Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

After investing heavily in pitching at the top of the Draft from 2015 to 2021, the Tigers have pivoted toward offense in recent years with their early picks and pitching projects later on. Sears was a Day 2 pick in 2023 after struggling to a 6.24 ERA in his lone season at UConn despite 74 strikeouts over 62 innings. He has carried a relatively consistent strikeout rate as a pro while steadily improving his other fundamentals, including a drastic drop in his walk rate and deeper outings within the Tigers’ innings framework.

Like former Detroit lefty prospect Brant Hurter, Sears brings a different look than a typical lefty with a low three-quarters arm angle and a fastball that sits around 93-94 mph but can play up to 97. He throws a four- and a two-seamer, and his arm angle accentuates the movement on his mid-80s sweeper. He has developed a split change as a third pitch, but it needs refinement to become more than a change-of-pace offering. He improved his command after moving to the third-base side of the rubber.

Sears presents an interesting option for the Tigers in their search for pitching depth at the upper levels. Like Hurter, he could probably find a role as a lefty reliever who can hold his own against righties and cover multiple innings. With a little more development, though, he could fit as a backend starter, and that would be a win for a farm system that needs to develop more arms.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Sears spent two years in the Little East Conference with Division III Rhode Island College before transferring to UConn for the 2023 season. He slid into the Huskies rotation but sported a 6.24 ERA, despite striking out 74 in 62 innings. The Tigers still selected him in the 10th round and signed him for roughly slot at $167,800 when he was still only 20 years old. Sears continued to get strikeouts in his first full season at Single-A Lakeland but has become a more complete package in 2025 with High-A West Michigan. That earned him a move to Double-A Erie in early August.

The 6-foot-3 southpaw throws from a funky low three-quarters slot, and his big breakout came around May of this year when he moved to the extreme third-base side of the rubber -- a move that gave him more of the plate to work with from those mechanics. He can work with both a four-seamer and sinker around 93-95 mph, a touch above where he was last year. His 82-85 mph slider can show some nice sweep from that low angle, and he’s gotten more chase on the pitch since the move across the mound. An upper-80s changeup remains an area of focus as he can throw it too high in the zone at times.

Sears’ walk rate was only 8 percent from the start of May to the end of his time with West Michigan, a significant improvement from his time in the Florida State League. There’s still enough deception that he just needs adequate strike-throwing to get by as a starter, as batters could be fooled out of the zone too. Thought to be a potential reliever because of the funk, Sears is looking more and more like a potential back end starter with the right adjustments.

Awards

MID Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2025

FSL Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
05/12/2024

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/05/2025	LHP Andrew Sears assigned to Erie SeaWolves from West Michigan Whitecaps.
	04/02/2025	LHP Andrew Sears assigned to West Michigan Whitecaps from Lakeland Flying Tigers.
	03/30/2024	LHP Andrew Sears assigned to Lakeland Flying Tigers from FCL Tigers.
	08/05/2023	LHP Andrew Sears assigned to FCL Tigers.
	07/17/2023	Detroit Tigers signed LHP Andrew Sears.
	07/02/2023	LHP Andrew Sears assigned to College Workout.
	02/05/2023	LHP Andrew Sears assigned to Connecticut Huskies.