William Lane Vest (born June 6, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He previously played in MLB for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Career

Amateur career

Vest attended

Ridge Point High School Ridge Point High School (RPHS) is a public high school located in Sienna (formerly Sienna Plantation), an unincorporated area and planned community in Fort Bend County, Texas. Opened in 2010, the school serves more than 3000 students in grades 9 ...

Sienna, Texas Sienna, formerly known as Sienna Plantation, is a census-designated place and master-planned community located in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. It is mostly in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Missouri City with the remainde ...

. He played for the school's baseball team as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. He enrolled at

Stephen F. Austin State University Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU or SFA) is a public university in Nacogdoches, Texas, in the United States. Named after Stephen F. Austin, one of the founders of Texas, SFA was founded as a teachers college in 1923 and built on part ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks are composed of 14 teams representing Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in intercollegiate athletics. Stephen F. Austin teams participate in Division I as a member of the Southland Conferen ...

. Vest became a

in college.

Detroit Tigers

Vest was drafted in the 12th round, 365th overall, by the

in the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. Vest made his professional debut with the Low-A

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play ...

, posting a 3–1 record and 2.83 ERA in 21 games. He split the 2018 season between the Single-A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpar ...

and the High-A

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

, recording a cumulative 4–4 record and 5.18 ERA in 30 appearances. In 2019, Vest split the year between Lakeland, the Double-A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Ti ...

, and the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

, pitching to a 3–5 record and 3.27 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 55.0 innings of work in 37 games between the three teams. Vest did not play in a game in 2020, as the minor league season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Seattle Mariners

On December 10, 2020, the

selected Vest from the Tigers in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. He made the Mariners'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. Vest made the Opening Day roster and made his major league debut in relief on Opening Day. On July 12, Vest was designated for assignment by Seattle after recording a 6.17 ERA in 32 relief appearances.

Detroit Tigers (second stint)

Vest cleared waivers and Seattle returned him to the Tigers on July 17, 2021. The Tigers assigned Vest to Toledo. Vest made the Tigers'

roster for the 2022 season. On May 13, Vest picked up his first career save in a 4–2 victory over the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. He entered a bases-loaded situation with one out in the ninth inning, and struck out both batters he faced. On May 20, Vest was placed on the non-injury (COVID-19) inactive list. He returned to the Tigers on May 31. The Tigers optioned Vest to Toledo to start the 2023 season. On April 18, 2023, Vest was called up from Toledo to be the 27th man on the roster during a doubleheader against the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

. He was sent back down to Toledo without appearing in either game. Vest returned to the Tigers three days later after another pitcher ended up on the injured list. On June 26, 2023, Vest had to enter the game in the first inning after starter Matthew Boyd left the game suddenly with elbow discomfort. Vest had to leave the game the following inning with right knee discomfort. He was placed on the injured list the next day along with Boyd. In his abbreviated 2023 season, Vest pitched innings, striking out 56 batters and posting a 2.98 ERA. In 2024, Vest primarily filled middle relief and setup roles for the Tigers. He posted a 2.82 ERA with 63 strikeouts in innings. On January 9, 2025, the Tigers and Vest agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million contract, avoiding arbitration. While manager

A. J. Hinch Andrew Jay Hinch (born May 15, 1974) is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher who is the manager of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a member of Team USA, Hinch won a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer O ...

does not name a full-time

closer Closer or Closers may refer to: Film and television * ''Closer'' (2000 film), a documentary by Tina Gharavi * ''Closer'' (2004 film), a 2004 adaptation of Patrick Marber's play (see below), directed by Mike Nichols * ''The Closer'', a 1990 mo ...

, Vest has received the majority of the closing opportunities in 2025. He had 15 saves as of the All-Star break, while teammate Tommy Kahnle was next closest with 9.

Pitch selection

Vest throws four-seam and sinking two-seam

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

s, both averaging 95 MPH (153 KPH). The four-seam fastball tops out at 98 MPH (158 KPH). His primary offspeed pitches are a slider that averages 86–87 MPH (138–140 KPH) and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

averaging 87 MPH (140 KPH). In 2025, Vest has added velocity to his slider, often throwing it above 90 MPH (145 KPH).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vest, Will Living people 1995 births Baseball players from Houston Major League Baseball pitchers Seattle Mariners players Detroit Tigers players Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks baseball players Connecticut Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Toledo Mud Hens players Mesa Solar Sox players