The Detroit Tigers traded a number of their top prospects to the Florida Marlins, but the Marlins are still waiting for them to pan out. Meanwhile, it appears that Dontrelle Willis was an expensive bust, but Miguel Cabrera is driving in some runs. So the Tigers can’t regret the trade, not until Cameron Maybin reaches his hype and Andrew Miller can stay healthy. Some of the players forgotten in that trade include Dallas Trahern, Eulogio dela Cruz, Burke Badenhop and Mike Rabelo. Quite a haul for one player and the freedom from high salary, yet none has had the impact of Cabrera to date.
The Tigers have utilized their AAA farm system Toledo Mudhens and that may account for their 37-44 record, which puts them in the next to last position in the International League. The AA Eastern League team Erie Seawolves roster has been more stable and they have a better 44-38 record, but that is only good for fourth place in the tough Southern Division in the Eastern League. The Lakeland Flying Tigers find themselves at the bottom of the recently started second half of the season in the Florida State League, winning only three of their first 10 games. They also finished at the bottom in the first half. The West Michigan Whitecaps have started the second half with seven wins in 10 games, which puts the team in second place in the Eastern Division in the Midwest League. They finished in a tie for first place in the first half and have already clinched a playoff spot.
The top ten as rated by Baseball America:
1. Rick Porcello RHP - Nothing like making the starting rotation of a major league baseball team before your 21st birthday. I’d say he’s doing pretty well with a 3.90 ERA in 15 starts and an 8-5 record. Rick was drafted in the first round in 2007 and up until his major league performance had only one year in the Florida State League. He is an example that sometimes when a pitcher is ready you have to show him the major league door.
2. Ryan Perry RHP - He was drafted in the first round of 2008 and had even less time in the minors than Porcello. Though like Porcello, he finshed with 12 appearances in the Florida State League, his appearances were mostly in relief and he worked 100 less innings than Rick. He is one year older so he had that going for him. Ryan also made the Tigers major league team after spring training but after starting out on fire, lighting the radar guns with triple digit velocity fastballs he started to have command problems. His 4.28 ERA wasn’t bad but his 21 walks in 27 innings is not what a veteran manager has the patience for, especially when the team is in a pennant race. He is dominating at AAA with a 1.15 ERA and a .148 opponent average, but he has walked three in eight innings of work, something he will still have to improve on.
3. Cale Iorg SS - Cale is struggling at the AA Eastern League with a .220 average and a 17 to 82 walk to K ratio in only 76 games. A .271 OBA is not going to give you a major league call up. Perhaps his night vision needs some improvement. He is hitting .338 in day games but only .178 in night games. Still too small a sample size to draw any conclusions, but the Tigers expect better from someone they expected to be their shortstop of the future. He is hitting for a little power, with seven jacks and 11 doubles but he needs to move that average more north of the Mendoza line.
4. Casey Crosby LHP - Crosby is having an excellent year in the Midwest League with a 3.25 ERA after 16 starts. He only pitched three games last year because of elbow problems that led to Tommy John surgery. So this is a good confidence booster for him and the Tigers will allow him to continue with his success before promoting him and putting stress on his elbow. He did pitch five no hit innings on June 26, but the no hitter was broken in the sixth after he had been removed becasue of pitch counts. His .220 average is solid and his walks to K’s (36 to 76) indicate future success.
5. Jeff Larish 1B/3B - At 26 years of age his opportunity for making an impact was this year. He got his opportunity, but a 32 game trial and a .216 average led to a demotion back to AAA. He hit for power early in the year but after hitting homers in three straight games he went his next 19 games without going deep. That is not tolerable when you are hitting just above the Mendoza line. He also had the unfortunate luck of playing the same postion as the Tigers two hottest hitters, first (Miguel Cabrera) and third (Brandon Inge). He seems to have found his stroke in the minors with regular playing time, hitting .301 with a .429 OBA. He still struggles against lefthanders, hitting .143 against them while ripping righthanders at a .382 pace. In the majors he got 8 plate appearances in the majors and went hitless with two walks. He needs to find another team to get a fairer opportunity at playing time.
6. Wilkin Ramirez OF - One person’s trajedy can be another’s opportunity. Wilkin got a brief call up when Magglio Ordonez had to take bereavement leave. In his first game Wilken hit his first major league homerun. It was also his first major league hit, coming in his third at bat. It was the only at bats he saw in his brief appearance before being sent back to Toledo. There should be more opportunities, though after a good start he is scuffling a bit. His average has dropped to .250 and he has only seven homeruns. For a player who is supposed to be a power hitting left fielder a .398 slugging percentage won’t fit the bill. He has got seven hits in his last 16 at bats with one homerun, so perhaps his bat is coming alive. If he wants a September opportunity in Detroit he’s got to get those homerun numbers up.
