# Andrew Sears (baseball)
**Andrew Warren Sears** (born 2002) is an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Drafted in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft out of the [University of Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-connecticut), he reached the major leagues on August 23, 2026, after three seasons in Detroit's minor league system.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/searsan01.shtml)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2002, West Warwick, Rhode Island; bats left, throws left; 6 ft 3 in, 200 lb[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/searsan01.shtml) |
| Draft | 10th round, 290th overall, by the Detroit Tigers in 2023 from the University of Connecticut; signed for $167,800[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/734107-andrew-sears/) |
| MLB debut | August 23, 2026, at age 23 years 358 days[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/searsan01.shtml) |
| 2026 MLB totals | 6 games, 3 starts, 0–1, 7.11 ERA, 19.0 innings, 15 strikeouts, 1.684 WHIP[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/searsan01.shtml) |
| Best minor league season | 2024 at Lakeland: 6–4, 2.51 ERA, 101 strikeouts and 50 walks in 89.2 innings, .196 opponent batting average[3](https://img.mlbstatic.com/milb-images/image/upload/milb/rvtlelxjgkinm4y2zw0p.pdf) |
| Scouting grades (2026) | Fastball 50, slider 55, changeup 45, control 50, overall 45[4](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andrew-sears-808825?player_id=808825) |
| Awards | Florida State League Pitcher of the Week (May 12, 2024); Midwest League post-season All-Star (2025); International League Pitcher of the Week (August 23, 2026)[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825) |
## Amateur career
Sears attended West Warwick High School in [Rhode Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/rhode-island) and began his college career at Rhode Island College, a Division III program, where he spent two years.[6](https://tigersmlreport.com/2026/08/22/what-to-expect-from-andrew-sears/) • [2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/734107-andrew-sears/) He then transferred to the University of Connecticut and stepped directly into the Huskies' weekend rotation.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/734107-andrew-sears/)
His lone season at UConn produced mixed results. He gave up a lot of hard contact and finished with a 6.24 ERA, but his underlying numbers were stronger: 74 strikeouts against 23 walks in 62 innings. Scouts remained intrigued by his stuff despite the rocky introduction to Big East competition, and [Baseball America](https://www.edgepedia.org/baseball-america) described him as a potential late-round pick heading into the 2023 draft.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/734107-andrew-sears/) • [4](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andrew-sears-808825?player_id=808825) [The Tigers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-tigers) selected him in the 10th round, 290th overall, and signed him for $167,800.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/734107-andrew-sears/)
## Minor league career
Sears signed on July 17, 2023, and was assigned to the Florida Complex League Tigers that August.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825) His first full professional season, 2024, was spent entirely with the low-A [Lakeland Flying Tigers](https://www.edgepedia.org/lakeland-flying-tigers), where he went 6–4 with a 2.51 ERA, 101 strikeouts, 50 walks, and a .196 opponent batting average over 89.2 innings.[3](https://img.mlbstatic.com/milb-images/image/upload/milb/rvtlelxjgkinm4y2zw0p.pdf) That performance earned him Florida State League Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of May 12, 2024.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825)
**A mechanical change.** In the middle of the 2024 season, Sears moved across the pitching rubber from the first-base side to the third-base side. From the first-base side he created good angles on his pitches but struggled to find the strike zone; from the third-base side, his low three-quarters release point became more direct to the plate. His walk rate fell from 17.5% to 7.6% after the change, and he maintained the improved rate in 2025.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/734107-andrew-sears/)
In 2025 he pitched at high-A [West Michigan](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-michigan), where he was named a Midwest League post-season All-Star, and was promoted to Double-A Erie in August. He helped pitch Erie to the Eastern League Championship Series with two solid starts.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825) • [2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/734107-andrew-sears/)
The 2026 season took him through nearly every level of the organization. He opened on Erie's 7-day injured list on April 2, then made rehabilitation assignments to the FCL Tigers and West Michigan in May before returning to Erie in June, moving to Triple-A Toledo in August, and having his contract selected by Detroit on August 23.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825) • [7](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Andrew_Sears) Along the way he won International League Pitcher of the Week for the week of August 23, 2026, while with Toledo.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825) Across five minor league teams he has compiled 65 appearances, 53 starts, and 260.0 innings.[4](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andrew-sears-808825?player_id=808825)
## Major league career
The Tigers called up Sears, their No. 14 prospect per MLB Pipeline at the time, for his major league debut on August 23, 2026.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825) In that debut, pitching as Detroit's third pitcher of the game, he went 4 innings and gave up 5 runs on 6 hits, including a two-run home run by John Rave in the 5th inning, and was charged with an 11–7 loss.[7](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Andrew_Sears)
He appeared in 6 games for Detroit in 2026, 3 of them starts, and finished 0–1 with a 7.11 ERA, 15 strikeouts, and a 1.684 WHIP in 19.0 innings.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/searsan01.shtml) His most effective outing came on September 12 against Colorado, when he struck out five over 4.1 innings.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825) He was optioned to Toledo on September 6, recalled on September 12, optioned again on September 26, and recalled from a brief FCL stint on September 28 as the Tigers shuffled pitching depth late in the season.[5](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825)
## Pitching style
Sears is a large left-hander, listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 200 pounds, who throws from an unusual low three-quarters arm slot. His fastball sits around 93–94 mph and can play up to 97 mph.[4](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andrew-sears-808825?player_id=808825) A 2025 scouting report described a four-seam fastball and sinker in the low 90s topping out at 95, a slider in the low 80s with sweep and late sink, and a changeup at 87–88 mph that mirrors the sinker's action, with control flagged as the main area for development.[8](https://tigersmlreport.com/2025/03/07/andrew-sears-scouting-report-detroit-tigers/)
Baseball America gave him a 45 grade with average risk in 2026, ranking him the Tigers' No. 23 prospect, down from No. 18 the previous year.[2](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/734107-andrew-sears/) MLB Pipeline's 2026 scouting grades rated his slider his best pitch at 55, with the changeup at 45 the weakest of his three offerings.[4](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andrew-sears-808825?player_id=808825)
## References
1. [Andrew Sears Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More, Baseball-Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/searsan01.shtml)
2. [Andrew Sears Stats & Scouting Report, Baseball America](https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/734107-andrew-sears/)
3. [Andrew Sears player page PDF, MiLB.com](https://img.mlbstatic.com/milb-images/image/upload/milb/rvtlelxjgkinm4y2zw0p.pdf)
4. [Andrew Sears Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics, Baseball Savant](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andrew-sears-808825?player_id=808825)
5. [Andrew Sears Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/andrew-sears-808825)
6. [What to Expect From Andrew Sears, Tigers Minor League Report](https://tigersmlreport.com/2026/08/22/what-to-expect-from-andrew-sears/)
7. [Andrew Sears, BR Bullpen, Baseball-Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Andrew_Sears)
8. [Andrew Sears Scouting Report, Tigers Minor League Report](https://tigersmlreport.com/2025/03/07/andrew-sears-scouting-report-detroit-tigers/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › Starting pitchers › Starters debuting after 2015*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license