Dillon Dingler isn't just a part of the Detroit Tigers' future — he looks like a cornerstone piece. "He's someone we can win with," A.J. Hinch said.
ATLANTA — The Detroit Tigers sent six players to the 2025 MLB All-Star Game: left-hander Tarik Skubal, outfielder Riley Greene, second baseman Gleyber Torres, outfielder Javier Báez, third baseman Zach McKinstry and right-hander Casey Mize — a group that has powered the Tigers to MLB's best record.
One of their most important players stayed home.
Catcher Dillon Dingler wasn't selected to the All-Star Game, but don't forget about his contributions in the 2025 season. Not only has Dingler established himself as the No. 1 catcher by surpassing Jake Rogers on the depth chart, but he has emerged as the catcher of the future, approximately 5 years after the Tigers selected him with the No. 38 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.
Where would they be without him?
"It means a lot to all of us," said Skubal, who owns a 1.72 ERA across 104⅔ innings in 16 starts with Dingler as his catcher. "What he's been able to do, offensively and defensively, has been great. He controls the running game and game planning, and he instills confidence in the pitchers, including myself. It's been great."
In 2025, Dingler is hitting .261 with eight home runs and a .711 OPS in 71 games, though he has a .176 batting average and a .514 OPS across his past 24 games leading into the All-Star break. On defense, he is worth plus-4 defensive runs saved and ranks 94th percentile in blocking, the 94th percentile in pitch framing and the 55th percentile in caught stealing.
His arm strength is the best among all catchers.
"He's a stud," said first baseman Spencer Torkelson, whom the Tigers selected No. 1 overall in the 2020 draft, just 37 picks before Dingler. "The first day I ever saw him catch, I was like, 'That looks special.' Just the throw down to second."
For all-around performance, Dingler grades as the fifth-best catcher in the American League, at 1.9 fWAR — trailing only Cal Raleigh (Seattle Mariners), Alejandro Kirk (Toronto Blue Jays), Carlos Narváez (Boston Red Sox) and Austin Wells (New York Yankees).
"It's not a surprise," manager A.J. Hinch said. "This is not a shock. We've talked about Dillon Dingler for my entire tenure here. I'm very proud of him because he's just stayed in the course in how he's learned. It's not easy at that position."
His success in 2025 wouldn't be possible with his experience in 2024.
In July 2024, the Tigers traded catcher Carson Kelly to the Texas Rangers, opening a roster spot for Dingler to make his MLB debut after a promotion from Triple-A Toledo. He appeared in 27 games in the regular season, but he didn't play in any of the Tigers' seven postseason games — not because of his offense or defense, but because he lacked confidence in his pitch calling.
"I would second guess myself," Dingler said.
Dingler has always had a good feel behind the plate — dating back to his minor league days, where he consistently made offensive adjustments at every level. But in 2025, he has gained the conviction to trust that feel.
It's the biggest development in his game.
The baseline was always there. He just needed to catch pitchers like Skubal in real games, not just bullpen sessions. He also needed to run the pregame meetings in the big leagues with the same authority he showed in the minor leagues.
Everything started to click April 8, when Dingler became the No. 1 catcher just a couple of weeks into the season when Rogers landed on the injured list with a left oblique strain. The injury sidelined Rogers until May 20, a 42-day absence.
The Tigers' pitching staff ranks fourth in MLB with a 3.70 ERA.
It's a 3.50 ERA with Dingler behind the plate.
"I didn't have any negative thoughts about any of it in terms of, was I ready for it?" said Dingler, who hit .288 in 29 games during Rogers' stint on the injured list. "Obviously, it was an unfortunate situation. But it was one of those things where I got to see more playing time. I felt like I was ready for that."
To develop as a pitch caller, Dingler found stability in his pregame preparation and in-game communication. The ultimate goal: find the right plan to get outs.
His approach in 2025 looks much different than it did in 2024.
"I used to spend a lot, a lot, a lot of time, but I shrunk it down a little bit earlier this year," Dingler said. "Last year, I used to spend an hour-plus on the scouting report. This year, it takes me 30-45 minutes."
Now, Dingler starts every game day in the advance scouting room, sitting at a computer loaded with data on opposing hitters. For each batter, he uses preset filters to analyze damage potential, swing-and-miss tendencies, chase rates, weighted on-base average and slugging percentage.
He has also learned to simplify by grouping most hitters as "stock righties" or "stock lefties," meaning the attack plan stays generally the same for each group.
"It's very easy to group guys in," Dingler said.
From there, he tweaks the plan based on the pregame data and the in-game eye test. He must account for both the pitcher's strengths and the hitter's weaknesses, all while reacting to swings from hitters and command from pitchers.
As an example, Dingler explained that if a pitcher has both a four-seam fastball and a sinker, and the hitter tends to crush four-seamers, then they'll lean on sinkers. In that case, they might start the count with a slider to hide the sinker, then use the sinker later to induce a weak ground ball.
"It's more so just knowing how to get to a certain pitch to get outs," Dingler said. "I don't want to overexpose a certain pitch. It's finding the right avenue."
Dingler has become a trusted pitch caller — less than a year after struggling to trust himself.
The best pitcher in baseball has taken notice.
"He's a good dude, a good team guy," Skubal said, "and he cares more about what he's doing behind the plate than he does with the bat in his hand, and that speaks volumes about him."
The shift from Rogers to Dingler was bound to happen, as the Tigers were planning to initiate the transition — slowly but surely — throughout the 2025 season.
But it happened naturally.
And Dingler never looked back.
"It's been great," Dingler said. "Obviously, there's room to improve everywhere. If you're not trying to improve, no matter how you're doing, I don't think you're trying to get better. That's my mindset. You take your wins, but you're still striving to be perfect."
Dingler isn't just a part of the Tigers' future.
He looks like a cornerstone piece.
"He's really someone we can win with," Hinch said.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Order your copy of “Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!” by the Free Press at Tigers125.PictorialBook.com.
Next up: All-Star Game!
Matchup: American League at National League.
First pitch: 8 p.m. July 15; Truist Park, Atlanta.
TV/radio: Fox; ESPN Radio.
Probable pitchers: American League — LHP Tarik Skubal (10-3, 2.23 ERA); National League — RHP Paul Skenes (4-8, 2.01 ERA).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Dillon Dingler is catcher of future
Category: Baseball
