Minor Leagues

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Peter Welch

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Mar 30, 2025, 1:56:30 PM3/30/25
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Matt Manning got bombed on Saturday in Toledo's 7-6 loss to Columbus in Toledo.

Manning allowed 7 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in 2.2 IP.

The good news is that the Toledo bullpen pitched 6.1 shutout innings after Manning.  Jason Foley and Tyler Owens looked good.

Peter

Michael W

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Mar 30, 2025, 3:21:34 PM3/30/25
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> The good news is that the Toledo bullpen pitched 6.1 shutout innings after Manning.  Jason Foley and Tyler Owens looked good.

I'm starting to worry that the current Tigers management is repeatedly making really obvious poor choices.  Why is Kenta Maeda even on the roster? Is there anything to make you think he's going to pitch better than Jason Foley?  Or even pitch decently at all?

I've been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt the last few years, but in the end, player assessment and prediction are really the only important skills they need to demonstrate.  These errors in the small stuff - who is the 6th reliever - maybe aren't crucial in-and-of-themselves, but speak to their skill.

One the one hand, maybe Foley is working on something at Toledo, and he'll be up soon.  There could be a reasonable explanation.

One the other hand, the Tigers scored in the 7th yesterday to cut the Dodgers' lead to 5-3, making a game out of it.  Maeda came in and immediately gave up 2 runs to put the game out of reach.  

Michael

Peter Welch

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Mar 30, 2025, 3:44:23 PM3/30/25
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Only reason Maeda and Baez are on the roster is because of their contracts.  The Tigers refuse to eat their contracts.

I think both will be gone by July this year, or the Tigers will invent injuries for them to bury them on the IL.

Peter
From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael W <miw...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2025 3:21 PM
To: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 
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Roger King

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Mar 30, 2025, 3:58:44 PM3/30/25
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Yes, of course that’s the only explanation: they have money invested and they’re trying to get something out of it.

But in the case of Maeda, it’s just one year left and as Michael notes, there are already arguably better options. At some point, you do have to be willing to cut your losses. 

Roger King
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Paul Meloche

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Mar 30, 2025, 4:07:51 PM3/30/25
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 It isn’t anyone’s overall point I realize, but Maeda is the bulk innings/long reliever in the pen. Foley wouldn’t give us those kind of innings. 

I would rather see Montero than Maeda, but the Tigers probably want Montero to start every 5th day and that has to be at Toledo for now. 

I suppose Hurter is a bulk innings guy but perhaps Hinch and Fetter see more value in having him available to pitch an inning against a lefty heavy spot in the lineup. 

On Mar 30, 2025, at 12:58 PM, Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com> wrote:



Peter Welch

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Mar 30, 2025, 4:28:41 PM3/30/25
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Yeah, Maeda's role is the righty innings-eater/mop-up guy and Hurter is the lefty innings-eater/mop-up guy.  Madden or Manning might have taken Maeda's role but Madden got hurt and Manning was terrible this spring and got sent down.  I agree they probably want Montero to be a starter at Toledo.

Maeda had a good spring, but putting him in against the Dodgers was probably never going to end well.  The first pitch he threw was launched for a homer by Edman.  It was a 79-mph sweeper.  Freeman's double was on an 81-mph sweeper on the 3rd pitch.  Again, the Dodgers were just being super aggressive early in the counts against the Tigers.  It worked for them all series.

Peter

From: Paul Meloche <meloc...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2025 4:07 PM
To: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Cc: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>; detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 

Mike Coveyou

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Mar 30, 2025, 6:49:38 PM3/30/25
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The sunk cost fallacy at work...but, thankfully, the Tigers; management is far from the only major league front office that can't seem to abandon players they've spent significant resources on, even when the prospect of a payoff seems vanishingly low.

I also wonder if there isn't some fear that, if the Tigers release Maeda or Baez, some other team will manage to revive their careers, making the Tigers look foolish.  Kind of like the Astros probably felt about J.D. Martinez after his career was rejuvenated with the Tigers.

Mike Coveyou



Peter Welch

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Mar 30, 2025, 7:04:52 PM3/30/25
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Maeda might be DFA’d when Cobb comes off the IL.  Not sure Cobb will be much better.  He was probably going to retire but Harris offered him a contract.  Cobb was kind of surprised somebody offered to sign him.
He’s been injured much of the last 2 years and is slightly older than Maeda.
I’d rather the Tigers had signed a couple of more relievers who can get strikeouts or even somebody like Michael Lorenzen, who isn’t great but is better at eating innings than Maeda, and usually stays healthy. Even Verlander, Scherzer or Bieber would have been better on 1-year deals.

Peter



On Mar 30, 2025, at 6:49 PM, Mike Coveyou <mcov...@gmail.com> wrote:



Roger King

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Mar 30, 2025, 9:07:05 PM3/30/25
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With teams being so protective of their key starters, long relief does play a bigger role the first month or so of the season than any other time. Starters aren’t stretched out yet. 

So I can see the argument for keeping Maeda in the short term, but to Michael’s original point, why is he coming in late in a tight game? If Olson couldn’t get out of the third inning or something, it would make more sense. 

Peter Welch

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Mar 30, 2025, 11:27:07 PM3/30/25
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Toledo finally won a game in their opening series with a 6-5 victory on Sunday vs. Columbus at Toledo.

1B Justyn-Henry Malloy was 2-4 with a double and 3 RBIs.  Malloy is hitting .455 in the first 3 games.  
CF Jahmai Jones had 2 doubles from the leadoff spot.
3B Jace Jung and 2B Hao-Yu Lee also doubled.

Lefty Dietrich Enns was the opener and 4 other pitchers appeared for the Mud Hens.
PJ Poulin allowed 3 runs in the 9th to almost blow it.

Peter


Michael W

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Mar 31, 2025, 12:43:32 PM3/31/25
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>  It isn’t anyone’s overall point I realize, but Maeda is the bulk innings/long reliever in the pen. Foley wouldn’t give us those kind of innings. 

Then why did they put him in in the 7th inning of close game?  I think it's not so clear cut.

Michael

Michael W

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Mar 31, 2025, 12:45:35 PM3/31/25
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> I also wonder if there isn't some fear that, if the Tigers release Maeda or Baez, some other team will manage to revive their careers, 

I'm sure this is true regarding Baez (Maeda is 37).  And fear is terrible way to make executive decisions.

Michael

Peter Welch

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Apr 1, 2025, 2:08:04 AM4/1/25
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Javy 3-5 tonight...Reverse Voodoo, baby!

Peter
From: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2025 1:11 PM

To: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 
If the Tigers release Baez and he goes on to hit 25 homers for somebody else, no regrets and more power to him.  He just needs to be gone from this team.  Time to move on.  By the way, Baez has slowed down on the bases as well and his range is decreasing.  I thought he could have beaten out a ball during the Dodgers' series, but he was just too slow down the line.  He's lost a step.  He just doesn't have any value left.  Just let him go and send Al Avila the bill for the remaining contract.  😉

I didn't support the Tigers signing Baez, but I didn't think he'd be as bad as he's been. But remember, Baez struck out 184 times and only walked 28 in his final season with the Cubs/Mets before signing with the Tigers.  That's a warning sign right there of guy who might decline quickly in his 30s.
Avila didn't pay attention because felt pressure to sign a "big name" free agent shortstop.

Scott Harris would never have signed Baez.  Baez is the complete antithesis of what Harris is looking for in a hitter.
We needed Harris to become GM in 2022 to save us from signing Baez.

Peter
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2025 12:45 PM

Peter Welch

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Apr 1, 2025, 2:08:04 AM4/1/25
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If the Tigers release Baez and he goes on to hit 25 homers for somebody else, no regrets and more power to him.  He just needs to be gone from this team.  Time to move on.  By the way, Baez has slowed down on the bases as well and his range is decreasing.  I thought he could have beaten out a ball during the Dodgers' series, but he was just too slow down the line.  He's lost a step.  He just doesn't have any value left.  Just let him go and send Al Avila the bill for the remaining contract.  😉

I didn't support the Tigers signing Baez, but I didn't think he'd be as bad as he's been. But remember, Baez struck out 184 times and only walked 28 in his final season with the Cubs/Mets before signing with the Tigers.  That's a warning sign right there of guy who might decline quickly in his 30s.
Avila didn't pay attention because felt pressure to sign a "big name" free agent shortstop.

Scott Harris would never have signed Baez.  Baez is the complete antithesis of what Harris is looking for in a hitter.
We needed Harris to become GM in 2022 to save us from signing Baez.

Peter
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2025 12:45 PM

Roger King

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Apr 1, 2025, 9:16:02 AM4/1/25
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I actually don t believe management worries about Baez and Maeda rebounding with another team if they were released. I think it’s simply the fact that there is a lot of money they have to pay either way so they’re going to give these players every last chance to do something productive before they “admit defeat” and cut them loose. 

