LAKELAND, Fla. >> Tarik Skubal’s first live bullpen never fails to entertain.

Last spring, he brushed up against 100 mph (99.7) the first time he threw to hitters. On Tuesday, he ended his 25-pitch session with a fun exchange with Ryan Kreidler.

Kreidler had smoked a 3-0 four-seam fastball off the fence in left-center field and started to walk back to the dugout.

“One more, one more,” Skubal said.

Each batter gets five pitches per at-bat and Skubal wanted to get to his maximum pitch count.

“He looked really good,” Kreidler said. “Right where he’s supposed to be. He was commanding his fastball well already, which is to be expected for a guy of his caliber. But I got him to 3-0 and I got him a little bit.”

After Kreidler scurried back into the batter’s box.

“He kind of told me what was coming (a fastball),” Kreidler said. “Still broke my bat.”

The large gathering of players crammed into the dugout and behind the backstop roared.

“Get out while you can,” reliever Will Vest said.

Skubal laughed about it afterward.

“Intersquad stuff is fun,” he said.

And about tipping Kreidler to the heater, he said with a shrug, “It’s hard to hit.”

Skubal’s heater topped out at 97 mph Tuesday and it was moving. The four-seamer that busted Kreidler’s Jose Altuve-model bat cut sharply in on his hands.

“I’m built up to some capacity but toward the end there I was getting tired, like after pitch 15. That’s the most throws I’ve made in a bullpen-type setting so far,” Skubal said. “It’s good to get tired and then take care of your body. That’s how you build capacity. You push the threshold.

“I wanted to get through the pitch count, throw strikes, make sure the shapes and velo are good and that’s all.”

Non-roster invitees Bligh Madris and Eddys Leonard also had the pleasure of standing in against Skubal Tuesday. Neither did any damage.

“It’s what you want,” Kreidler said of facing Skubal. “I was excited to see my name on that list today. When you get to face a Cy Young winner in your own camp, that’s exciting. For me it was a good opportunity. He’s a beast. He threw me a 1-0 changeup and that was a really good pitch.

“I’ve seen that pitch playing behind him. This was the first time facing it. It was fun to see him from inside the box…bad for my bat, though.”

ABS testing

The Tigers on Wednesday will be getting measured for the automated ball-strike system, which is being tested throughout the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues this spring. Each player will have his strike zone dimensions measured and programmed into the system.

Joker Marchant, along with the other Florida State League stadiums, is equipped to use the system in games, so the challenge system will be in place for all Tigers’ home exhibitions.

“Twenty-four of our games will have the ABS challenge system,” said manager AJ Hinch, who went over the system with the players before workouts Tuesday. “We well get a front-row seat for that.”

It won’t be new for the players who came up through the minor-league system the last couple of years. And it won’t be implemented in the big leagues this season. But this is expected to be the final phase of testing, so it’s coming.

“It will be part of our every day down here,” Hinch said. “We will have our two challenges (on ball-strike calls) and we’re trying to learn the system. We will try to give feedback while simultaneously getting ready for the season.”

Hinch said toward the end of camp, he may take the challenge away from his players.

“While the research is important, we have to get ready for our games,” he said. “I do hope none of our players tap the top of their head (indicating a challenge) on Opening Day in Los Angeles and create a little bit of an oof.”

The feedback from the players who had the system in Triple-A has been positive, Hinch said.

“We’re trying to find a way to get a universal strike zone, which is really hard when you have different sets of eyes on the strike zone every night,” Hinch said. “We will see how we adapt. I’m always open to try new things and see how it impacts our players.”

The Malloy project

As Justyn-Henry Malloy continues his transition to first base, Hinch has reminded him to keep his outfield glove close by.

“At the beginning of spring, he’s going work exclusively at first base while we try to get a foundation for him to learn the position,” Hinch said. “He’s likely to DH and play the back half of the games at first base at this point.

“But we’ll keep left field and even right field relevant to his game. He’s going to need to do that as he competes to make this team. But for now, we want to just give him one thing to work on and let him get his feet on the ground.”

Malloy and Colt Keith are both learning to play first base in this camp.

“It’s been good,” said Malloy, who is in a major fight to secure the last right-handed bench bat on the roster. “For me, it was all about opportunity. Just how can I impact this team in any type of way. I just want to be a contributing factor.

“I want to be able to fight my way into this spot and make a big-league ballclub again.”

Around the horn

Right-handers Matt Manning and Kenta Maeda, both in the fight for one of two rotation spots, had impressive live bullpens Tuesday. Manning’s fastball was beating hitters and he was featuring a tight, late-breaking slider.

… Non-roster reliever Chase Lee, acquired from the Rangers in the Andrew Chafin trade, might be the least-favorite pitcher for hitters to face in these sessions, especially right-handed hitters. The right-hander throws from a funky sidearm angle with a lot of spin on the ball. Several hitters walked back shaking their heads.

… Parker Meadows launched a long, high fly ball to right-center field against Ty Madden. It was one of the loudest hits of the session. But ultimately it landed at the base of the fence.