The Detroit Tigers have made their selection of who the September call-ups will be now that the rosters have expanded from 26 to 28. The two players chosen will be Outfield/1st baseman Justyn Henry-Henry Malloy and Starting Pitcher Sawyer Gibson-Long.

Malloy spent the first two months of the season in the majors, serving as a spot starter mostly against left-handed pitchers. Outside of that he was a late inning pinch-hitter, which was a role he excelled pretty well in. Malloy has an average of .346 with runners in scoring position, and his shining moment of the year was a walk-off base knock off of Aroldis Chapman in May. Overall, his biggest deficiency was a sky high Whiff and K rate, which ultimately got him demoted in July. He and hopes to capitalize off a strong run in Triple A, Malloy has refined his hitting approach from last year. Although he has always been a selective hitter, that rarely expands the zone. This year at the minor league level he has shortened his swing to make more consistent contact while, still posting high hard hit rates in the process. Although he has belted less home-runs this year he has displayed for alley to alley power boosting his average and OPS in Toledo. Malloy will fall back into the bench role, and will provide another power bat to the lineup. Look for him to get some starts in the DH role, especially against lefties.

This is some big time stuff from Justyn-Henry Malloy

COLD off the bench and hits a seed to win it off of Aroldis Chapman

Having a manager like AJ Hinch is so huge for these young guys giving opportunities in really big moments
pic.twitter.com/KZTZp8PCTQ

— Caleb Czarnik (@calebczarnik) May 15, 2025

Sawyer Gibson-Long returned to action in June of this year, after missing a full season with a number of different injuries including having to have Tommy John Surgery. Gibson-Long will now be returning from a left groin strain that he suffered in August. Thus far this year, he has done a good job of attacking the strike zone, keeping hitters off balance with a wide selection of pitches. His biggest struggles have come against right-handed hitters, where he has given up a gaudy opponents batting average of .328 and an .OPS of .968. The backend of the Tiger’s rotation has been inconsistent at best. Gibson-Long should provide a nice alternative to what they currently have. Whether or not he gets more work in long relief or in the starter role will come down to whether or not he can improve his success against right-handed hitters. Managers will likely stack the deck with righty bats when he takes the bump as a starter.

For those Tigers fans hoping that they would catch a glimpse of one of their top 5 farm system players they will have to wait till some time in 2026. Kevin Mcgonigle made a strong campaign to get the double promotion, but with the Tigers looking to make legitimate playoff push, it is probably the safest decision to go with proven talent. Parker Meadows is participating in rehab starts in Toledo and will be returning to Detroit soon.