I think Javy getting injured & having surgery weirdly helped him because now there’s the (delusional?) narrative that maybe he can recapture some of his earlier success now that he’s healthy. I mean, might as well see at this point. If Sweeney had come up last year and put up a .850 OPS or something maybe you wouldn’t bother. Or if McGonigle was ready.  

With Maeda, I think they feel like they need a true long relief guy in the early part of the season given pitchers aren’t stretched out yet and it’s early days for Jobe.  Hard to imagine Maeda surviving though, once Cobb comes back, assuming all the other starters are still healthy.  Maybe some team will have an injury or two to their staff and the Tigers can get at least a little something for Maeda in a small deal. 


Peter Welch

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Apr 4, 2025, 1:11:07 AM4/4/25
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Baez actually was useful last night.  He looked good at 3B and made one really nice play on a hard grounder.  It could have gone by him for an RBI single.  He saved a run.  He got lucky on one of his singles that was a blooper that could have been caught, but his 2-run double was hit hard.  At least he was making contact and not swinging wildly at everything out of the zone.  He made contact in all 5 at-bats and didn't strike out.
He did swing and miss at a couple of low and away pitches, but he was laying off some of them and doing some damage in the zone.  Actually in the Dodgers series he wasn't swinging too wildly either.  He wasn't making good contact but he only struck out once.

Javy actually had a couple of good games vs. Seattle in August last year (including one game in which he hit a 2-run homer that won the game 2-1) just before he went on the IL for the rest of the season.

Hey look, I wrote some nice things about Baez.  Has he changed?  I seriously doubt it.  I'm still not expecting much from him, but we'll take what we can get.

Peter


From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 1, 2025 9:15 AM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Baez & Maeda (was: Minor Leagues)
 

Peter Welch

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Apr 4, 2025, 10:50:21 AM4/4/25
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Toledo is off to a 2-4 start.  

3B Jace Jung and 2B Hao-Yu Lee are the most interesting hitting prospects on the Toledo roster.
Jung and Lee struggled to hit for the Tigers in spring training.  
Jung is off to a good start this week, hitting .350 with 2 homers in 20 AB.
Lee is hitting .222 in 18 AB.

Toledo does have a deep bullpen with several relievers who could be called up to Detroit at some point this season: Andrew Chafin, Jason Foley, Sean Guenther, Tyler Owens, Jordan Balazovic, Chase Lee, Brendan White, Dietrich Enns, Tyler Mattison and Freddy Pacheco.

Keider Montero and Matt Manning "lead" the starting rotation.  Manning has a 9.82 ERA in his first 2 starts.


Erie, West Michigan and Lakeland open their seasons today.

Erie's most interesting prospects to watch are C Thayron Liranzo, OF Roberto Campos, RHP Jaden Hamm, RHP Troy Melton, LHP Jake Miller, RHP Joseph Montalvo, RHP RJ Petit and RHP Yosber Sanchez.

Top hitting prospects SS Kevin McGonigle, CF Max Clark and C-1B Jose Briceno are starting the season with West Michigan but will probably be in AA by mid-season (and McGonigle could be a dark horse to be called up to Detroit at some point this year).

Last year's #1 and #2 draft picks, SS Bryce Rainer and RHP Owen Hall, are skipping rookie league and will be playing for low-A Lakeland.  The 19-year-old Rainer was impressive in spring training and the 19-year-old Hall has shown impressive stuff in workouts.


Peter



Peter Welch

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Apr 7, 2025, 2:16:35 PM4/7/25
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CF Max Clark hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 8th inning on Sunday at West Michigan to tie the game at 6-all, and the Whitecaps later walked it off in the 11th on a wild pitch.

Clark was 2-5 with his first homer of the season and 4 RBIs.

SS Kevin McGonigle has missed the last 2 games for West Michigan with an ankle injury.  No word on how serious it is.

CF Akil Badoo was 1-3 with an RBI single and a walk for Lakeland on rehab assignment.  He also committed an error.

A couple of good pitching performances in the Tigers' system on Sunday.

24-year-old righty Hayden Minton pitched 4 no-hit innings for Lakeland with 7 Ks and 0 walks.

23-year-old lefty Jake Miller pitched 4 shutout innings for Erie.  He allowed 1 single and 1 walks with 3 Ks and 1 walk.


Peter

Peter Welch

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Apr 10, 2025, 1:39:10 PM4/10/25
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Top hitting prospect SS Kevin McGonigle has an ankle sprain and is on the IL for West Michigan.  He's expected to be out 4-6 weeks.  Bummer.

CF Max Clark is hitting .368/.556/.579 in his first 19 AB for West Michigan.

C-1B Jose Briceno hit a grand slam for West Michigan on Wednesday for his first homer of the season.  Briceno is hitting .174.

Top catching prospect Thayron Liranzo is off to a slow start for Erie, hitting .143 with 10 Ks in 14 AB.

CF Roberto Campos was 3-5 on Wednesday for Erie and is hitting .375 in his first 16 AB.

2B-SS Franyerber Montilla has homered in his last 2 games for Lakeland.

OF Akil Baddoo is hitting .313 in his rehab assignment with Lakeland.

Peter



Peter Welch

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Apr 14, 2025, 10:39:44 AM4/14/25
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Toledo is off to a 4-11 start.  The Mud Hens' roster is pretty boring.  They only have a couple of interesting prospects (3B-2B Jace Jung, RHP Keider Montero and maybe 2B Hao-Yu Lee, who is struggling to hit .200, plus maybe a couple of relievers who might be useful), but is mostly full of minor league veterans and organizational filler.

Erie is 6-3 but their roster is pretty boring as well.  They have a lot of organizational soldiers, but few legit top prospects. C Thayron Liranzo, who is the top catching prospect in the system, is struggling to hit in his first stint in AA.  Liranzo is hitting .150 with 13 strikeouts in 19 AB.
The only other interesting prospects at Erie are RHP Jaden Hamm, RHP Troy Melton and LHP Jake Miller, who have pitched well in their first 2 starts.

The Tigers' more interesting prospects are still in A-ball and below.

CF Max Clark is hitting .281/.452/.438 with 1 homer in 32 AB for West Michigan.
SS Kevin McGonigle is on the IL at West Michigan with a sprained ankle.  He's expected to be out for a few weeks.
C-1B Josue Briceno is hitting .235/.325/.324 with 1 homer in 34 AB for West Mihcigan.

Young pitching prospects Rayner Castillo and Carlos Marcano have pitched fairly well for West Michigan
27-year-old righty knuckleball specialist Kenny Serwa, who was signed after a tryout in the winter, hasn't allowed a run and has only given up 1 hit in his first 2 appearances (6 IP).

At Lakeland, 20-year-old 2B-SS Franyerber Montilla is hitting .259/.333/.519 with 2 homers in 27 AB.  Montilla reportedly has been hitting the ball hard.

Last year's 1st-round pick, SS Bryce Rainer, was hit on the head with a pitch in his pro debut and missed a few games after that.  He returned to the lineup the other day and went 1-4 with a single but had leave the game and hasn't played since then.  Not sure why.

Last year's 2nd-round pick, 19-year-old RHP Owen Hall, made his pro debut for Lakeland the other day and was roughed up for 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in 0.1 IP.  He was lifted in the 1st inning.

Peter


Michael W

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Apr 15, 2025, 5:56:39 PM4/15/25
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> The Tigers' more interesting prospects are still in A-ball and below.

Wow, I wish I had a dollar for every time I've said that.  

Michael

Peter Welch

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Apr 18, 2025, 4:06:41 PM4/18/25
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Jason Foley has a shoulder strain and went on the IL with Toledo.  He actually had been pitching pretty well.  Too bad.

LF Akil Baddoo was 3-4 with a double and 2 RBIs for Toledo in their 7-6 loss last night to Indianapolis.
Baddoo recently finished a rehab assignment with Lakeland.
Maybe the Akil Baddoo Era isn't over yet.

Righty knuckleballer Kenny Serwa tossed 5 shutout innings for West Michigan on Thursday in their 2-1 win vs. South Bend.
Serwa had 6 Ks and 0 walks and allowed 2 singles.  
Serwa hasn't allowed a run in 11 innings.  Looks like his knuckler is carving up A-ball hitters.  Probably need to see what he can do at AA soon.

Peter

Roger King

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Apr 18, 2025, 4:16:23 PM4/18/25
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Let’s get Baddoo to Detroit ASAP and Kreidler can take his place at Toledo.

I would hope management is thinking the same thing given they don’t even have Kreidler in the lineup tonight against a LH. 



