River

Ryan

Ryan also issued a pair of walks in the contest while three of the four outs that he did record came via the strikeout. He served up a leadoff homer to Konnor Griffin to open the ballgame, then allowed the first four hitters to reach in the second inning, ultimately exiting with the bases loaded and one out. Ryan got four swings and misses on 39 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 28 percent. He finishes the 2026 campaign with a 4.15 ERA, 1.85 WHIP and a 6/3 K/BB ratio over 4 1/3 innings in two starts with the Tigers. As long as he’s healthy, he should open the 2027 campaign in the Tigers’ rotation.

Ryan threw just 43 pitches (26 strikes) during his abbreviated Tigers debut before giving way to Keider Montero for a bulk relief outing. He gave up only two hits and one walk during his lone trip through Washington’s lineup. He averaged 96.5 mph on his fastball and topped out at 98.1 mph during his first outing back in the majors since undergoing elbow surgery back in 2024. He won’t offer a ton of volume, but he represents a worthwhile option for fantasy purposes when he faces the Pirates to close out the regular season on Sunday.

One of the main components of the Tarik Skubal trade with the Dodgers last month, Ryan will make his Tigers debut against the Nationals on Monday. The hard-throwing 28-year-old top pitching prospect made four starts for Los Angeles before undergoing Tommy John surgery back in 2024. He’s spent the entire year pitching at the Triple-A level, compiling an impressive 47/9 K/BB ratio across 41 innings of work. Simply put, Ryan offers enough strikeout upside to be interesting as a streaming option for fantasy managers, even if he’s highly unlikely to work deep into Monday’s outing. He’ll get the ball in place of an injured Troy Melton (arm) during Detroit’s regular-season finale against the Pirates on Sunday.

The 28-year-old right-hander has been battling through a hamstring injury over the past couple of weeks and is finally ready to show the Tigers what he can do at the MLB level. He’s only expected to work a few innings in the game and will be piggybacked by Keider Montero, so fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him to have a shot at earning a victory.

On one hand, two runs on five hits in just over two innings is not good. On the other hand, Ryan threw 69 percent of his pitches for strikes, while posting a 13 percent swinging strike rate and 33 percent CSW. He sat 97.4 mph on his four-seamer, which he got a few whiffs on. He threw all six of his pitches and flashed good swing-and-miss on his changeup to lefties. It remains unlikely that Ryan, who threw 39 pitches in this one, will make it up to the Tigers in the final week of the season, but he should be penciled into their 2027 rotation.

Ryan has been on the minor league injured list since late June with a hamstring strain. He was subsequently traded to the Tigers as part of the Tarik Skubal trade, so this was his debut as a member of the Tigers organization. He struck out two and didn’t walk a batter while throwing 74 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 17 percent swinging strike rate. His four-seamer averaged 97 mph with an elite 17 inches of vertical movement. He looked like a potential difference-maker in this one, but he also threw just 23 pitches across two innings, so he will need a few more starts to ramp back up and might not return in time to pitch for the Tigers this season. He could be stashed in keeper leagues though.

Ryan ranks as the 68th best prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, which opinions on the right-hander’s worth landing all over the board. At 27, he’s a bit old for a prospect, but only made the full-time transition to the mound in 2022 and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2025. He possesses next-level stuff and if he’s able to stay healthy his ceiling projects as a top of the rotation starter at the MLB level. He’ll begin his Tigers’ tenure on the injured list at Triple-A Toledo as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain, but he could find his way into the big league rotation before the end of August.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Dodgers will send outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitching prospects River Ryan and Brady Smith. It was initially reported that Emmet Sheehan was included, but multiple outlets have confirmed he’s not headed to Detroit. Skubal is inarguably one of the best pitchers in baseball and has won back-to-back Cy Young Awards for the Tigers, and he joins Los Angeles with a 2.79 ERA and 116/14 K/BB in his 16 starts this year. The pending free agent will join the loaded Dodgers’ roster as the new ace, and obviously, fantasy managers have no reason to believe he won’t continue to pitch at an elite level now that he’s in Los Angeles rather than Detroit.

Ryan missed time earlier in the season due to an issue with the same hamstring and it flared up and caused him to miss his last start at Triple-A Oklahoma City. No word yet on how long he’ll be shelved for. There goes the glimmer of hope that fantasy managers had that Ryan may make a spot start next week with the Dodgers having seven games on the docket.

There’s zero urgency for Los Angeles to expedite Ryan’s timeline to the majors given their starting pitching depth, but the 27-year-old top prospect will begin to force the issue if he keeps pitching like this. He generated 15 swinging strikes and threw a staggering 67 of 87 pitches for strikes. There’s a path to a rotation spot with the Dodgers if recently acquired Eric Lauer doesn’t show anything in the next couple weeks.