2026 Stats
W-L
1-4
ERA
7.88
WHIP
1.50
K
17
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2026 Fantasy Outlook
Vest didn't open 2025 as the Tigers closer, but was frequently summoned during the team's highest-leverage moments, finishing with the 4th-highest Game Leverage Index (1.84) among qualified relievers. The 30-year-old quickly emerged as Detroit's most trusted option to close games, securing a team-leading 23 saves for a 57.5 percent team save share. Vest continued to lean on his four-seam fastball, tossing it 52 percent of the time at 96.7 mph on average, but he appeared to focus more on his secondary offering, significantly increasing the spin rate on his slider (24 percent pitch usage). He induced more whiffs and produced more strikeouts on the pitch to help boost his K-rate by nearly five percentage points. His ground ball rate also skyrocketed to 58.2 percent; ranking ninth overall among relievers. Vest's improved strikeout and ground ball rates align more with the typical closer profile, but it's currently unclear whether he'll retain that role to open 2026. Read Past Outlooks
Signed a one-year, $3.95 million contract with the Tigers in January of 2026.
Blows save Wednesday
Vest allowed a run on two hits across an inning of work and was charged with a blown save in Wednesday's 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Guardians. He struck out one.
Analysis
The Tigers decided to use regular closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning against the top of Cleveland's lineup to protect a 1-0 lead. That left the ninth for Vest, and the veteran allowed the lead to slip away on a pair of hits and an RBI groundout. Vest has struggled this year with a 5.93 ERA across 13.2 innings, blowing two saves in his past four appearances. His early season performance should leave no doubt that Jansen is locked in as Detroit's closer.
The Tigers decided to use regular closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning against the top of Cleveland's lineup to protect a 1-0 lead. That left the ninth for Vest, and the veteran allowed the lead to slip away on a pair of hits and an RBI groundout. Vest has struggled this year with a 5.93 ERA across 13.2 innings, blowing two saves in his past four appearances. His early season performance should leave no doubt that Jansen is locked in as Detroit's closer.
Pitching Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
18
Last 10 Games
19
Last 5 Games
18
How many pitches does Will Vest generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Will Vest generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-5%
BAA vs LHP
2026
-1%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024vs Left | .231 | 70 | 33 | 56 | 3 | |||
| Since 2024vs Right | .243 | 85 | 14 | 83 | 6 | |||
| 2026vs Left | .265 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2026vs Right | .267 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .243 | 38 | 14 | 27 | 2 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .230 | 37 | 8 | 34 | 2 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .206 | 21 | 14 | 20 | 1 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .250 | 42 | 4 | 41 | 2 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-15%
ERA on Road
2026
-15%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024Home | 3.70 | 1.27 | 80.1 | 8.4 | 2.6 | ||||
| Since 2024Away | 3.13 | 1.13 | 74.2 | 9.6 | 2.9 | ||||
| 2026Home | 8.59 | 1.50 | 7.1 | 11.0 | 1.2 | ||||
| 2026Away | 7.27 | 1.50 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 6.2 | ||||
| 2025Home | 3.47 | 1.24 | 36.1 | 8.9 | 2.5 | ||||
| 2025Away | 2.51 | 1.18 | 32.1 | 10.9 | 3.3 | ||||
| 2024Home | 2.95 | 1.25 | 36.2 | 7.4 | 2.9 | ||||
| 2024Away | 2.67 | 0.98 | 33.2 | 8.8 | 1.6 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Will Vest compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
2.43K/9
9.6BB/9
3.9HR/9
1.1Fastball
95.4 mphERA
7.88WHIP
1.50BABIP
.348GB/FB
2.08Left On Base
37.7%Exit Velocity
83.3 mphBarrels/BBE
5.9%Spin Rate
2274 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
20.0%Swinging Strike
12.3%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2025
2024
2023
Vest established new career-highs in 2024 with 69 games played, 70.1 innings pitched and 14 holds while limiting opposing hitters to a 2.9 percent barrel rate that was a 99th percentile metric. Though he was behind Jason Foley and Tyler Holton in the bullpen pecking order for Detroit, the 29-year-old righty emerged as a reliable high-leverage arm. Vest's slider has been inconsistent since he debuted in 2021, but he's added velocity on his four-seam fastball every year, averaging 96.1 mph on the pitch last season with great success (.183 BAA). Left-handed batters struggled to square up with his 89 mph changeup, which yielded an .095 BA and .095 SLG that were top-10 marks for that pitch type. Vest is likely to fill a setup role once again in 2025 since he doesn't possess the strikeout upside (22.8% for his career) of a typical closer. However, if he finds success and consistency with his slider, his chances of seeing regular save chances for Detroit would likely improve.
More Fantasy News
Activated from injured list
The Tigers activated Vest (forearm) from the 15-day IL on Sunday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
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Could return Sunday
Manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday that Vest (forearm) could return from the injured list Sunday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Analysis
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Beginning rehab assignment
Vest (forearm) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Friday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
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Throwing off mound
Vest (forearm) threw a bullpen session Monday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
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Receives cortisone injection
Vest (forearm) received a cortisone injection Friday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Darkhorse to be traded?
Vest could generate significant trade interest if the Tigers are willing to offload him, reports Evan Woodbery of MLive.com.
Analysis
The 29-year-old isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2027 campaign and has been one of Detroit's most reliable relievers over the past two seasons with a 3.02 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 94:25 K:BB across 92.1 innings. That may make the club less likely to trade him, but the Tigers could also look to sell high given the volatile nature of relief pitchers.
The 29-year-old isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2027 campaign and has been one of Detroit's most reliable relievers over the past two seasons with a 3.02 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 94:25 K:BB across 92.1 innings. That may make the club less likely to trade him, but the Tigers could also look to sell high given the volatile nature of relief pitchers.