Ryan Kreidler Breaks Through With His Bat
The Tigers assigned shortstop Ryan Kreidler to the Arizona Fall League, but he appeared in just three games before a calf strain ended his season.
The 23-year-old took the news in stride.
This has been the mantra for Kreidler long before the Tigers drafted him out of UCLA in the fourth round in 2019.
Kreidler has never been one to over-complicate the process.
“I think I've been pretty much the same guy the whole time,” Kreidler said. “I think when I was in college, I had more on my plate from a team perspective. When I got into pro ball, I feel like that mentality shifted to more of an individual development approach.
"So for me it's been a great opportunity to just kind of work on myself, that's kind of a thing that I never really had in college.”
While Kreidler’s quiet approach had seemingly kept him off the prospect grid, his goal to advance on the offensive side of the ball in 2021 made his progression impossible to ignore.
After hitting two home runs over 60 games in 2019, Kreidler broke through with 22 home runs in 129 games while hitting .270/.349/.454 for Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo this season. He credits the progression in part to the advice of Tigers Hall of Fame shortstop Alan Trammell.
“If (Trammell is) rolling around and you're walking near him, he's going to be the center of attention," Kreidler said. "When I told my dad that Tram's around, he was just freaking out. It was pretty funny.”
For Kreidler, staying the course towards growth in every possible angle, his access to Trammell’s insight has been a lifeline.
"Seems like we have a conversation every day,” Kreidler said. “Whenever he is around, I'm asking him questions. I think the biggest thing he brings to the table for me personally is just some baseball IQ stuff.
"Asking him how he would approach defensive alignments or reading guys' swings. He's obviously a great baseball mind and he was able to do it for 20-plus years. I'm just trying to take what I can and ask him as many questions as I can.”