Alex Lange #56

Alex lives in Houston, Texas...Lange, who went to Lee’s Summit West High School, is one of four players on the Royals' 40-man roster who attended a Kansas City-area high school, along with Noah Cameron, Carter Jensen and Ben Kudrna...Lange was a Royals fan growing up and his favorite Royals player was Mike Sweeney...At Louisiana State, he was a First-Team All-American and National Freshman Pitcher of the Year in 2015...Named the 2014 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year.

2025

Began the 2025 season on the 60-day IL and started a rehab assignment on June 17...Made 15 appearances with Triple-A Toledo from June 24-Aug. 15, 12 of which were scoreless and nine of which were hitless...Made one appearance with Detroit on Aug. 18 vs. Houston and pitched a scoreless ninth inning, but was optioned three days later and finished the season with Toledo.

2024

Pitched in 21 games for the Tigers and went 0-3 with two saves, a 4.34 ERA (18.2IP/9ER) and 21 strikeouts...Made nine appearances with Triple-A Toledo and had a 1-1 record with a 3.12 ERA (8.2IP/3ER) and 12 strikeouts...Entered a bases-loaded, one-out jam on April 18 vs. Texas, but escaped after punching out both batters faced...Marked the third time in his career he inherited three runners yet allowed none to score (last, May 7, 2022, at Houston).

2023

Appeared in 67 games with the Tigers in 2023 and established a career high with 26 saves... Finished the season ranked eighth in the American League in saves, while he was tied for fifth among AL relievers with seven wins... Picked up his first career multi-inning save on May 19 at Washington, striking out two in 1.1 perfect innings... Did not allow a run in 16 consecutive appearances from April 12-May 22, the longest scoreless appearance streak of his career...during the streak, he threw 16.2 scoreless innings and allowed just five hits and seven walks, while striking out 27... Named AL Reliever of the Month and Tigers Pitcher of the Month for May, appearing in 10 games and posting a 2-0 record with seven saves, a 0.84 ERA (10.2IP/1ER) and 17 strikeouts...became the second Tiger to win the award, joining Shane Greene (April, 2019)...ranked tied for second in the AL in saves during the month, while he ranked third in opponent batting average (.091) and eighth in ERA among AL relievers (min. 10.0 innings pitched)... Closed out the first combined no-hitter in franchise history on July 8 vs. Toronto with one strikeout in a perfect ninth inning... Picked up his 20th save of the season on Sept. 1 at Chicago (AL)... Did not allow an earned run in 11 of 13 appearances in September/October, posting a 2.70 ERA (13.1IP/4ER) and 14 strikeouts.

2022

Led the Tigers with 71 appearances in 2022...ranked tied for third among American League relievers and tied for fifth in the Majors with seven victories... Led the American League and ranked second among Major League relievers (min. 40 games) with a 44.1% miss rate on swings against his pitches, while he ranked tied for fourth in the American League and tied for sixth in the Majors with 71 appearances... Made an Opening Day roster at the Major League level for the first time in his career... Allowed a two-run home run on June 15 vs. Chicago (AL), his first home run allowed since May 15, 2021, snapping a streak of 48 consecutive appearances without giving up a longball... Selected Tigers Pitcher of the Month for September, making 11 scoreless appearances in the month spanning 9.1 innings, allowing just two hits and five walks, while striking out 11 en route to a 2-0 record... Earned the win on his birthday on Oct. 2 vs. Minnesota...was the first Tigers pitcher to pick up a victory on his birthday since Justin Wilson on Aug. 18, 2016 vs. Boston... Did not allow a run over a career-best 13 consecutive outings from Sept. 4-Oct. 2.

2021

Completed his first Major League season in 2021, pitching in 36 games...also appeared in 19 games with Triple-A Toledo....Made his Major League debut on April 10 at Cleveland, working a scoreless fifth inning and finishing the frame with a strikeout of Franmil Reyes, his first big league punchout. ...Picked up the first hold of his career April 14 at Houston, striking out two in a scoreless inning... became the 12th player in franchise history to earn a hold in at least one of his first two big-league appearances (last, Bryan Garcia on Sept. 5, 2019, at Kansas City). ...On the injured list from June 15-July 7 with a right shoulder strain. ...Recorded six straight scoreless appearances from Aug. 22-Sept. 4, allowing three hits with five walks and eight strikeouts in 8.0 innings... Earned the first save of his big league career Sept. 20 vs. Chicago (AL), working a perfect ninth inning. ...Picked up the first win of his Major League career Sept. 30 at Minnesota, working a scoreless 1.1 innings with two strikeouts. ...Allowed just three runs over 18 appearances from July 18-Oct. 2, posting a 1-2 record with one save, a 1.37 ERA (19.2IP/3ER) and 19 strikeouts.

2020

Spent the 2020 season at the Tigers Alternate Training Site in Toledo... Ranked as the 29th-best prospect in the Tigers organization by Baseball America entering the season.

2019

Began the 2019 season in the Chicago Cubs organization, before being acquired by the Tigers on July 31...Threw 5.0 no-hit innings on May 4 vs. Salem, striking out seven and walking four...Started four games in June between Single A Myrtle Beach and Double A Tennessee, posting a 1-1 record with a 2.52 ERA (25.0IP/7ER) and 22 strikeouts...Pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for Double A Erie in August/September...closed the season by not allowing an earned run in six of his final seven outings...Rated as the No. 14 prospect in the Cubs organization by Baseball America entering the season...also rated as possessing the best curveball in the Cubs system.