This Tigers' 2025 Draft pick is looking to be the next juco player to make The Show, tell me about this news in (https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/tigers-pitching-prospect-cale-wetwiska-has-breakout-season-in-2026)
21-09-2026
The article highlights the breakout 2026 campaign of Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Cale Wetwiska, a 2025 seventh-round draft pick out of Northern Oklahoma-Enid Junior College aiming to become the next former junior college standout to reach the Major Leagues.
Background and Injury ComebackDraft & Role: Wetwiska, ranked as the Tigers’ No. 21 prospect, was drafted as a two-way player out of junior college.
Early Setback: His first full professional season hit an early bump on April 17, when an undisclosed injury during his second start for Single-A Lakeland sidelined him until mid-June.
Strong Finish: After returning to action on June 19 following a rehab outing in the Florida Complex League, he went on an impressive run down the stretch, surrendering just six earned runs across his final 31 2/3 innings.
In his first nine appearances off the injured list with Single-A Lakeland, Wetwiska logged a 2.08 ERA, a 3.38 FIP, and a 9.5 K/9 mark. His best start came on August 20 against St. Lucie, where he struck out a career-high eight batters.
He earned a late-season promotion to High-A West Michigan, where he struck out four and allowed two runs over 3 1/3 innings in his lone start.
Across all three minor league levels in 2026, he posted a 2.74 ERA, a 26.7% strikeout rate, and a 9.7% walk rate over 46 total innings.
Fastball Velocity Jump: Wetwiska averaged only 89.3 mph on his fastball during his final spring in junior college. Under Detroit’s player development program, his four-seam fastball progressed to sitting at 94–97 mph and touching 98.2 mph (graded a 60).
Pitch Characteristics: The four-seamer produced a 30.9% whiff rate and features exceptional vertical carry, averaging 17.6 inches of induced vertical breakcomparable to Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler.
Secondary Pitch: He pairs his fastball with a 50-grade, mid-80s slider that he commanded effectively, throwing it in the strike zone at a 47.2% clip.