Roger King
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Peter Welch

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Apr 19, 2025, 2:06:07 AM4/19/25
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Baddoo was 3-4 with a homer on Friday night in Toledo's 5-4 loss at Indianpolis.

Peter
From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2025 4:16 PM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 

Peter Welch

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Apr 21, 2025, 12:28:28 PM4/21/25
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Matt Manning didn't make it out of the first inning in his start on Sunday for Toledo at Indianapolis.  Toledo lost 10-6.
Manning allowed 5 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks in 0.2 innings before they pulled the plug on him.
Manning's ERA is now 9.60.  I don't think we'll be seeing Manning in Detroit anytime soon.

3B-2B Jace Jung's batting average has fallen to .239 after a hot start.  Like a lot of Tigers' hitters, Jung walks a lot but has trouble getting hits.  It seems like a theme in the system.
2B-3B Hao-Yu Lee has been heating up lately and is up to .710 OPS (after being below .500 OPS for a while).

OF Akil Baddoo is hitting .318 (7/22 with 1 homer) with Toledo since completing his rehab assignment with Lakeland.
Note: Baddoo is no longer on the 40-man roster so the Tigers would need to DFA someone or put someon on the 60-day IL to make room for him.
(They should DFA Kreidler but probably won't).

The Mud Hens are 5-16 on the season.

Erie is off to a 10-5 start.

OF Justice Bigbie has been on fire since being demoted from Toledo.  Bigbie is hitting .340/.415/.596 with 3 homers in 47 AB.
Bigbie's ceiling seems to be AA as he can't hit above that level.  He's 26 so is no prospect.

C Thayron Liranzo is hitting .167/.333/.278 with 1 homer in 36 AB.  Again, Liranzo is another of our top hitting prospects who is drawing walks but not getting hits or generating power.

West Michigan are 11-4.

OF Max Clark is hitting .286/.455/.408.  Clark has 16 walks and 11 Ks in 49 AB.  He has 1 homer.  Clark is another guy drawing a ton of walks, but not hitting for much power.  Clark has been roving back and forth between CF and DH. 

CF-1B Josue Briceno is hitting .263/.338/.456 with 3 homers in 57 AB.

The hottest hitters at Erie are 23-year-old OF Brett Callahan (1.011 OPS with 3 homers in 50 AB) and 24-year-old OF Seth Stephenson (.953 OPS with 9 stolen bases).

Callahan has been playing some CF when Max Clark is at DH.  Callahan was a 13th-round pick by the Tigers in 2023.  He has some decent numbers in the low minors.  Probably needs to be in AA soon given his age.

Stephenson is a 4-year veteran of the Tigers' system who always has prolific stolen base numbers (he has 130 stolen bases the past 2 seasons), but they have been slow to promote him.  He probably should be in AA at this point to see what he can do against more advanced pitching.

Lakeland is 7-8.

24-year-old righty Hayden Minton (former 9th-round pick in 2023) has been pitching well for Lakeland.  Minton tossed 5 shutout innings with 6 Ks and 0 walks on Sunday in Lakelands' 4-1 at Dunedin.  Minton has allowed only 1 run in 13 IP this season.

Last year's 1st-round pick SS Bryce Rainer has been in and out of Lakeland's lineup with various ailments.
He's hitting .133 in his first 15 pro at-bats.

Peter



Peter Welch

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Apr 21, 2025, 12:31:16 PM4/21/25
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Correction: The hottest hitters at West Michigan (not Erie) are Brett Callahan and Seth Stephenson.

Peter

From: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2025 12:28 PM
To: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Minor Leagues
 

Peter Welch

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Apr 27, 2025, 9:35:49 AM4/27/25
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I noticed the Tigers promoted 25-year-old lefty-hitting utility man Carlos Mendoza to Toledo recently.  That's good.  He needs to be in AAA.
He was 2-2 with a double and a stolen base in his AAA debut for Toledo on Saturday.

Mendoza isn't a top prospect but he has a chance to be a useful and pesky utility player.  He's been in the Tigers' system since 2019.
Mendoza has always put up super-high OBAs and big walk numbers.  He hasn't been viewed as much of a prospect because he's 5'7" and has no power whatsoever, and he hasn't really had a regular position.  He only has 9 career homers in 1387 AB.  Mendoza's career OBA in the minors is .421, which is really high.  He has an insanely-high .509 OBA this year between AA and AAA.  

I think Mendoza could still be a useful utility man at the major league level because of his ability to get on base and he can play multiple positions.  He's fast and a pretty good basestealer as well.  Mendoza is a dark horse to make the Tigers (or another major league team) eventually.  

Scott Harris really likes these types of players who draw a ton of walks.  He keeps them around. If you have shown the ability to control the strike zone as a hitter, you'll get a chance in this system.  

Matt Manning had his best outing of the season for Toledo on Saturday in their 3-1 win vs. Omaha in Toledo in game 1 of a doubleheader (Toledo won the 2nd game 4-1 for the sweep).

Manning pitched 4 innings in relief, allowing 1 unearned run on 4 hits and 3 walks with 5 Ks.  Manning lowered his ERA to 7.58.
It looks like the Tigers might be looking at converting Manning to a reliever.  We'll see how it works out.  He needs something to revive his career.

C Josue Briceno hit his 5th homer of the season for West Michigan in their 5-4 loss at Dayton on Saturday.
Briceno has a .863 OPS with 5 homers in 72 AB.

CF Max Clark continues to be a walk machine for West Michigan as he had 2 more walks on Saturday for West Michigan.
Clark has a .459 OBA with 22 walks and 14 Ks in 61 AB.  He's drawing walks like he's Barry Bonds or something.
Clark is hitting .268 with 1 homer so he's not Barry Bonds that way.

SS Bryce Rainer didn't play for Lakeland on Saturday, but he's been heating up lately and hitting the ball very hard.
Here's video of a 412-ft. double he hit on Friday.  He hit the ball 111.2 mph.


Peter

Michael W

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Apr 28, 2025, 12:07:06 PM4/28/25
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> I noticed the Tigers promoted 25-year-old lefty-hitting utility man Carlos Mendoza to Toledo recently. 

I'm really rooting for Mendoza.  In part just because he's a long-time farmhand who, despite playing well, hasn't got the fast-track treatment that the anointed ones get.  In part because he really can get on base, and if you only have one skill, that's the one you want.  Mendoza does have some speed too; he stole 33 bases last year (5 CS), and hit 6 triples.  

A challenge for Mendoza is that with Keith, Malloy, and to some extent Baez, the Tigers already have three guys who are getting on base with no power.  Jace Jung may fit in that same category.  So Mendoza isn't a great fit for the lineup right now.  A team with a bunch of homerun hitters could use him better.  But, first things first, let's see how he does at AAA.

Best,
Michael

Peter Welch

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Apr 28, 2025, 1:19:34 PM4/28/25
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Mendoza is also yet another Tigers' lefty hitter (the Tigers seem to have too many of them) so he's also blocked by McKinstry as a lefty-hitting utility guy in addition to being behind lefty hitters Keith and Jung (and probably Perez).

It's funny how Malloy, Keith and Jung have been struggling to get hits and only have 1 homer between them, but they are still useful hitters because they draw a ton of walks and still have a decent OBA.  Their ability to work deep into the count also has the benefit of wearing down opposing pitchers.  As long you've got some other guys in the lineup who are getting hits and hitting for power you can afford to carry them.  In our case, we've had those hitters in Tork, McKinstry, Torres, Carpenter, Dingler, plus Ibanez against lefties, and occasionally Baez.  (Riley Greene has been below average most of the season so I'm not including him in this list, although I know he's had a couple of good games recently).  

The anomaly is Dillon Dingler, who still hasn't drawn a walk all season.  ;-)

The Tigers' offense has the 8th-highest walk percentage in the majors right now.  It's been 12 years since the Tigers have had a team that ranks in the top 8 in walk percentage.
The Tigers seem to be accumulating hitters who draw a ton of walks.  It seems to be the #1 emphasis in the system.  I wish some of these guys would develop more power, though.  
Malloy, Keith and Jung have all shown good power in the minors but they haven't been able to translate it to the majors yet.  But at least they are getting on base.
If they start hitting for power, then watch out, we could have a really good offense.

Peter

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Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 

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Peter Welch

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Apr 28, 2025, 1:32:29 PM4/28/25
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SS Bryce Rainer hit another for Lakeland yesterday, an opposite field shot.

The 19-year-old Rainer has 8 walks and only 5 Ks in 31 AB.
Looks like we've got another good middle infield prospect.

Would be fun to see Rainer promoted to West Michigan at some point to play alongside Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Josue Briceno.

Peter

Peter Welch

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May 1, 2025, 11:41:43 AM5/1/25
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Toledo won 2-1 at Worcester on Wednesday.

