The Tigers drafted several right-handed pitchers the past three days, 11 to be exact.
Only one is 6'8. Only one is listed at 300 pounds. Only one spent a couple weeks playing right tackle for his high school football team but stopped because "I couldn’t understand why the guys I was blocking were so mad all the time."
Only one is RJ Petit.
Detroit drafted the mammoth of a man in the 14th round out of Charleston Southern University on Tuesday.
Petit throws gas in the mid 90's -- as you might expect -- and posted a 2.79 ERA in 17 games this year. In one three-inning stint in the Coastal Plain League last summer, he struck out all nine batters he faced.
Petit shed a few pounds to pitch last fall to pitch at a more comfortable weight. These days, he's around 285. He said it's "where I feel the best physically and the most athletic." He said his fastball this year topped out around 99 mph.
In addition to his four-seamer, Petit throws a sinker, a slider and a changeup. He excelled as a reliever his first two college seasons before moving to the rotation as a junior. He said his "stuff's a little sharper" and his velocity's a little higher coming out of the pen, which is likely his path to success as a pro.
"Given his enormous size and sound arm action, it’s easy to envision Petit throwing even harder down the road, particularly if he works in short stints out of a pro bullpen," per scout David Seifert of Prep Baseball Report.
Petit, 21, worked out for the Tigers at their facility in Lakeland last week. He said he expected to be drafted "in the middle rounds" on Monday -- which made it "a little stressful" waiting until the middle rounds on Tuesday.
"Questioning myself if I did anything wrong, because I honestly couldn't think of anything," he said. "But at the end of the day, all I need is the opportunity. No matter where, just going to go out and do what I do. The goal is to get to the top regardless."
At 6'8, he's got a head-start on the competition.