LAKELAND, Fla. — Drew Anderson looked back at the scoreboard.

He saw 98 mph.

"Since I got here, I've jumped from 92 to 98," Anderson said.

The Detroit Tigers signed Anderson, a 29-year-old journeyman who has pitched in 19 games across parts of five MLB seasons, to a minor-league contract in the offseason. He spent the past two seasons in Japan, where he met his wife while working as a starter and a reliever for the Hiroshima Carp. His fastball averaged 92.5 mph with the Texas Rangers in 2021, his last year in the big leagues.

"I knew I had it in me, but I just didn't know how to get it," Anderson said. "Everyone is chasing velocity. We all want to throw 100 mph. Not being able to get it, it's nice to have some instructors, like some guys who know what's going on."

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The instructors: pitching coach Chris Fetter, assistant pitching coach Robin Lund, assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves and director of pitching Gabe Ribas.

Those four changed Anderson's mechanics upon his mid-February arrival to Lakeland, Florida, for spring training. A lot has changed in the past couple of weeks.

"Blocking that lead leg, and then the backside just comes whipping through, which is creating velocity," Anderson said. "It's two parts. The stop, and then the whip coming through. A lot of guys will fall off to the first-base side. That's what I was trying to get away from."

Anderson, who posted a 2.78 ERA across 155⅔ innings in Japan over the past two seasons, appeared in his first spring training game Feb. 27 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, throwing 20 of 26 pitches for strikes.

His fastball averaged 97.2 mph, a minimum of 95.9 mph and a maximum of 98.5 mph. He also threw an 87.7 mph slider (up from 83.9 mph), a 90 mph changeup (up from 86.6 mph) and a 77.4 mph curveball (up from 77.2 mph).

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The velocity on his three main pitches — fastball, slider, changeup — increased significantly from when he was last in the big leagues with the Rangers in 2021.

But velocity isn't his priority.

"Commanding the zone, throwing a lot of strikes, throwing first-pitch strikes," Anderson said. "All of the pitching coaches want us to throw first-pitch strikes. Once you get that first-pitch strike, then it's on our hands, and then you get to two strikes, and it's game over."

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Manager A.J. Hinch has been invested in Anderson's journey, too. He was on the video conference call, along with the entire pitching department, before Anderson decided to sign with the Tigers. Seeing Hinch on the call was one of the reasons why Anderson picked the Tigers over other interested teams.

The Tigers targeted Anderson for a reason.

"He's really taken to some of the things that he's going through with Robin and Fett and Juan," Hinch said, "but that was an impressive outing. I'm looking forward to seeing him pitch more and more and getting to know him. He's got a full arsenal of stuff, and it was definitely on display."

In the past, Anderson has served as a starter in the minor leagues and a reliever in the major leagues. He started 106 of 116 games in his minor-league career, compared to starting just two of 19 games in his major-league career.

The Tigers are considering him for numerous roles, likely in Triple-A Toledo to open the season. The fact that he throws four pitches allows him to be considered as a starter, but his four-pitch mix has played up out of the bullpen so far in spring training.

"He fits in the starter role, hybrid role, bullpen role," Hinch said. "He's in the competition to make our team. We told him that when we signed him. We'll see as the spring goes on how to maximize his best opportunity."

Anderson, who turns 30 in late March, was virtually unknown from the outside looking in as a non-roster invitee when spring training began. Over the past two weeks, he changed his mechanics — under the instruction of the Tigers' pitching coaches — and hit 98.5 mph on the radar gun in a game.

Just like that, Anderson is one of the most interesting pitchers in camp.

"We're all here," Anderson said. "We're all options."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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Next up: Blue Jays & Yankees

Matchup: Tigers (6-5) vs. Toronto (3-8) and N.Y. Yankees (5-5), Grapefruit League split-squad exhibition.

First pitch: Vs. Blue Jays — 6:05 p.m. Thursday, Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland, Florida; at Yankees — 6:35 p.m. Thursday, George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, Florida.

TV/radio: Vs. Blue Jays — Bally Sports Detroit Extra; WXYT-AM (1270); at Yankees — none.

Probable pitchers: Vs. Blue Jays — Tigers RHP Kenta Maeda (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Toronto RHP Bowden Francis (0-1, 4.15); at Yankees — Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (0-0, 3.00) vs. Yankees TBD.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Detroit Tigers' Drew Anderson become a fireballer in US return