Righty Wilkel Hernandez started and tossed 5 shutout innings, allowing 4 singles, 2 walks, with 3 Ks.
Hernandez lowered his ERA to 2.70.  The 26-year-old Hernandez has been in the Tigers' system since 2018.  He was acquired from the Angels' system in the Ian Kinsler trade.  Hernandez had TJS a couple of years ago.  He throws a mid-90s fastball with a slider and change-up, but none of his pitches get a lot of swings and misses.  The Tigers have stuck with him for a long time so they must see something there.  

2B Hao-Yu Lee and CF Brewer Hicklen both hit solo homers.
Lee is hitting .213 with 2 homers.

Manny Margot is on rehab assignment with Toledo.  He started in CF and went 0-3.
Akil Baddoo is hitting .209 with Toledo.  
Ryan Kreidler is hitting .167 with Toledo.

Erie lost 3-2 at home to Binghamton.

The hottest hitter in the Tigers' system right now is 23-year-old Erie 2B Max Anderson who is hitting .349/.393/.614 with 5 homers in 83 AB.
Anderson was the Tigers' 2nd-round pick in 2023 from the University of Nebraska.  In his first 2 years in the Tigers' system, Anderson has struggled to get the ball in the air.  He hit the ball pretty hard but would hit too many grounders.  He reportedly made a swing change in the offseason to create more elevation and it's been working so far.  I'm rooting for Anderson because he's one of the few players who wears glasses while he plays.  🤓

Roberto Campos hit his first AA homer, a bomb to deep left-CF.

The 21-year-old Campos is hitting .313 this season, which is promising.

22-year-old righty Jaden Hamm started for Erie and allowed 3 runs in 5 IP.  Hamm's ERA is 5.85.  Hamm has gotten some hype as one of the better pitching prospects in the system but has struggled at times in AA this season.

West Michigan lost 4-2 to Wisconsin.

C Josue Briceno was 2-4 with a double.  He just missed a homer on the double:

Briceno is hitting .256/.354/.488 with 5 homers in 82 AB.
Briceno has been playing a lot of catcher for West Michigan.  It would be good if he can stay at catcher because he's probably our best power hitting prospect.

DH Max Clark was 1-5 with a single.  Clark is hitting .270/.450/.365 with 1 homer in 74 AB.  Not a lot of power from Clark.

Beau Brieske, on rehab assignment, started and tossed a 1-2-3 inning.

Lakeland won 5-1 at Daytona.

21-year-old CF Jackson Strong hit a 3-run homer, his first homer as a pro.
Strong was the Tigers' 7th-round pick last year.

20-year-old righty Lucas Elissalt had a good start, allowing 1 run on 3 hits in 4 IP with 6 Ks and 0 walks.
Elissalt was the Tigers' 13th-round pick last year.

Peter


Shawn Parker

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May 1, 2025, 12:44:18 PM5/1/25
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I still wonder if we shouldn't have drafted Wyatt Langford.

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Paul Meloche

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May 1, 2025, 1:48:42 PM5/1/25
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I'm confident Clark will be a good, maybe great, player. But I was in favor of Langford then and I'm still questioning why we didn't choose him. He'd be helping us right now in the lineup, although I don't think he plays CF so that specifically would still be an issue this season.
 
Clark's lack of power doesn't concern me yet. I think he's 19? A lot of guys take a while to develop strength and power. I don't think he'll ever be a 40 or even a 30 homer guy, but I could see him being a 15-20 homer, lots of doubles and triples, etc type of player. Think Corbin Carroll.


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Peter Welch

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May 1, 2025, 3:49:45 PM5/1/25
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I also think Walker Jenkins might be a better hitter than Clark in the future.  The Twins drafted Jenkins right after the Tigers drafted Clark.  
Both Clark and Jenkins have excellent plate discipline, but Jenkins is a bigger guy with more power potential.  Jenkins hit better than Clark in rookie league and A-ball last year at about the same age (Jenkins is slightly younger than Clark).
Jenkins is currently on the IL in AA with an ankle injury.

But the reason the Tigers drafted Clark was for his defense and speed as well as his hitting potential.  He was never regarded as big homer guy coming out of high school.  That doesn't mean he can't be a productive offensive player.  It looks like Clark has a great eye at the plate and is a walk machine already.  One concern about Clark is that reportedly he's had some issues in CF.  He struggled a bit in CF in some Grapefruit League games.  Clark's value goes down if he can't play a decent CF.  Hopefully that was just a glitch.

The Rangers tried Langford in CF last year but he was bad there.  He's been pretty good in LF this year.  

Peter

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Peter Welch

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May 1, 2025, 3:56:58 PM5/1/25
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Clark turned 20 in December.
Some people have compared him to Kevin Kiermaier.  Kiermaier had a good career but was never a hitting star, although he was one of the greatest defensive outfielders in history.  
I think Clark will be a better offensive player than Kiermaier because Clark will have higher OBAs.  Clark might not be as good defensively as Kiermaier (but that doesn't mean Clark will be bad defensively).

Peter
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Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 

Peter Welch

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May 1, 2025, 4:00:05 PM5/1/25
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I also think the Tigers had Comerica Park's dimensions in mind when they drafted Clark. 

Speaking of Comerica Park, I saw that Tork hit 2 flyouts in Comerica in the past homestand that would have been homers in most other ballparks.
I know Comerica saves our pitchers from giving up homers as well, but that's got to be frustrating for Tork.  (It's one reason given why Bregman chose Boston over Detroit).

Peter
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Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 

Peter Welch

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May 5, 2025, 1:20:21 AM5/5/25
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Matt Vierling started his rehab assignment with Toledo on Sunday in the Mud Hens' 7-3 win at Worcester.
Vierling batted leadoff and played DH.  He was 0-1 with 2 walks and a strikeout.

OF Manny Margot is also on rehab assignment with Toledo.  Margot is hitting .250 in 16 AB.

OF Akil Baddoo had a good series at Worcester and is how hitting .273/.365/.527 with 4 homers in 55 AB.

Matt Manning appeared in relief again on Sunday and allowed 2 runs in 1.2 IP.  Manning allowed 2 hits, hit a batter, walked 2, and committed a throwing error.  His ERA is 6.85.

Erie split a doubleheader with Binghamton.
The Sea Wolves won the opener 1-0 behind a strong start from 23-year-old righty Joseph Montalvo.  Montalvo tossed 5 no-hit innings.  Montalvo was acquired from Texas (along with Chase Lee) in the Andrew Chafin trade last year.
Erie lost game 2 6-4.

2B Max Anderson is hitting .326/.367/.565 for Erie.
OF Roberto Campos is hitting .333/.424/.444.  
C Thayron Liranzo is only hitting .164/.325/.313.  Liranzo is striking out 37% of the time.

Righty Troy Melton started game 2 and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in 4 IP with 5 Ks and 0 walks.  Melton's ERA is 2.55 in 6 starts.

West Michigan lost 7-3 at Wisconsin on Sunday.

CF Max Clark is hitting .291/.451/.372 with 1 homer in 86 AB.
C-1B Josue Briceno is hitting .244/.358/.467 with 5 homers in 90 AB.

Knuckleballer Kenny Serwa started and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits in 3.1 IP.

Lakeland won 8-3 vs. Palm Beach.

19-year-old SS Bryce Rainer was 2-5 with 2 singles and an RBI. Rainer is hitting .260/.381/.440 with 2 homers in 50 AB.
22-year-old CF Woody Hadeen hit a grand slam.  Hadeen was the Tigers' 6th-round pick in 2024 from UC-Irvine.
20-year-old 2B Franyerber Montilla was 3-4 with 3 singles and a walk.  Montilla is hitting .304/.411/.418 with 2 homers in 79 AB.

Peter

Peter Welch

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May 10, 2025, 10:04:42 PM5/10/25
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Kevin McGonigle started his rehab assignment today with Lakeland.  He went 1-2 with a double and a walk.  He played DH.

Matt Vierling hit another homer today for Toledo.  He played DH again so he still hasn't played in the field in his rehab assignment.  Vierling looks ready hitting-wise, but it looks like they are taking it slow having him play in the field (Vierling is rehabbing a shoulder injury).

Peter
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Peter Welch

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May 14, 2025, 4:55:45 PM5/14/25
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Jake Rogers started at catcher for Toledo on Tuesday in their 7-0 win at Scranton-Wilkes Barre.
Rogers was 2-3 with a double from the leadoff spot.

Matt Vierling played DH and was 1-4 with a double and an RBI.  Vierling has played a little bit of RF with Toledo but mostly DH.  He hasn't played 3B yet.

LF Akil Baddoo hit his 6th homer.

Lael Lockhart tossed 6 shutout innings, allowing 5 hits and 1 walk with 5 Ks.

Erie won 3-1 at Richmond.

DH Thayron Liranzo hit his 3rd homer.  Liranzo is only hitting .173.

