Inside the rise of Tommy Kahnle, the Detroit Tigers reliever with an elite changeup

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Sixty-one.
That's how many consecutive changeups right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle threw during the New York Yankees' 2024 postseason run — a streak that began in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians and ended in Game 3 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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"I wasn't really sure what the number was," Kahnle said, reflecting on his 61 changeups in a row, "but in the back of my head, I'm like, 'I have not thrown a fastball in a long time.' It was working."
The Detroit Tigers signed Kahnle to a one-year, $7.75 million contract and have wasted no time calling on their new high-leverage reliever in some of the most important moments this season, including save situations in the ninth inning. The 11-year MLB veteran has racked up eight saves in 28 games for the Tigers in the 2025 season, following a total of just eight saves in 390 games in his first 10 seasons.
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He is throwing his changeup a career-high 84% of the time.
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"Speaking of unicorns, it's a pitch where everyone in baseball knows how he pitches," manager A.J. Hinch said, "and yet he finds a way to get soft contact and miss bats and continue to pound the zone. Fun player because he can be utilized at any point of the game, and he doesn't change."
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Detroit Tigers pitcher Tommy Kahnle (43) throws against New York Yankees during the ninth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Monday, April 7, 2025.
Kahnle is a changeup artist.
But the 35-year-old wouldn't be who he is without a lesson from pitching coach Carlos Chantres more than 13 years ago. A career-changing adjustment occurred in 2011, when Kahnle pitched for the Charleston RiverDogs, the Low-A affiliate of the Yankees.
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He didn't make his MLB debut until 2014.
"It's been a while," Chantres said.
"Back then, we didn't have all the technology we have now," Chantres continued. "It was old-school baseball — use your eyes, see what hitters do. He had a two-seam changeup. We weren't seeing the swing and miss."
Carlos Chantres, who works as the Latin American pitching coordinator for the Chicago Cubs.
One day in 2011, during a pregame bullpen session at a small South Carolina ballpark, Chantres approached Kahnle with a simple question: "Tommy, how do you grip your changeup?"
Kahnle didn't say a word.
He just held up the two-seam changeup grip.
"Most of your fastballs are four-seam, right?" Chantres asked.
"Yeah," Kahnle said.
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"Then why don't we try a four-seam changeup grip?" Chantres asked. "It seems like hitters are seeing this one pretty good."
Since Kahnle threw a four-seam fastball, switching to a four-seam changeup grip helped him tunnel the two pitches, making the changeup mirror his fastball out of the hand before dropping late and generating swings and misses.
To this day, Kahnle still uses that grip.
"He liked the feel," Chantres said.
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In 2011, the Yankees — and every other MLB team — didn't have advanced technology like they do in 2025. There was just a computer system and a camera, so Chantres couldn't fully evaluate the new changeup in the bullpen.
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The real test came in a live game.
Once Kahnle threw it, the feedback from hitters was immediate.
The four-seam grip gave the changeup more depth.
It missed bats.
"Oh (expletive), there it is," Chantres said.
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'Always had a great changeup'
For a long time, Kahnle's changeup complemented his four-seam fastball, which maxed out 100.6 mph in 2017. He also mixed in a sinker, slider, cutter and curveball at various points in his career, but the fastball remained his primary weapon, followed by the changeup as his second-most-used pitch.
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His fastball velocity began to dip in 2019.
That's when the changeup took over as his go-to pitch.
"I always had a great changeup," Kahnle said. "We just didn't utilize it a lot because I had an elite fastball at the time. Eventually, we made the switch. Every year since then, the usage has just gotten higher and higher."
In 2019, Kahnle threw 51.9% changeups, 44.2% four-seam fastballs and 3.9% sliders. From there, his changeup usage surged — all the way to 84% in 2025. Since 2019, only Devin Williams (2,541) and Trevor Richards (2,201) have thrown more changeups than Kahnle's 2,088 among MLB relievers.
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Hitters still haven't solved it: They're batting just .155 off Kahnle's changeup since 2019 — and only .148 in 2025.
