The "Crazy" Rise Of Zac Reininger, Newest Addition To Tigers' Pen
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Zac Reininger didn't say a word. For 10 seconds, and soon 15, he didn't say a word.
"I was honestly speechless," he said.
He had just picked up the phone, Mike Rojas on the other end of the line. Rojas, his manager at Triple-A Toledo, had told Reininger he was being called up to the Tigers.
"I didn't know what to say. It was really just surreal," said Reininger, a hard-throwing reliever. "I didn't expect anything like that."
His shock could be excused. It was less than three months ago that Reininger was in Single-A, toiling away in Lakeland, staring up at the long minor-league ladder. Now here he was, on a late summer night in Toledo, being summoned to the big leagues for the first time.
Rojas told Reininger congratulations, breaking the silence.
"I just sat there, like, 'Uhhhh…'" Reininger said with a laugh. "But it was cool."
So is Reininger, by first impression. He's got long brown hair that curls around his ears and out the back of his cap. He laughs freely, often at himself.
He recounted being a short, skinny soft-tosser in high school, scared to throw his fastball.
"I threw nothing but curveballs and stuff," he said, "because I couldn't throw it by anybody."
He remembered how his older brother was always bigger than him growing up.
"He graduated high school, like 5'9, 200. And I was the complete opposite. He helped me get in the weight room," said Reininger, who always preferred to play outside.
He recalled facing Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez in Double-A, two Yankees sluggers who he might encounter on Thursday afternoon. Did either of those two homer off him?
"Yes, Gary Sanchez did," Reininger said, laughing at the memory.
(Hey, he's not alone in the Tigers' clubhouse.)
Reininger, 24, went to Hill College out of high school, a community college in Hillsboro, Texas, about 200 miles north of his hometown of San Antonio. He didn't have many other options.
"I was a lot smaller than I am now," said Reininger, who checks in these days at 6'3, 170. "I was like 5'10, 150 pounds, and I threw like 84 miles per hour."
His first year of college is when he started to put on weight. The velocity followed. By the time Reininger left Hill, he was up to 6'1 and about 91 mph on the radar gun. The Tigers took him in the eighth round of the 2013 draft.
After a couple years of pro ball, first with the Connecticut Tigers and then with the West Michigan Whitecaps, his velocity was reaching the mid-90's. But Reininger still didn't have faith in his fastball. He basically grew up without one.
Enter Mike Hennemann, longtime Tigers reliever and Reininger's pitching coach with the Whitecaps.
"He taught me to trust my fastball," said Reininger. "I was more going down there, throwing everything off speed and pretty much scared to throw my fastball. He wanted me to learn to trust it like I should."
It helped. Still, the most crucial development for Reininger came in the form of a setback. He was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow two summers ago -- "July 1, 2015," he recalled, the date of the operation etched into his mind -- and came back better than ever. After rehab, his velocity was in the upper-90's, approaching triple digits.
"I've had no problems, whatsoever -- knock on wood," Reininger smiled. "But everything's felt great so far. Tommy John helped quite a bit and then putting on weight, having something behind me when I'm throwing the ball."
Reininger returned late in the 2016 season and finished the year without allowing a run. He started 2017 in Lakeland, made it to Double-A Erie by June, and Triple-A Toledo by August. After about three weeks with the Mud Hens, he was promoted to Detroit.
"He moved fast," said JaCoby Jones, who crossed paths with Reininger in Toledo. "That's crazy."
Reininger's numbers this year over 42 relief outings in the minors: 2.54 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .193 batting average against, 60 strikeouts versus 18 walks in 60 2/3 innings.
The Tigers called him up on Wednesday night after long reliever Chad Bell had taxed his arm in four innings of mop-up duty for Jordan Zimmerman.
"We needed a pitcher, and that was the recommendation we got from Mike Rojas and (Mud Hens pitching coach) Jeff Pico," said Ausmus, who suggested Reininger may stick around depending on the results. "He's been impressive this year by all accounts."
Back in spring training, Reininger could never have imagined his season would lead him here.
"Obviously you hope for the best and pray it happens, but I had no idea. Didn't really see myself jumping three levels. It just happened to work out in my favor. I guess the right place at the right time."
Reininger trusts his fastball (yes, his fastball) and his slider the most. He throws a curveball and a changeup, too, but both pitches need work.
Said Jones, "He just attacks hitters and throws strikes. As a defensive player you want pitchers that go after hitters and pound the zone, and that's what he did (in Toledo)."
Reininger's parents, sister and brother-in-law will be at the game on Thursday, all of them in from San Antonio.
"It couldn't have happened at a better time," he said of his call-up. "They all happened to be here. I didn't know my sister and her husband we're gonna surprise me, but it just worked out the best timing it could."
Reininger is itching to take the mound on Thursday. Jones is hoping he gets his wish.
"He's a really nice dude. Always has a smile on his face, laid back. He did well for us down there in Toledo," said Jones, "so hopefully he can come up here and pitch."