ballpark. After giving up an incredibly low 0.29 HR/9 for Detroit in 2015, the veteran left-hander followed it up with another strong mark of 0.70 HR/9 in 2016.

Hardy had a solid 2015 that looked downright remarkable relative to his bullpen peers. His stuff is average at best, but he somehow managed to deliver a 3.08 ERA in 61.1 innings on the back of a mid-80s fastball. And he allowed just two home runs while ringing up fewer than a strikeout per inning. Hardy's smoke and mirrors approach is working, perhaps because of a remarkably long stride to the plate -- it makes that fastball seem a whole lot faster. He delivered 13 holds in 2015 and should continue to offer the same, if not more, to owners in 2016, but he's a long shot to record more than the occasional vultured save.

The 28-year-old lefty reliever made his major league debut last season, appearing in 38 games out of the Tigers' bullpen. He finished the season 2-1 with a 2.54 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 31 strikeouts and four holds in 39 innings. On the surface, Hardy was one of the more successful bullpen options for the Tigers in 2014, but there are some chinks in his armor. Hardy walked batters at a high clip (4.6 BB/9) and posted a 3.49 FIP. While he is considered a moderate groundball pitcher, his 0.2 HR/9 and 3.1% HR/FB are both unsustainable. Hardy doesn’t overpower on the mound, but unlike many relievers, he has a four-pitch arsenal (fastball, cutter, curveball and changeup). His fastball sits around 90 mph, and proved to be his most productive pitch last season, but his curveball induces plenty of swings and misses and could be his primary out-pitch going forward. While Hardy was more effective against left-handed hitters, he also managed to hold his own against righties, limiting 93 right-handed batters to a .263/.366/.291 slash line. The Tigers haven’t been shopping around for left-handed bullpen help this offseason, which means Hardy will most likely be one of the team’s top relief southpaws to begin the season. Some regression should be expected, but Hardy could be a sneaky source of holds if his role increases in 2015.