CF Trei Cruz was 2-4 with a triple.  The 26-year-old switch-hitting Cruz is hitting .322/.424/.542 with 5 homers.  Cruz has been in the Tigers' system since 2020 when he was the Tigers' 3rd-round pick from Rice.  He's the grandson of former Astros' star Jose Cruz and son of former MLB OF Jose Cruz, Jr.  He's always put up decent walk rates, but just hasn't been able to hit much.  He's only a career .231 hitter in the minors.  Given Cruz is 26 he probably should be in AAA at this point.

Righty Jaden Hamm tossed 4.2 shutout innings, although he allowed 7 hits.  He struck out 5 and walked none.

Western Michigan won 3-0 at Fort Wayne.

Righty Sawyer Gipson-Long pitched 3 shutout innings, allowing 0 hits and 1 walk.  He struck out 3.
Righty Carlos Marcano pitched 5 shutout innings in relief.

Max Clark was 0-4 but he's hitting .306/.443/.414 overall.

Lakeland won 5-2 at Clearwater.

LF Jackson Strong had 2 triple and a single.

SS Kevin McGonigle is on rehab assignment with Lakeland.  He was 0-3.
Also in the lineup was the other Tigers' top shortstop prospect, Bryce Rainer.  Rainer played DH.  He was 0-4 but hit 2 balls 100+ mph with nothing to show for it.

The Florida Complex rookie league has started their season.
The FCL Tigers are 5-3.  

27-year-old righty Freddy Pacheco pitched for the FCL Tigers on Tuesday.  Pacheco is coming back from Tommy John surgery.  He was signed by the Tigers in 2023 after coming up through the Cardinals' system.
Before the surgery Pacheco was a good relief prospect who could throw 100-mph.  He was probably going to be in the majors if it weren't for arm problems that eventually resulted in surgery.
He has a 6.23 ERA in 2 appearances with the FCL Tigers this season.

Peter











Peter Welch

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May 16, 2025, 11:55:49 AM5/16/25
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3B Carlos Mendoza was 4-6 with 2 homers and 3 RBIs in Toledo's 20-7 win at Scranton-Wilkes Barre on Thursday.  
Mendoza is hitting .327 with a .909 OPS for Toledo since being promoted from Erie.  

The 25-year-old Mendoza could be a useful utility player in the majors right now, but he's blocked in Detroit by the likes of McKinstry, Ibanez and Baez.
Mendoza plays 2B, 3B and all 3 outfield positions.

Mendoza has a career .418 OBA in 6+ years in the Tigers' system.  It might be better for his career to move to another team, although I'd like to see him get a shot on the Tigers.  

I could see him being a Rule V pick by somebody next year assuming the Tigers don't add him to the 40-man roster.

DH Hao-Yu Lee has been heating up lately for Toledo.  Lee was 4-6 with a double, a triple and 3 RBIs.  Lee is hitting .257/.345/.396 (.741 OPS), but he was only around .600 OPS a couple of weeks ago.

22-year-old 3B-1B Izaak Pacheco, who has been a bust since being the Tigers' 2nd-round pick in 2021, has been hitting better this year with West Michigan.  Pacheco is hitting .288/.384/.534 so far.  Pacheco's strikeout rate is still high at 29% (he's career rate was well over 30% before this season), but he's making much better contact this year than in the past.  He has huge power potential but a long swing has held him back.  Perhaps he's made a breakthrough.  We'll see.

3B Javier Osorio was 3-4 with a homer, a double, 6 RBIs and 2 stolen bases for the FCL Tigers in their 9-1 win vs. the FCL Blue Jays on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Osorio is hitting .333 with a 1.058 OPS and 2 homers in 21 AB.
Osorio was signed to a $2+ million bonus by the Tigers as a 17-year-old from Venezuela in 2022.  He's played SS and 3B in the Tigers' system.
Last year he hit .304/.434/.503 for one of the Tigers Dominican Summer League teams. 


Peter

Cal Lord

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May 16, 2025, 11:58:31 AM5/16/25
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Bring Mendoza up now! We need a 3b with a .400 OBA!
Sent from my iPhone

On May 16, 2025, at 11:55 AM, Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com> wrote:


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Paul Meloche

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May 16, 2025, 2:20:41 PM5/16/25
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I wouldn’t expect him to have a .400 OBA in the majors. And he’d probably have to be added to the 40-man.

Also, who do you send down? Jung is already back in Toledo. 

Paul M.

On May 16, 2025, at 8:58 AM, Cal Lord <calst...@gmail.com> wrote:

Bring Mendoza up now! We need a 3b with a .400 OBA!

Peter Welch

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May 16, 2025, 4:51:20 PM5/16/25
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I think Mendoza can be a decent utility player for some MLB team.  His ability to draw a ton of walks and speed, plus defensive versatility, could make him a useful bench piece.  He's way better than Ryan Kreidler and Gage Workman, for sure.  I think Mendoza would also put up a higher OBA than McKinstry or Ibanez.
Mendoza doesn't have much power (his 2-homer outburst yesterday was very unusual), which has probably held him back from being in the majors already.

I doubt Mendoza will get a chance with the Tigers unless, say, McKinstry and/or Ibanez gets hurt, but look for him to be a Rule V pick next year, or end up being traded in some minor deal.  He might also have minor league free agent status after this season.  He probably would have a better chance signing on with some other organization.

Mendoza is built like Jose Altuve (doesn't have Altuve's power, though).  Would be a fun player to root for.

Peter


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Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 

Paul Meloche

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May 16, 2025, 10:08:00 PM5/16/25
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I don't think Altuve had much power when he first came up, though. Some smaller guys develop it later - see Kirby Puckett, Lou Whitaker, etc.

Not saying Mendoza will be like those guys; I know he's not much of a prospect. He's already 25 and those other guys were already well into their ML careers by then.



Peter Welch

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May 18, 2025, 12:09:16 PM5/18/25
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Mendoza got sent down to Erie to make room for Gage Workman, who re-joined the Tigers' system after the Cubs and White Sox didn't want to keep him as a Rule V pick.

Workman started at SS on Friday for Toledo and was 2-3 with a homer and 3 RBIs.
Workman didn't play on Saturday.

Peter
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Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 

Peter Welch

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May 23, 2025, 11:32:50 AM5/23/25
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Toledo won 5-1 vs. Indianapolis.

3B Jace Jung was 2-3 with a solo homer.  Jung is hitting .256/.414/.535 with 6 homers for Toledo.  
I know AAA pitching isn't major league pitching, but you'd think Jung could hit a bit better in the majors than he has so far.

Dietrich Enns, Ricky Vanasco and Brendan White combined on a 2-hit shutout.


CF Max Clark hit a grand slam for West Michigan in game 2 of a doubleheader on Thursday.  The Whitecaps won 7-1.

Clark is hitting .293/.435/.429 (.864 OPS) with 4 homers in 133 AB.

West Michigan won game 1 2-1.
DH Josue Briceno hit a solo shot for his 7th homer of the season.

Briceno is hitting .255/.364/.518 (.882 OPS).

One of the most improved players in the Tigers' system is 22-year-old 3B-1B Izaak Pacheco with West Michigan.
Pacheco is hitting .306/.412/.565 with 2 homers and 10 doubles in 85 AB.
Pacheco is a big guy who's struggled to make consistent contact in his first 4 years in the system since being a 2nd-round pick from high school in 2021.  He was drafted as a shortstop but now plays mostly 3B and some 1B.

RF Roberto Campos was 3-4 with a triple, a double and a stolen base for Erie on Thursday in their 11-2 win vs. Hartford.

Campos is hitting .288/.380/.432 (.812 OPS) with 2 homers in 111 AB.  The 21-year-old Campos still lacks the power the Tigers thought he could develop when they signed him as a 16-year-old from Cuba, but he's making decent contact and drawing walks.  It's amazing he's been in the system so long and he's only 21.

Utility man Carlos Mendoza, who was demoted to Erie recently, despite having a .909 OPS with Toledo, was 2-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs and is hitting .373/.506/.508 (1.014 OPS) for Erie.

Top catching prospect Thayron Liranzo is only hitting .178/.333/.356 and is striking out close to 40% of the time for Erie.  He's had a disappointing season so far.  

DH Wenceel Perez hit a 2-run homer for Lakeland in their 4-1 win vs. Fort Myers.

Parker Meadows started in CF and was 0-2 with a walk and 2 Ks.

Matt Vierling started at 3B (and later moved to RF) and was 1-3 with a single and a walk.

SS Bryce Rainer had an RBI single, driving home Meadows.

The FCL Tigers won 6-4 vs. the FCL Yankees.

19-year-old Enrique Jimenez, who could be the system's top catching prospect, was 3-4 with a double and 4 RBIs.
Jimenez is hitting .333 with a 1.015 OPS.

