This story was excerpted from Jason Beck’s Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DETROIT -- Dillon Dingler wasn’t the only Tiger who made his MLB debut on Monday against the Guardians. While Dingler (the Tigers’ No. 11 prospect) spent four years working his way up the farm system on the road to Detroit, Bryan Sammons’ big league arrival was preempted by seven seasons of Minor League ball, culminating in the 7 1/3 innings he tossed once he finally reached the Majors.

At the start of 2023, Sammons was pitching for the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the independent Atlantic League, playing on a roster that included former Tigers prospect Steven Moya and former Tigers signing Zack Godley. The Tigers signed Sammons as organizational depth last summer and shuffled him between Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie. The 29-year-old lefty spent this entire season until Monday in Toledo, where his 4.18 ERA was one of the highlights of a Mud Hens staff that has seen several prospects struggle.

Sammons hadn’t pitched since last Wednesday, so he was available to pitch on Monday or Tuesday, if Detroit needed. With that in mind, the Tigers gave him a call and asked him to be ready in reserve in case they didn’t start Jack Flaherty on Monday against the Guardians.

“Woke up today and didn't know if I was going to get activated or not. I was told to come just in case,” Sammons said. “When I got here, [manager] A.J. [Hinch] told me, ‘You're going to be activated and you're going to throw at length.”

The Tigers flew Sammons’ wife to Detroit to be in town in case he pitched. For his parents, it was a tougher challenge.

“My parents, when I heard it was a possibility I could get activated, looked at flights to come in,” he said. “I guess when they looked, there wasn't anything that guaranteed they would get here on time, so they drove 12 hours just so they could be here. Really special.”

Once Flaherty was officially scratched, the Tigers purchased Sammons’ contract. Thanks to Beau Brieske’s first-inning exit, Sammons got length. He warmed up quickly, entered with two outs in the opening frame, retired Bo Naylor, then churned through his innings.

“He probably never thought this week he was going to get called upon,” Hinch said. “And here he is, going seven-plus [innings] in the big leagues against a first-place team.”

It wasn’t always smooth. A hanging changeup to José Ramírez turned into a 451-foot home run to left field, his 25th homer of the season. A sweeper left over the plate to Naylor became a three-run homer, then Ramírez struck again, this time on a curveball that was low and out of the zone.

“I came in here and my main focus was to not beat myself,” Sammons said. “They have good hitters. They're going to put good swings on pitches sometimes. But the main thing is don't beat yourself and you'll probably be alright.”

Three of the four hits Sammons allowed left the yard, resulting in five runs, but he also struck out five.

“They took some really funny swings on the cutter,” Hinch said. “A couple of big swings made the linescore a little bit rough for him, but he threw strikes. The ball moves a little bit, looks like it has a little hop to it so it plays up a little bit. And he was pretty fearless.”

By the time Sammons used a double play and a popout to finish the eighth, he had covered 7 1/3 innings in 96 pitches (71 strikes). It was the longest outing by a Tiger in his Major League debut since Andy Van Hekken’s shutout of Cleveland on Sept. 3, 2002, and the longest outing by a Tigers reliever in his MLB debut since Roger Mason tossed eight innings on Sept. 4, 1984.

“He pitched his [tail] off,” Dingler said.

Not bad for someone who was in indy ball last year.

“It kind of puts it all into perspective,” said Sammons, who grew emotional thinking about the journey. “It just makes all the work worth it.”

Highlights from around the Minor League system:

• Triple-A Toledo: The Mud Hens hit the road for Indianapolis to face the Pirates’ top affiliate after sweeping a six-game series from Louisville, the Reds’ top affiliate. Prior to being called up, Dingler went 9-for-15 for the series with four home runs, two doubles, eight RBIs, five walks and one strikeout to earn International League Player of the Week honors. No. 13 prospect Brant Hurter tossed seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball with no walks and six strikeouts in a win on Friday, facing one batter over the minimum.

• Double-A Erie: The SeaWolves head to Maine for a series against the Portland Sea Dogs after going 5-1 at home against Altoona. No. 2 prospect Jackson Jobe allowed a run on five hits over 5 2/3 innings with five walks and five strikeouts on Friday. No. 9 prospect Troy Melton struck out eight batters over six scoreless innings of two-hit ball Sunday.

• High-A West Michigan: The Whitecaps visit Fort Wayne for a matchup against Padres prospects after splitting a six-game series at home against Lansing. Top prospect Max Clark went 8-for-22 with two doubles, a triple, four runs scored and five RBIs in his first series as a Whitecap following his promotion from Lakeland. No. 17 prospect Jaden Hamm tossed four scoreless innings with five strikeouts in long relief for the win Sunday.

• Single-A Lakeland: The Flying Tigers host Tampa after going 4-2 at Bradenton. Outfielder Dom Johnson went 6-for-20 with a double, home run, two RBIs and four runs scored. Andrew Sears fanned eight batters over five innings of two-run ball last Tuesday.