DETROIT -- If there's one thing the Tigers learned about Kyle Lobstein last year, it's you can never count him out.
Lobstein, 25, wasn't exactly having a standout season with the Toledo (AAA) Mud Hens last year when the Tigers called him up because of Anibal Sanchez's injury.
He was 9-11 with a 4.07 ERA and 1.48 WHIP with the Mud Hens.
So naturally, in Lobstein's first four starts with the Tigers, he allowed just eight runs in 22 2/3 innings.
The Tigers were in a battle with the Royals for the Central Division, which they ended up winning by just one game.
You could make the case that the Tigers would have lost the division without Lobstein's efforts down the stretch.
"That's baseball," Lobstein said during TigerFest. "It's exciting when that stuff happens. Obviously you'd like to clinch earlier in the season and be able to rest players especially, but that makes it exciting. That's what it's all about. Going down to the last game, it could go either way that way and David (Price) stepped up for us and had a tremendous game. It turned out to be a really fun season."
Although Lobstein is a left-hander like Price, the two aren't similar pitchers.
Bernie Pleskoff, a former scout who now works for MLBPipeline.com, said Lobstein is not a strikeout pitcher.
"He pitches to contact and doesn't overpower hitters," Pleskoff wrote in an October story. "He throws both a two-seam and four-seam fastball and generally sits at 89 mph with both of those pitches. His four-season fastball and 84-mph slider is a combination of pitches he uses with frequency. He also throws a change up and curveball to round out a complete repertoire designed to offer movement on his pitches and changes in balance as opposed to velocity differential. His secondary pitches are good enough for him to use at any count."
Lobstein finished 1-2 with a 4.35 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in seven games (six starts), showing enough pitching and poise to make the postseason roster against the Baltimore Orioles.
"I learned that I had what it takes to get major league hitters out," Lobstein said. "I don't necessarily have to have lightning stuff and throw really hard, so it gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I can compete at that level."
Lobstein didn't get to pitch in the postseason but he said he learned a lot from pitching in September and then watching the playoffs with his teammates.
"I felt as though I got more experience than innings pitched that I had," Lobstein said. "With every day coming to the ballpark being as important as the day before in a playoff race, it really focuses you and you come to the ballpark and you gotta get your stuff done and you can't take a day off. You're there watching every game, watching every pitch, every hit, every out, so you pick up more stuff that way."
Although Lobstein has spent his entire career as a starter, Pleskoff said there are scouts and front office personnel who believe that he might be better as a reliever.
Lobstein is not opposed to the idea.
"Honestly, the goal is to be in the big leagues and be able to wear that Detroit uniform," Lobstein said.
The Tigers have said they are happy with their rotation of Price, Sanchez, Justin Verlander, Shane Greene and Alfredo Simon so a bullpen job might be the only one available, unless there's an injury.
"I'm just going to go into spring training and continue to do what I've done, try to carry momentum from last season and really just try to take that into spring training and get better as spring training goes on," Lobstein said.
"Whatever role, whatever capacity I'm in by the end of spring training, it's still a huge honor to be in this position."
