LAKELAND, Fla. -- Preston Larrison believes he'll eventually get his chance to show whether he can get Major League hitters out. The biggest challenge might be staying healthy.

If he can keep his sinker going for ground-ball outs, his career should be on the rise.

Larrison was one of the final cuts from camp last spring and might well have ended up in the Tigers' bullpen down the stretch last year, but a right shoulder strain in early August while working on another pitch ended up shelving him for the rest of the season. Now he's back, and his trademark sinker has made an early impression.

"You never know if sinkerballers are going to be great pitchers or not," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said earlier in camp. "But one thing about it, they usually find their way to the big leagues. ... To me, if Preston Larrison doesn't pitch in the big leagues, that would be a shame. I mean, that's as good of a sinkerball as you'll find."

After spend last season exclusively in the bullpen, Larrison now knows how to take advantage of it.

"I go out there and I don't have an inning or two to find a rhythm," he said. "I have to have it from pitch one. They used me a lot last year. I came in a lot with people on base when they needed ground balls. That's where I think I belong, when that's your job, to get a ground ball.

"Is there more pressure? Yeah, there's more pressure," Larrison said. "That's what I focused on a lot last year, coming into close games and throwing strike one, strike two."

The point of emphasis for Larrison this spring is much the same as it is for some of the Tigers' other young arms. Pitching coach Chuck Hernandez and others have told him to locate his pitches at the knees or below, sending hitters chasing it out of the zone.

It's not the only pitch that Larrison throws, obviously. He mixes in fastballs and cutters that set up the hitter for the drop. Still, Larrison said he threw sinkers on all but four of his pitches in his first outing of the spring Wednesday against the Mets. He ended up with a scoreless seventh inning that set him up for the win.

Unlike some of those other arms, Larrison doesn't necessarily have to make an impression. He already did that last year. Now it's about refining what he has and staying healthy.

"They know what I have," he said. "It's about me being consistent."

After battling back from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery a few years ago and DL stints in every year since 2002, the former second-round pick in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft doesn't take health for granted. Now 27 years old, he also knows that if he can make it through all the injuries he has faced, he's tough enough to make the most of his chance.

"If I just stay healthy, I've got a chance," Larrison said. "I have all the confidence in the world I'm going to get a [shot]. It's going to be a little bit of luck, a little bit of pitching well on a hot streak. If my name is called and I take what I'm doing from Toledo, then I have a shot."

Hollimon gets a look: Though the Tigers have no shortage of players who can play around the infield, they need depth at shortstop. Michael Hollimon is primarily a second baseman, but he could be a part of the depth at short.

Hollimon played shortstop for part of his time in the Arizona Fall League. When he played in Tuesday's unofficial spring opener against Florida Southern, that was at short, too.

"I'll look at him both [at second and short]," Leyland said. "And when you say that, it's not like [Minor Leaguers] get a good, long look. But we don't have an overabundance of middle infielders. I can't [overplay Placido Polanco] and Edgar [Renteria], so they'll get to play."

No. 1 picks: Rick Porcello, the team's top pick from last June's Draft, is scheduled to make his Spring Training debut on Friday when the Tigers face the Blue Jays at Dunedin. Porcello was the only Tiger to make the Baseball America list of Top 100 prospects released Wednesday, listed at No. 21.

What they're saying: "The guys we put in did a good job, and they won the game for us. That happens a lot in Spring Training, and that's how you win a few Spring Training games." -- Leyland on Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Mets, in which Wilkin Ramirez's two-run single in the seventh inning put Detroit ahead for good.