7. Scott Sizemore 2B - After breaking a hammate bone last year to shorten his season to 53 games, 2009 was a critical year for the 24 year old. Sizemore ripped the Eastern League at a .307 clip with nine homeruns and a .937 OPS to get a promotion to AAA. He even allowed Iorg to get some time on the bench, playing a little shortstop while his bat sizzled. In AAA he is hitting .315 but his power numbers have slowed a bit, falling to an 897 OPS. Don’t look in the rear view mirror Placido Polanco because Sizemore is getting closer to fill your starting position, though his first role may be as a utility player.
8. Cody Satterwhite RHP - The Tigers think his power arm works best from the pen so the 2008 second round pick has 23 relief appearances. He is 2-5 with a 3.89 ERA and nine saves pitching for Erie in the Eastern League. He’s had some bouts of inconsistency and still needs to improve his command. He walks more than a batter per two innings, which is not what a veteran manager wants to see and is one of the reasons Ryan Perry is back in AAA. Mid-90 fastballs only work when they cross the plate for strikes.
9. Dusty Ryan C - At 6′4″ he is a big catcher who showed some power last year with 19 homeruns playing at three different levels. The acquisition of Gerald Laird stunted his opportunity to win the starting catching job, but after hitting .259 with seven homeruns at Toledo he got the callup in mid-June to be Gerald Laird’s backup. His playing time will be limited but at 25 years old in September, being a back up in the major leagues is much better than riding the buses in AAA. In the majors he got hits in his first two games, but is 0 for 8 in his last three games, dropping his average to .143. He’s struck out seven times in his 14 at bats, something he struggled with in AAA.
10. Brett Jacobson RHP - Another bullpen arm whose fastball is much better in shorter bursts than as a starting pitcher. He’s given up four homeruns in his 36 innings of work, which explains the high 4.66 ERA. Plus, the opposition is hitting him at a .271 clip. Most of that damage is being done by lefthanders (.357) so he needs to work on getting them out. Righthanders are only hitting him at a Mendoza like .216. Considering that his ERA was 1.52 last year and he is pitching in the Florida State League, which have a number of pitcher’s parks, the ERA is very disappointing. Drafted in the fourth round in 2008 out of college he has to move quickly if he wants to make an impact in the major leagues.
Other Prospects Playing Full Season Ball:
Ryan Strieby 1B - With Fu-Te Ni and Lucas French called up by the Tigers after pitching well for Toledo we had to go all the way to AA to find a prospect worth noting. Strieby shows good power with 15 bombs and a .297 average. He also draws a lot of walks but at 24 and just two years younger than Miguel Cabrera he will have to find another position if he wants to play with the Tigers. Below average foot speed makes an outfield move a challenge.
Alex Avila C - Being the son of the Tigers assistant general manager does have it’s advantages, but his bat is also responsible for his playing time. His offensive numbers (.295, 7, 39) are impressive, but the one game I saw from him showed that his defense needed more refinement.
Brennan Boesch OF - He’s a big guy at 6′6″. Once he hits the ball it will go a long way. He has 17 dingers to prove it, which is second in the Eastern League. His 18 to 73 walk to K ratio and a .257 average indicates a lack of patience and a tendency to swing and miss at balls that dive in the dirt. The disadvantage with big guys is they tend to have big strike zones.
Thad Weber RHP - A 2.13 ERA after 12 starts got him a promotion to the AA Eastern League. A low 5.32 strikeouts per nine innings pitched shows why he is being hit around at the AA level to the tune of .426 in his three starts. He’s given up almost two hits per inning in AA. With better command he could pitch more effectively in AA.
Lauren Gagnier RHP - His ERA is a bit high (3.81) after 13 starts, but until his most recent start he had a streak of six starts in a row with at least five innings of work and two or less runs given up. He is prone to giving up fly balls, but once he reaches Detroit that is not really an issue.
Brandon Douglas 2B - His .345 average is second in the Midwest League. If he keeps hitting like that he will exceed his projection as a possible utility player for the Tigers. He makes contact, steals bases despite less than stellar speed and a .407 OBA makes him a good leadoff option. His power will be more in the doubles variety.
Chao-Ting Tang RF - The Tigers have been making some inroads into Taiwan and with the success of Fu-Te Ni they hope that they could find a bat. Tang has found the American brand of baseball a bit of a struggle with a .195 average. Tang is now on the disabled list after being hit in the face when sliding a bit late on a double play relay throw by the second baseman. In the United States they teach the second baseman not to be deterred by an advancing runner and if he doesn’t slide you throw to first anyway. Tang had to be taken off on a stretcher and hasn’t appeared in a game since May 9th.
Mauricio Robles LHP - He’s not a big guy (5′10″) but he throws heat and strikes out a lot of hitters. Robles could be one of the first seeds from the Venezuelan academy that the Tigers opened in 2007. He is still very raw and needs to find a consistent pitch to complement his fastball. ERAs of 4.63 in the Midwest League and 5.28 in the Florida State League don’t label you a prospect, but 88 strikeouts in 72 innings shows you have some potential. He started out as an outfielder so pitching is still new to him.