Gage Workman, recently called up by the Tigers, made a memorable debut. He lived up to his middle name, ‘Tater’, by hitting a go-ahead, pinch-hit two-run homer. This helped Detroit salvage a game against the Royals with a 6-3 victory.
Workman’s Journey to the Majors
Workman was the Tigers’ fourth-round pick in the 2020 Draft. He was drafted in the same class as Spencer Torkelson, Dillon Dingler and Colt Keith. He had a more scenic journey to Detroit, producing three consecutive double-digit homer seasons in the Minors. He also battled a high strikeout rate.
The Cubs selected Workman in the Rule 5 Draft before the 2025 season. He earned just 16 at-bats between the Cubs and White Sox before being returned to the Tigers’ system. He wasn’t even a non-roster invite to big league camp in Spring Training, but a hot start at Triple-A Toledo put him on Detroit’s radar.
Filling a Gap in the Lineup
The Tigers summoned Workman to Kansas City after Kerry Carpenter sprained his shoulder. Carpenter’s injury occurred when he crashed into the right-field sidewall on Bobby Witt Jr.’s inside-the-park home run on Saturday night. Workman was one of three left-handed bats on A.J. Hinch’s bench against Royals lefty starter Noah Cameron.
Hinch unleashed all his lefty bats once Royals manager Matt Quatraro turned to his bullpen. McKinstry batted for Hao-Yu Lee after Torkelson’s leadoff single in the sixth and flew out to left against right-hander Nick Mears. Workman batted for shortstop Zack Short and got a slider that he could turn on, sending a drive down the right-field line and just inside the foul pole.
A Nickname Comes to Life
Workman has a history with the nickname ‘Tater’. “When I was in Toledo, a lot of guys called me Tater,” he said. “My wife calls me Tater. It’s a normal nickname.” It was actually his grandfather’s nickname.
It was the third pinch-hit home run by a Tiger this season. Two have been first Major League home runs – Workman and Lee. It was the exact type of impact the Tigers would have counted on from Carpenter. Workman filled the role.
“He has crushed Triple-A pitching pretty much all season,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Sunday’s game, “and has earned his right to be on a callup list whenever the opportunity came open.” Hinch also said, “We’re going to go after the middle part of their ‘pen. It’s really tough at the end with [Daniel] Lynch, [Matt] Strahm and [Lucas] Erceg, so when we had an opportunity, Tork getting on base sets up the opportunity to be aggressive and get [Zach] McKinstry in there and then Workman in there, knowing we’re going to roll the lineup.”
Workman said, “He did [play baseball] when he was younger. He ran track, though, so I don’t think it was a baseball nickname for him necessarily.”
“Off the bat, I was like, ‘Yeah, I think I got him,’” Workman said.