20-year-old 3B Javier Osorio remains hot and is hitting .364.


Peter








Michael W

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May 23, 2025, 3:47:59 PM5/23/25
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> Utility man Carlos Mendoza, who was demoted to Erie recently, despite having a .909 OPS with Toledo, 
>was 2-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs and is hitting .373/.506/.508 (1.014 OPS) for Erie.

It's stuff like this that makes me crazy.  The Tigers have all the playing time in world for their anointed chosen few, and for sifting slop from the waiver wire, but can't seem to find at bats for a guy who is actually performing.  Or in this case, they actually demoted him.  It's not like Pacheco who's only been hitting since yesterday. Mendoza now has a lifetime .420 OBP.  Geez, does he have an ugly girlfriend?

In fact, now that I look at the Toledo roster, this is really a crime.  Besides Jung, there's not legitimate batting prospect on the squad.  They could release almost any of those guys and never miss them.

Michael

Peter Welch

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May 23, 2025, 4:26:34 PM5/23/25
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Yeah, the Toledo roster is Jung plus a group of minor league vets, non-prospects and failed prospects.  I think Hao-Yu Lee also has a chance to be possibly productive (he's still only 22), but I know you're not that high on him (plus he's kind of blocked in the Detroit system by other 2B/3B options).

I was thinking last night when the Tigers had the bases loaded with nobody out in the 8th when they were only down 3-0, it would probably have been better to have somebody like Mendoza batting instead of Baddoo or even McKinstry.  Mendoza would have had a better chance to work a walk or at least make Cade Smith threw a few more pitches.  Baddoo, McKinstry and Greene had possibly 3 of the worst at-bats from Tigers' hitters this season last night in the 8th but, to be fair, Smith has really nasty stuff and is one of the best relievers in baseball.  However, it seemed like all 3 guys came out swinging for the fences with very little plan to work the count.

Also, I know Malloy got a pinch single to load the bases in the 8th batting for Carpenter against the lefty Herrin, who was struggling, but why not let Carpenter bat there with 2 runners on and nobody out?  Carp is probably more likely to launch into one than Malloy.

Interestingly, Cade Smith has reverse splits so pinch-hitting the lefty Baddoo for the righty Ibanez against Smith was probably not a great move.  Righties have a .765 OPS against Smith, but lefties only .529 OPS.  
Hinch should have taken his chances with Ibanez with the bases loaded and nobody out instead of Baddoo, who hasn't been hitting particularly well anyway.  Baddoo facing Smith was a mismatch right from the start.  Ibanez is the more experienced hitter.  Hinch uses a lot of data to make his decisions so I'm surprised he didn't see this, but maybe he thought because Ibanez struggles so much vs. righties that Baddoo would be better.
McKinstry looked clueless against Smith as well.  He looked more like the bad version of McKinstry who swings and misses a lot.  After Baddoo and McKinstry struck out quickly I guess Greene just went up there swinging for the fences since there were 2 outs.


Peter

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Michael W

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May 24, 2025, 7:06:50 PM5/24/25
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Hao-Yu Lee isn’t a terrific prospect, but he’s better than most of that roster.

Micheal 

Peter Welch

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May 24, 2025, 9:43:06 PM5/24/25
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Lee is younger than the average AAA player so there's hope there.  I think he could be traded in some future package deal.  He's kind of blocked in Detroit.

Peter
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Peter Welch

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May 30, 2025, 4:39:32 PM5/30/25
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20-year-old 1B Josue Briceno hit 3 homers for West Michigan on Thursday in the Whitecaps' 14-1 win.

Briceno also doubled and drove in 5 runs.  Briceno has 11 homers and is hitting .268/.383/.610.

Knuckleballer Kenny Serwa tossed 5 innings in relief, allowing 1 run on 5 hits with 6 Ks and 0 walks.

Righty Sawyer Gipson-Long had a good start for Toledo on Thursday.
SGL allowed 1 run on 1 hit in 5.1 IP with 6 Ks and 0 walks.

Bligh Madris walked it off with a grand slam in the 9th as the Mud Hens won 7-4.

SS Gage Workman hit his 3rd homer for Toledo since re-joining the Tigers' system.

Utility man Carlos "I Don't Get No Respect" Mendoza continues to mash for Erie.  Mendoza is hitting .364/.485/.519 (1.004 OPS) for Erie.
Mendoza had a .909 OPS for Toledo before undeservedly getting demoted to Erie recently.

3B Max Anderson also continues to hit well for Erie.  Anderson was 4-4 in one of 2 games Erie played on Thursday.
Anderson is hitting .341/.381/.555 (.936 OPS).

Peter




Peter Welch

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May 31, 2025, 2:35:05 PM5/31/25
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SS Kevin McGonigle had 4 hits with 4 RBIs on Friday in West Michigan's 13-2 win vs. Dayton.
McGonigle hit his 1st homer of the season and also doubled.  
McGonigle is hitting .464/.583/.821 (1.404 OPS) for WM.  He really should be on kind of a fast track in the minors and be in AA or AAA already.
There was talk in spring training that the Tigers thought McGonigle could probably play in the majors now.

1B Izaak Pacheco also homered and doubled.  Pacheco is hitting .304/.419/.563 with 4 homers in 112 AB.

C-1B Josue Briceno (.992 OPS) got the night off after his 3-homer game on Thursday.  Briceno keeps getting banged up behind the plate and misses a few games here and there.  I know the Tigers want to see if he can be an adequate defensive catcher, but I hate seeing Briceno get injured all the time playing behind the plate.  He's our best power-hitting prospect.

CF Max Clark is hitting .268/.426/.382 (.808 OPS) with 4 homers and 9 stolen bases in 157 AB for West Michigan.

Last year's 1st-round pick, 19-year-old SS Bryce Rainer continues to have an impressive debut pro season for Lakeland.  Rainer is hitting .289/.391/.465 (.856 OPS) with 5 homers in 114 AB.
Reports are that Rainer is consistently hitting the ball very hard.

An under-the-radar prospect who is hitting well for Lakeland is 21-year-old lefty-hitting CF Jackson Strong.  Strong is hitting .300/.413/.530 (.943 OPS) with 5 homers in 100 AB.  Strong was drafted by Scott Harris in the 7th-round from college last year.  His K rate is still a bit high (36 Ks in 122 PA, 29.5%), but he's someone to keep an eye on.

22-year-old righty pitching prospect Jaden Hamm has struggled a bit in making the jump to AA this season.  Hamm has a 4.53 ERA in 10 starts for Erie.  Hamm relies on a good curveball and a 93-94 mph fastball he can locate well.  He's working on a slider and change-up to try to add more pitches to his arsenal.

25-year-old, 6'8", 300-lb reliever R.J. Petit (who is definitely not "petite") is pitching well for Erie and is a future possibility for the Tigers' bullpen. 

Toledo doesn't have many good prospects, but after a poor start they've been beating up on teams for the last few weeks and now are 31-24 on the season.
The Mud Hens have a bunch of relief pitchers who've had some major league experience.  Toledo's hitters are mostly minor league vets, AAAA players and guys on rehab assignments.

Jace Jung is hitting .250/.402/.481 with 6 homers in 104 AB for Toledo.   Jung seems to have little problem hitting for power in AAA, but can't hit the ball out of the infield in the majors.

Peter


Peter Welch

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Jun 5, 2025, 11:32:55 AM6/5/25
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3B Hao-Yu Lee got hit by a pitch in the face on Wednesday in Toledo's 5-2 loss at Columbus.  Lee ended up walking off the field after collapsing to the ground and not moving for a couple of minutes.  He had a lot of blood coming out of his nose as he was helped off the field.

Last year Lee got beaned by a couple of pitches and spent some time on the IL with a concussion.  Poor guy has some crappy luck.  My guess is that because he's a power hitting threat pitchers will often go up and in against him.

Matt Manning is now pitching in relief exclusively for Toledo.  Manning tossed 1.1 scoreless, hitless innings with 2 Ks in yesterday's game.
Manning has a 2.57 ERA in 13 relief appearances.  He had a 12.00 ERA as a starter.  Manning is still walking too many hitters (14 walks in 25 IP as a reliever), but he might be able to salvage his career in the bullpen.

Erie won 7-6 vs. Richmond on a walk-off single by 1B Jake Holton.

23-year-old 2B Max Anderson is hitting .339/.374/.554 with 8 homers and 16 doubles in 183 AB for Erie.  

C Thayron Liranzo had a very slow start to the season but is hitting better lately.  Liranzo is hitting .216/.349/.432 with 7 homers in 125 AB.  Liranzo was hitting way below .200 for most of the season until recently.

Red-hot West Michigan got cooled off in a 4-1 loss to Lake County on Wednesday.

