Family cheers as ‘The Real Deal’ Dylan Smith makes MLB debut for your Detroit Tigers in dominant fashion

CHICAGO – The Detroit Tigers dominated the Chicago White Sox 13-1 during Game 1 of their three-game series inside Rate Field on Monday night.

While leading 10-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, right-handed relief pitcher Dylan Smith, better known as “The Real Deal” in front of his family, made his debut.

For those of you wondering if his first pitch was a strike or a ball, he threw a 96-mile-per-hour fastball on the inside corner of the plate against left-handed batter Joshua Palacios for a strike.

He went on to plunk Palacios two pitches later on a curveball, but we’ll just call it “jitters” as he was facing the first MLB hitter of his young career while losing control of an 86-MPH curveball.

On his fourth pitch of his professional career, Smith got veteran Luis Robert Jr. to pop out to first base with a 94-MPH first-pitch fastball for the first out of his career.

Colt Keith made the out at first base and tossed the ball back to Smith, who then threw it to the Tigers’ dugout to be authenticated and potentially framed for the man cave, to the amazement of his family.

Josh Rojas stepped to the plate, and on his fifth pitch, Smith got him to hit into a double play thanks to Trey Sweeney to end the inning.

Smith returned to the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning, where he got two men on base, but he got out of the inning with a ground out and another double play.

Smith had his grandmother, mom, and best friend in attendance, who were all smiles as the Tigers added on three more runs to take a 13-1 lead.

“It feels really good to finally see him,” said his mother, Felecia Evans-Smith.

His grandmother said she was really proud of him and nervous as well, while his best friend Kevin said he was able to hold the nerves down by being his biggest cheerleader.

“Really, by just cheering him on, and I know he can’t hear me, but I was just trying to encourage him,” Kevin said. “You know, just stay calm and do your thing.”

Through two innings, Dylan got himself out of some real jams, but with his family and friends in attendance, he was able to show potential in why they’re calling him The Real Deal.

Dylan was called up to the show on Friday (May 30) after pitching in both AA and AAA this year.

He only made two appearances with the Toledo Mud Hens after 12 appearances with the Erie Seawolves.

The Stafford High School graduate out of Texas pitched 22.1 innings while having an ERA of 1.61 and a WHIP of 0.76 while striking out 32 batters and allowing eight walks in the minors this season.

The nickname originated during his time with the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2019 to 2021, before he forewent his senior season to enter the 2021 MLB draft.

Dylan was selected in the third round by the Tigers in 2021, but originally, he was drafted out of high school by the San Diego Padres in the 18th round.

With the selection, Dylan became the first ever player selected out of high school in Texas to the majors.

He is known for throwing a nasty sweeper that he threw for strikes in the bottom of the eighth inning against Lee, and from the looks of it, at upper 80 miles per hour, that pitch looked violent.

With only a glimpse into his bright future, the 25-year-old former starter turned reliever will look to help the Tigers stay atop the majors as they went on to win the game 13-1 for their 40th victory of the season.

Catch the red-hot Tigers back in action Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at 7:40 p.m. as they’ll take on the White Sox for Game 2.

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