LAKELAND, Fla. -- Dontrelle Willis has clearly been happy the way he has pitched so far in Spring Training. He had a different look on Tuesday.

It wasn't just about what he was throwing, it was how he felt about throwing it.

As Willis talked about his second session of live batting practice Tuesday, he wasn't simply gushing about how good he felt to be back on the mound and throwing strikes. This was a little more of a quietly confident Willis, someone who envisions success before he takes the mound and goes out looking to execute.

"I knew what I wanted to do today: Get there and continue to throw quality pitches throughout the 12 minutes today," Willis said.

More than attacking the strike zone, trying to force hitters to put the ball in play, Willis was attacking particular parts of the zone, keeping his pitches low while working them inside and out. More than firing fastballs, he was mixing changeups and breaking balls to every batter he faced. When he missed, he was missing mostly off the plate, not over the middle of it or hanging something in the zone.

"Everything was low and with movement," said infielder Ramon Santiago, one of the batters who faced Willis. "And he threw where he wanted."

There was still that Willis smile, especially when he set up Mike Hessman for a swing and miss. But clearly, Willis isn't simply satisfied to throw strikes again. He's working to throw quality strikes.

"I threw a bunch of good changeups. I'm gaining confidence in that," Willis said. "I'm going to try to use that a lot more. I felt like I was down a lot today. I was able to repeat it. All in all, just a good pace."

In turn, the Tigers seem to be gaining confidence in Willis.

"He looked really good," manager Jim Leyland said. "Good life, good movement, throwing strikes. ... He looks tremendous right now, to be honest with you."

His pacing was a little quicker than he'll probably use in an actual game, mainly because he wanted to fit in as many pitches as he could during the 12-minute session. Still, the windup and delivery were deliberate until he was ready to fire.

"I'm focusing on getting into a good power position to throw the ball," he said. "And then once I get into a good power position, just let it fly. I'm having fun with that. I feel like my misses are more compact, down in the zone more."

Tuesday was Willis' last BP session. The next challenge he'll face will be to try to take that form to the mound in a game -- in this case, the Tigers' third game of Spring Training, Friday afternoon against the Blue Jays at Dunedin, Fla. Facing hitters who wear different uniforms, he indicated, won't change his approach.

"It's all relatively the same to me: Just attack the zone," Willis said. "I try to get to that point as well as I can. Once I'm out there, I'm pretty much competitive."