The "Big 3" of Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Josue Briceno were a combined 0-8 but they did walk 4 times.

Clark, McGonigle and Briceno (especially McGonigle and Briceno) have been terrorizing Midwest League pitchers lately.

McGonigle is hitting .444 with a 1.310 OPS.  
Briceno is hitting .279 with a 1.048 OPS.
Clark is hitting .262 with a .802 OPS.

You'd think all 3 of these guys will be promoted to AA soon.

Lakeland lost 6-5 to Daytona Beach.

SS Bryce Rainer could be out for the season after injuring his arm the other day.  Still no word yet, though.

20-year-old Franyerber Montilla will take over SS while Rainer is out.  Montilla received some hype going into this season but has struggled a bit offensively this year.  He's hitting .243/.348/.342.

Peter




Michael W

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Jun 5, 2025, 12:34:28 PM6/5/25
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> SS Bryce Rainer could be out for the season after injuring his arm the other day.  Still no word yet, though

This is really too bad.  I hope he recovers fully.

Michael

Paul Meloche

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Jun 5, 2025, 3:52:26 PM6/5/25
to Michael W, detroit...@googlegroups.com
I watched the replay of the slide that led to the injury several times. I can’t tell what he did; looks like a normal slide and then he’s suddenly writhing in pain. 

A-ball broadcasts don’t have closeups or many camera angles, so if someone who doesn’t have my poor eyesight got a better view of what exactly happened please share. 

Paul M.

On Jun 5, 2025, at 9:34 AM, Michael W <miw...@gmail.com> wrote:

> SS Bryce Rainer could be out for the season after injuring his arm the other day.  Still no word yet, though
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Peter Welch

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Jun 5, 2025, 10:46:35 PM6/5/25
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It isn't clear what exactly happened but he must have jammed his shoulder against the bag or the ground as he dove back.

No word yet on whether he needs surgery.  Colt Keith needed surgery when he had a similar injury 3 years ago.

Rainer has a good arm, but you never know how an injury like this might affect his throwing in the future.

Peter
Sent: Thursday, June 5, 2025 3:52 PM
To: Michael W <miw...@gmail.com>
Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 

Peter Welch

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Jun 6, 2025, 11:34:10 AM6/6/25
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The Tigers promoted 24-year-old righty pitching prospect Troy Melton from Erie to Toledo.

Melton started for Toledo on Thursday at Columbus.  He allowed 2 runs on 6 hits in 4.2 IP with 7 Ks and 0 walks.  He gave up 2 solo homers.
Melton reached as high as 99-mph with his fastball and averaged 95+ mph with his heater.

Melton had a 3.23 ERA in 10 starts with Erie.  He averaged 10.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.

Melton has a good 4-seam fastball that he throws in the mid-to-upper 90s and a low 90s cutter as his main pitches in addition to a change-up and slider.
He's got potential major league stuff but command continues to be an issue for him.  He's had some issues giving up homers in the past.

The Mud Hens lost 3-2 to Columbus.

The Tigers promoted 27-year-old righty knuckleballer Kenny Serwa from West Michigan to Erie to replace Melton.  Serwa started for Erie vs. Richmond on Thursday and allowed 4 runs on 4 hits in 6 innings in his AA debut.  He struck out 4 and walked 2.

Erie won 12-4.

C Eduardo Valencia hit his 10th homer.  The 25-year-old Valencia is hitting .311/.371/.580.  
He's been in the Tigers' system since 2018.  He's never hit much until this year. 


West Michigan won 5-4 in 11 innings vs. Lake County.  The Whitecaps won on a walk-off walk to SS John Peck.

DH Kevin McGonigle hit a pair of doubles and stole 3rd base.  He tried to steal home but was thrown out.

Lakeland lost 11-3 to Daytona Beach.

CF Jackson Strong was 2-5 with 2 singles.
DH Franyerber Montilla was 1-2 with a single and 2 walks.

Reliever Duque Hebbert allowed 5 runs on 7 hits in 2.1 IP to raise his ERA to 7.33.
Hebbert is the Nicaraguan former plumber who was signed after striking out Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez and Rafael Devers consecutively in the World Baseball Classic a couple of years ago.  Looks like that's going to be his career highlight.  That's still pretty memorable, though.

The FCL Tigers won 6-4 vs. the FCL Phillies.

19-year-old C Enrique Jimenez hit his 4th homer of the season.  Jimenez is hitting .284/.364/.537.


Peter

Peter Welch

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Jun 13, 2025, 11:10:54 AM6/13/25
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20-year-old SS Kevin McGonigle continues to rake in A-ball.

McGonigle was 4-4 last night with a homer and 2 doubles in West Michigan's 7-1 win at Lansing. 
McGonigle is hitting .394/.488/.704 (1.192 OPS) for WM.


He's not a big guy but has a seriously quick bat and compact swing.  He doesn't strike out much and walks more than he strikes out.

I think McGonigle should be promoted 2 levels to AAA and seriously be considered for a promotion to Detroit later this season, but he definitely should be in AA now.

20-year-old CF Max Clark is hitting .257/.416/.366 (.782 OPS) for WM.  He has 51 walks and 39 Ks in 245 plate appearances.  Clark draws a lot of walks, but looks like he needs to develop his hitting some more.  No rush with Clark.  

20-year-old C-1B Josue Briceno (1.001 OPS with 13 homers in 144 AB) has been absent from the WM lineup in the past week.  No word on his latest injury.  Briceno gets injured a lot.  The Tigers want him to stay at catcher, but catching seems to be beating him up.  The guy has huge power potential.

Righty reliever Tyler Mattison, who was considered one of the best relief prospects in the system a couple of years ago, is coming back from TJS.
He has a 3.38 ERA in 4 appearances with WM.

2B-3B Hao-Yu Lee is back in action for Toledo after taking a pitch to the face last week.
Last night Lee was 2-4 with a triple.

Justyn-Henry Malloy is hitting .389 with Toledo.  He still only has 1 homer in 45 plate appearances with the Mud Hens.  Malloy only had 1 homer in 115 PA with the Tigers.  What's happened to his power?  Malloy is looking more like a AAAA player.  Too bad, because he has an elite batting eye.

24-year-old righty pitching prospect Troy Melton has a 7.00 ERA in 2 appearances with Toledo since being promoted from Erie last week.

23-year-old 2B Max Anderson remains red hot with Erie.  Anderson hit his 11th homer yesterday in Erie's 10-6 loss at Altoon.

Anderson is hitting .343/.379/.586 (.965 OPS) with 11 homers and 16 doubles in 210 AB.  Anderson made a big swing change in the off-season and it seems to be helping.  He is elevating the ball much more than in the past.  He was regarded as having excellent bat speed coming out of college, but had been plagued with hitting the ball on the ground too much until this year.

Supposedly Anderson is weak defensively, but his hitting ability should mean a promotion to AAA soon.

22-year-old righty Jaden Hamm, who was one regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the system before this season, is struggling in AA.
Hamm only lasted 2.2 innings yesterday, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits.  His ERA is 4.73.  Hamm doesn't have an elite fastball and relies on breaking stuff and offspeed stuff to be successful.  He's really struggling with command this season.

21-year-old OF Jackson Strong continues to hit well for Lakeland.  Strong is hitting .277/.383/.482 (.865 OPS), which is really good in the pitcher-friendly ballparks of the Florida State League.

Peter






Michael W

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Jun 13, 2025, 4:38:17 PM6/13/25
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> 21-year-old OF Jackson Strong continues to hit well for Lakeland.  Strong is hitting 
>.277/.383/.482 (.865 OPS), which is really good in the pitcher-friendly ballparks 
>of the Florida State League.

He's 5th in the league in OPS among qualified players, although the four guys ahead of him are all younger than he is.  
He's 11th among players with at least 100 PA, the difference between the lists being that many of those guys have been promoted.

I hope that Anderson and McGonigle get promoted either at the end of the month or at the all-star break.  

Another guy off to a good start is Jude Warwick, a 19-year old shortstop in the complex league.  He's hitting .295 with a good walk rate (.427 OBP), and just hit his first home run.    Osorio is also hitting well (even better), so they have some playing time issues to work out there.  Since Bryce Rainer was injured, Franyerber Montilla has been playing short for Lakeland.  I see him more as a second baseman long term, so there could be room to promote one of Warwick or Osorio.  

Michael

Peter Welch

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Jun 14, 2025, 12:06:23 AM6/14/25
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McGonigle was 5-6 tonight to raise his average to .429.  He might be the best hitting prospect in the minors right now.  The guy is only 20 and is clearly a man among boys in A-ball.  He needs to be in AA now and he probably would be fine in AAA.

