DETROIT -- Joe Jimenez has seemingly had the ninth inning in his future for years as the Tigers’ closer in waiting. His inning Friday wasn’t that kind of work.

As Jimenez took the mound in rainy 39-degree weather, he had no save situation, no lead to protect. His work in Friday’s 7-3 loss to the White Sox was about getting his command back.

“I feel a little bit lost on the mound,” the Tigers’ All-Star setup man said before the game. “But before, in the bullpens, before I get into the game, I feel great. It’s just a matter of getting the confidence again.”

Jimenez pumped fastballs, striking out Yonder Alonso and Eloy Jimenez in just his second perfect inning in nine outings this year. But the pitch selection wasn’t the point. This was about how he threw, not what he was throwing.

“It was really good to see Joe stay back over the rubber and let his arm catch up,” bench coach Steve Liddle said. “He’s been rushing out front a little bit and not letting his arm catch up, and it’s been affecting his command more than his velocity. But it was nice to see him go out there in immediate order and shut them down.”

His fastball is down slightly, from an average of 95.5 mph last year to 94.7 so far this season according to Statcast, but that could be partly related to the cold weather in April. Of greater concern is his ability to command it, and use it to draw swings and misses from hitters.

“Joe’s got great stuff when he attacks guys with his fastball,” catcher Grayson Greiner said. “When he pitches off his fastball, he’s pretty successful.”

Of the 17 pitches Jimenez threw in a tumultuous eighth inning Wednesday night against the Pirates, only one drew a swing and miss. That was a slider. His 13 fastballs in the outing, at an average velocity of 94.4 mph, drew three called strikes, four foul balls and six pitches out of the zone that hitters took for balls. Jimenez loaded the bases on a single, a walk and a hit batsman on an 0-2 fastball before Daniel Stumpf inherited the bases-loaded, no-out jam.

A week earlier, Jimenez walked three consecutive Cleveland batters after retiring the first two batters he faced, throwing just 13 of 29 pitches for strikes. Again, his heater was the culprit: He threw 26 fastballs, but less than half for strikes -- five swings and misses, four called strikes, two foul balls and one ball in play. His hardest fastball in that outing was 95.6 mph, according to Statcast.

“Even that outing, the first two outs were pretty good,” Jimenez said.

Some of those fastballs out of the zone are by design; Jimenez has tried to induce right-handed hitters to chase fastballs up and out of the zone in two-strike counts, but they haven’t been close enough to be tempting.

Jimenez has six walks in 7 2/3 innings this season, but four of them happened in his last two outings before Friday, over an eight-batter stretch. The 24-year-old has allowed at least one baserunner in seven of his nine outings this season.

“It’s probably mechanical,” Jimenez said. “We’re working on it. We’re just trying to do the same thing I was doing when I was going good. I have to watch videos of the stuff I’m doing now and [compare it to] before. Maybe it’s just confidence. I don’t feel bad at all. My body feels great. My arm feels great. It just happens.”

The Tigers will work Jimenez in lower-leverage situations for now to let him figure out his mechanics without having to worry about protecting close leads. Blaine Hardy, Victor Alcantara and Drew VerHagen pitched in the eighth inning in Thursday’s win over the White Sox, with VerHagen striking out Yoan Moncada to strand the bases loaded, and keep the score even after Welington Castillo tied it off Alcantara.

Castellanos changes agents
While contract extensions continue to flourish around the Majors, nothing has changed lately between the Tigers and Nicholas Castellanos. Don’t expect that to change now that the slugging right fielder has changed agents.

Castellanos, who had been represented by David Meter since he was drafted in 2010, is now represented by Scott Boras, Castellanos confirmed Friday. Anthony Fenech first reported the switch earlier in the day. The switch took place within the last week or two. Castellanos called it a business decision, but a difficult one.

The decision comes as Castellanos nears free agency next offseason. Former Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez made a similar switch heading into his contract year in 2017. By that point, with the Tigers about to embark on their rebuild, Martinez’s departure was already a foregone conclusion. Detroit traded him to Arizona that July, their first of several deals that summer that remade the Tigers roster.

Friday’s news doesn’t necessarily mean the same route for Castellanos, but the two sides have been in the same position since late in Spring Training. Boras tends to prefer free agency to maximize his clients’ value, but he’s open to negotiating extensions if that’s what the player prefers. One of his clients, Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon, reportedly met with team officials to discuss a potential extension earlier this week.

Neither the Tigers nor Castellanos have ruled out an extension, though it’s clear they’d have some work to do.

Paredes becomes a top-100 prospect
The Tigers now have four prospects in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 rankings. Double-A Erie infielder Isaac Paredes has joined the list, filling a void created from Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen graduated from prospect status.

Paredes joins a trio of starting pitching prospects -- Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Franklin Perez -- on the list. Manning is also at Double-A Erie, and Mize is expected to join them soon. Perez is currently on the injured list at Class-A Advanced Lakeland with right shoulder tendinitis.

Paredes is 11-for-39 (.282) for the SeaWolves, with one home run and nine RBIs.