LAKELAND, Fla. — Izaac Pacheco, one of the Detroit Tigers‘ most important prospects, has this way about him.
An absolute confidence. Not cocky. But man, he’s fun to watch.
Because he doesn’t seem afraid of anything.
“I love him,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I’ve known him since he was pretty famous in the Houston area as an amateur. … He’s fearless.”
Pacheco, the Tigers’ second-round pick in 2021, is in minor league camp but he was called up to play with the big league club on Tuesday.
Was he rattled?
Was he freaked out?
Oh, heck no. This is Mr. Fearless.
Pacheco went out there and started raking. He got his first career spring training hit — then, added another one. He scored his first run, got his first RBI and in his third-plate appearance, he got a walk.
“He thinks he belongs,” Hinch said. “He probably thinks he should have been invited to the big-league camp and he’s putting up at-bats, when he gets over here, that are pretty fun to see. I love the way he carries himself.”
After the game, Pacheco walked off the field at Joker Marchant Stadium, carrying two bats, smiling ear to ear, as he headed toward the minor league clubhouse.
“I got the word couple days ago, so I got to prepare a little bit mentally,” Pacheco said after the Tigers’ 16-3 runaway victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. “It was fun. It’s a cool experience to play with these big guys and guys you look up to.”
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Young and fearless
Here’s the most important thing about Pacheco: He is still incredibly young. He turned 20 in November.
“He had a really nice year, especially if you look at his age in his first full season,” said Ryan Garko, the Tigers vice president of player development. “He made some nice adjustments in terms of hitting the fastball. The hitting group did a really nice job of getting him prepared. He really covered the fastball everywhere, which was good to see, a good defender and he got better as the season went along.”
Pacheco plays primarily third base, which is where he saw action Tuesday.
“We’ll keep on him the left side — mostly third with a little bit short mixed in,” Garko said.
Pacheco stands 6 feet 4 and is listed at 225 pounds — yep, more things that Hinch loves.
In 2022, Pacheco started out at Single-A Lakeland, where he played 88 games, hitting .267 with eight homers. He struck out 80 times with 38 walks.
“It was hot and humid, my first real taste of professional baseball,” Pacheco said. “I had a great manager (Andrew) Graham, so it was good. You know, just competed and had fun.”
Pacheco moved up to High-A West Michigan for 18 games, getting a taste of the next level. He hit .183, with three homers, striking out 17 times with nine walks.
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“The pitching is definitely a little bit better,” he said. “It wasn’t it wasn’t too different from Lakeland. The competition’s a little bit better and a little faster. It was a great atmosphere up there. It was great competing. The velo might have been a little bit better. They were definitely commanding their pitches a little bit better. But it was a great time.”
When Pacheco talks, he sounds just like team president Scott Harris or Hinch.
“Just trying to be consistent,” Pacheco said. “Trying to have the best plate discipline and wherever I am, just help my team win and compete as hard as I can. But I don’t really look too much into the numbers. I just go out there and do what I can do. Let my let my preparation take care of itself.”
He has sensed an organizational focus on swinging at strikes, which flows from Harris.
“We’re definitely paying more attention to swinging at strikes and plate discipline,” he said. “We talk about that a ton and that’s kind of in our routine every day — don’t swing at balls, swing at strikes.”
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The future can’t come soon enough
Pacheco’s performance on Tuesday was noteworthy.
But the invitation was probably just as telling.
The Tigers don’t call up just anybody. It’s a way to reward hard work — a little carrot for the players on the backfields; and it’s a way to give important prospects a taste of the big leagues.
There are not many prospects who are more important to this organization than Pacheco.
Last year, he appeared in two spring training games and had a strikeout.
“I was definitely more nervous last year,” he said. “This year, I’m calmer. It was a fun experience.”
His walk might have been the most impressive part of his day.
After getting his first hit.
After getting his second hit.
A young prospect might come up for his third at-bat and get greedy and start chasing bad pitches.
But he showed impressive patience and maturity, taking three pitches that were close to the zone. Even if he didn’t want to.
“He was pretty pissed about the walk, and that tells me he likes to hit,” Hinch said, smiling.
Yep, there is just so much to love about this young prospect.
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Yep.
As Hinch said, there’s so much to love about this kid.
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Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.