By 2022, fellow pitchers had picked up on Kahnle's changeup usage, though hitters had been aware of it for a few years. That season, he pitched for the Dodgers. His changeup became a running joke in the clubhouse.
"A lot of guys with L.A. were chirping about it: You could throw this pitch 100 times, they know it's coming, and they still can't hit it," Kahnle said. "It gave me a good laugh."
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Sometimes, Kahnle second-guesses the extreme changeup usage, which has been north of 70% in four straight seasons. He entered 2025 with the Tigers hoping to scale it back, but the data — and the results — keep reinforcing the changeup.
So do his teammates.
"You know it's coming, and you still really can't hit it," said Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka, who caught Kahnle for years in the Yankees' organization, dating to their time in Low-A Charleston in 2011 — the year Kahnle learned the four-seam changeup grip. "It's definitely something special."
The person behind the pitcher
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tommy Kahnle works out during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
Kahnle and Higashioka met for the first time in 2011.
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They had just turned 21.
"We were all pretty wild back then," Higashioka said.
Every day, Kahnle refused to tie his shoes while running in warmups and shagging fly balls during batting practice, but he eventually laced them up for the game.
"Tommy, you're going to twist your ankle," said Chantres, the pitching coach who taught Kahnle the changeup grip. "You got to tie your shoes."
"No, Carlos, I've got the strongest ankles in America," Kahnle said.
He's goofy like that.
"Tommy still is wild," Higashioka said.
For example, Kahnle shaves his entire body as a personal punishment when he allows a run — a tradition he started in the minor leagues and still follows today. He is the loudest player in the Tigers' clubhouse, collects Philadelphia Eagles jerseys, wears a Notre Dame football helmet and keeps a video game console with a monitor in his locker. He's also known for his caffeine addiction, having graduated from five Red Bulls a day to two C4 Energy drinks and two large cups of coffee.
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How does Kahnle describe his personality?
"High-energy, carefree, just having fun," he said.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Tommy Kahnle (43) high-fives teammates after the win over the Baltimore Orioles during Game 2 of a doubleheader at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, April 26, 2025.
It's impossible not to love him.
"He keeps everyone loose," Higashioka said.
Kahnle and Higashioka worked together for a few years in the minors with the Yankees, then again in the big leagues after Kahnle returned to the Yankees in 2017, following stints with the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox.
Higashioka had a part in the evolution of Kahnle's changeup usage.
"When he came back to us, he was throwing more fastballs," Higashioka said. "Over time, the data was showing that his changeup was unhittable, so the coaches kept pushing us to throw more and more changeups. Apparently, it doesn't matter if people know it's coming. It's that good."
'Big statement for him'
The personality, the contract, the changeup — it has all led Kahnle to becoming a key piece of the Tigers' bullpen in the 2025 season. In Detroit, he has stepped into a closer role for the first time in his 11-year MLB career.
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His journey traces back to that grip change in 2011.
And Kahnle still credits Chantres.
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Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle reacts after the Tigers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
"That's a good feeling as a coach," said Chantres, now 49 and working as the Chicago Cubs' Latin American pitching coordinator. "I've been in this game for many years. A lot of guys that I've taught got to the big leagues, but when people remember stuff like that, it's a good feeling."
In 2025, Kahnle owns a career-best 1.24 ERA with eight walks and 26 strikeouts across 29 innings in 28 games, notching eight saves in 11 opportunities. He generates whiffs, limits walks and induces ground-ball contact.
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The Tigers have deployed a two-closer system this season, with Kahnle and fellow right-handed reliever Will Vest combining for 19 saves: 11 from Vest, eight from Kahnle.
Kahnle is happy to pitch in any role.
But the Tigers want him — and his changeup — in the biggest moments.
"Every good team needs a good closer — somebody you can rely on to keep the score where it's at and win games," Higashioka said. "The fact that he's closing, and the Tigers have the best record in the American League, that's a big statement for him."
Contact Evan Petzold at [e-mail] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tommy Kahnle and elite changeup fueling Detroit Tigers bullpen