22-year-old 3B Izaac Pacheco hit 2 homers to raise his OPS to .965.  Pacheco seems to be reviving his former prospect status this year.
He probably should be in AA as well to see how he handles more advanced pitching.  His strikeout rate is still a bit high, but his walk rate has improved a lot.

West Michigan won 20-6 at Lansing.  

Peter
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2025 4:38 PM
To: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 
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Michael W

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Jun 14, 2025, 12:19:06 AM6/14/25
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>McGonigle was 5-6 tonight to raise his average to .429.  

And a walk!

Peter Welch

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Jun 20, 2025, 11:22:29 AM6/20/25
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Reese Olson made his first rehab start for Toledo on Thursday at St. Paul.
Olson tossed 3.2 shutout innings, allowing 3 singles and 0 walks with 5 Ks.

Beau Brieske relieved Olson and proceeded to give up 5 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 0.2 innings.
Brieske has a 16.88 ERA in 3 appearances with Toledo.

The Mud Hens lost 8-2.

DH Matt Vierling was 0-5 from the leadoff spot with 2 Ks.
1B Justyn-Henry Malloy was 2-4 with a double and a walk.  Malloy is hitting .352 with Toledo.

By the way, Jace Jung is hitting .205 with Toledo.  Unfortunately he probably isn't worth much in trade value now.

Erie won 6-4 vs. Chesapeake.

2B Max Anderson was 2-5 with a triple and a double.  Anderson is hitting .342.
3B Trei Cruz hit his 7th homer.
Gigantic righty RJ Petit (6'8", 300 lbs), who might have a future in the Tigers' bullpen, pitched a perfect 9th for his 2nd save and lowered his ERA to 2.19.

West Michigan won 5-3 vs. Wisconsin.
1B Josue Briceno hit his 14th homer and 8th homer in his last 15 games.

SS Kevin McGonigle hit his 4th homer.

22-year-old lefty Micah Ashman, who was the Tigers' 11th-round pick in 2024, picked up his 2nd save of the season with a scoreless 9th, striking out 2.  Ashman has a 1.20 ERA in 20 appearances.  He's only allowed 15 hits and 7 walks in 30 IP with 35 Ks.
Keep an eye on Ashman as potential bullpen help for the Tigers in a couple of years.

West Michigan has clinched the 1st half title in their division in the Midwest League with a 44-21 record.

Lakeland was rained out, but they have clinched the 1st half title in their division in the Florida State League.

The FCL Tigers won 11-5 vs. the FCL Blue Jays.

19-year-old 2B Jude Warwick hit 2 homers.   Warwick was the Tigers' 12th-round pick last year from a high school in Illinois.
He's hitting .295/.422/.466 with 3 homers in 88 AB.
Yes, another 2B prospect to add to the pile.

Peter


Peter Welch

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Jun 27, 2025, 5:11:41 PM6/27/25
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Keider Montero was roughed up for 6 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 2.2 IP on Thursday in Toledo's 12-9 loss to Charlotte.
Montero's ERA is 7.27 with Toledo and 4.02 with Detroit.   

Matt Vierling is hitting .211 in 57 AB in his rehab assignment with Toledo. 

Jace Jung supposedly is making a big swing change with Toledo.  He needs to try something to salvage his prospect status.
Jung is hitting .223 overall and .183 in June with Toledo.

2B Max Anderson continues to rake with Erie.  Anderson is hitting .353/.394/.592.

RHP Jaden Hamm went on the IL for Erie with an undisclosed injury.

CF Max Clark has shown some power lately with West Michigan.  Clark has 2 homers in last 3 games and his SLG is .464 in June.

SS Kevin McGonigle is hitting .369 with a 1.143 OPS with WM.

C-1B Josue Briceno continues to play sporadically with West Michigan.  It seems like they are being careful with him.  He's a bit injury prone and catching beats him up. When he does play he keeps mashing.  Briceno has a .977 OPS with 14 in 165 AB.  He has 33 walks and 35 Ks.

Last year's Tigers' top Latin American signing, 3B Nestor Miranda, hasn't played yet in the Dominican Summer League due to an injury.


Peter

Peter Welch

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Jul 1, 2025, 10:49:10 AM7/1/25
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The Tigers' top 3 prospects, SS Kevin McGonigle, OF Max Clark and C-1B Josue Briceno, will be playing in the Futures Game over All-Star weekend on July 12 in Atlanta.

Speculation is that all 3 of them will be promoted to AA Erie after the AS Break.  Erie has a bandbox ballpark so McGonigle, Clark and Briceno will probably continue to put up big numbers there.



Peter

Peter Welch

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Jul 8, 2025, 11:19:52 AM7/8/25
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The Tigers have promoted utility man/super-sub Trei Cruz from Erie to Toledo.  The 27-year-old switch-hitting Cruz has been in the Tigers' system since 2018.  He was a 3rd-round pick in 2018 from Rice University.

Cruz was hitting .275/.402/.454 with 7 homers in 262 AB for Erie.  He has always had good walk rates and doesn't strike out excessively, but his career minor league batting average is only .231.  He's having the best season of his minor league career this year.  He's 27 so isn't a prospect, but given he plays 7 different positions and switch hits, could be a useful utility guy for somebody, if not the Tigers.  Sort of another McKinstry type.

Cruz is son of former major league OF Jose Cruz, Jr. and grandson of former Astros' star Jose Cruz, Sr.

Lefty reliever Sean Guenther was technically recalled by the Tigers the other day from Toledo and put on the 60-day IL because of hip surgery.
The move was done to make room on the 40-man roster for lefty reliever PJ Poulin, who was about to become a free agent if the Tigers didn't add him to the 40-man roster this month.  Poulin has a 3.62 ERA in 30 appearances for Toledo with 54 Ks in 37.1 IP (13 K/9).  We might see Poulin with the Tigers at some point this season.

Erie has already sold out their games in their next home series because of the addition of the Big 3 of McGonigle, Clark and Briceno.  Lots of excitement in Erie lately (the Moon Mammoths thing has been a big hit as well).

I don't know if Toledo is a tough place to hit or what, but several of their hitters are struggling to hit for average.

Jace Jung .206
Hao-Yu Lee .246
Akil Baddoo .251
Brewer Hicklen .225
Andy Ibanez .231
Ryan Kreidler .241
Gage Workman .192
Manny Margot .211
Bligh Madris .232
Tomas Nido .178

Justyn-Henry Malloy is the only hitter with a good average for Toledo, hitting .318 with a .487 OBA.

The Mud Hens probably could do with a shot of offense from some of the Erie guys.

Peter

Roger King

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Jul 8, 2025, 11:31:29 AM7/8/25
to Peter Welch, detroit...@googlegroups.com
Manny Margot will not have an opportunity to raise his batting average in Toledo.  The Tigers released him this morning.


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Peter Welch

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Jul 8, 2025, 12:21:30 PM7/8/25
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Manny did help us won a couple of games in the first week.  Thanks, Manny!

Peter
From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 8, 2025 11:31 AM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 

Roger King

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Jul 8, 2025, 12:23:07 PM7/8/25
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Yes, and he was actually safe at that play at home in the first Dodger series! :-)



Roger King
El Presidente
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(416) 515-7195


Michael W

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Jul 8, 2025, 12:26:48 PM7/8/25
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I'm concerned about Jace Jung.  There's no good reason to be hitting .206 at AAA at this stage of his career (250+ PA).  I hope he won't be one of these Steven Moya types who, upon being sent back to the minors, gets in his own head too much.  Come on Jace!

(Moya, BTW, is now 33 years old and has 1.000+ OPS in Taiwan.)

Michael

Peter Welch

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Jul 8, 2025, 12:52:11 PM7/8/25
to Roger King, detroit...@googlegroups.com
Ok, it was one game that Margot helped us win in a 4-3 win vs. the White Sox, where he tagged up from 1st to 2nd with 1 out and ended up scoring with 2 outs on a single by Baez.

I guess I should have said Margot helped us stay close in the opening Dodgers' series as he had a couple of key hits in those games, but unfortunately we lost those games anyway.  I still think we should have won the first 2 games of that series.

Peter
From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 8, 2025 12:22 PM

Peter Welch

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Jul 12, 2025, 2:17:09 PM7/12/25
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The Futures game will be on MLB Network today at 4pm.

The Tigers' big 3 of Clark, McGonigle and Briceno will be playing.  I just hope none of them get injured.

Peter

Michael W

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Jul 12, 2025, 4:22:33 PM7/12/25
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Clark walked and then stole off the pitcher.  The pitcher never pitched, turned around and threw to second, and Clark beat the throw.  Great jump.

Michael 

Peter Welch

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Jul 12, 2025, 8:47:47 PM7/12/25
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Briceno was 1-3 with a triple.
McGonigle was 0-2.

Peter
Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2025 4:22 PM
To: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Minor Leagues
 
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