Trey Sweeney has played just 36 games in his MLB career.

The 24-year-old shortstop, whom the Detroit Tigers acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers as one of two prospects in the Jack Flaherty trade, kept the postseason push alive with an legendary catch in the second-to-last week of the regular season.

Entering October, the twice-traded Sweeney is the starting shortstop for a playoff team.

"I had the confidence in myself," Sweeney said Friday night, after the Tigers clinched a postseason berth to snap a nine-year drought. "I've always believed in myself to be able to do it. I was always excited for the opportunity. Now we're here, man, we're going to the playoffs."

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As for the famed catch, Sweeney practically saved the Tigers' season Sept. 21 against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a 6-4 win in extra innings. He made an over-the-head catch in shallow left field on a pop up from Anthony Santander, and held onto the ball while tumbling over left fielder Riley Greene for the second out in the bottom of the ninth inning, holding a runner on third base in a tie game.

"If it drops, the game is over," Sweeney said.

But Sweeney might not have made the game-saving catch Sept. 21 if he hadn't learned a lesson from his mistake Sept. 18 in a similar situation against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. In that case, Bobby Witt Jr. popped a ball further down the left-field line that dropped between Sweeney and third baseman Zach McKinstry, with Greene trailing.

"I had to chase after it," said Sweeney, who was more aggressive in Baltimore than Kansas City. "I learned from the mistake I made in Kansas City, not getting to the ball in time, and it fell in for a hit. So when I saw it go up, I had to get there."

That's development.

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Sweeney has earned the respect of his teammates, not just for the catch.

"It means a ton," said left-hander Tarik Skubal, when asked about Sweeney at shortstop in this playoff run. "The way he's been able to come up and play and impact the club right away, it's hard to do. It's really hard to do. The way he's gone about it, how he works, how he puts in the time in ... I got a ton of respect for that guy."

Sweeney has hit .218 with four home runs, seven walks and 32 strikeouts. He is better against right-handed pitchers as a left-handed hitter, but surprised by holding his own in 29 plate appearances against left-handers, which wasn't the case in the minor leagues. At shortstop, he was worth plus-5 defensive runs saved in 294 innings.

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Sweeney has been a massive upgrade from Javier Báez, who is out for the season following hip surgery.

"We knew the player," manager A.J. Hinch said of Sweeney, whom the New York Yankees selected with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2021 draft. "We're not idiots. We do seek out good talent. The organization does a good job of finding players who know how to play. Getting him comfortable at this level was the biggest thing coming into a new organization."

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The Tigers — led by president of baseball operations Scott Harris — acquired Sweeney from the Dodgers at the July 30 trade deadline.

He made his MLB debut in mid-August.

"When I got traded, that was my next goal, to play for the Detroit Tigers," Sweeney said. "I didn't know what to expect, to be honest, because all that stuff happened really fast. I went to Toledo and didn't know what to expect, but I just wanted to go play hard and make a good impression on a new organization. To be honest, though, I didn't imagine this. This is surreal."

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

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trey Sweeney never imagined he'd be Tigers playoff starting shortstop