Bryce Rainer

[Peter Welch]

The Tigers' top SS prospect Bryce Rainer seems to be finding his swing at West Michigan after a slow start.

Rainer had 3 hits tonight including his 6^th homer in West Michigan's 16-0 win vs. Lansing.

He is now hitting .260/.358/.455 in 154 AB and is hitting .310/.400/.667 in June in 42 AB.

Earlier this season Rainer's strikeout rate was over 50%, but it's now 35% overall, which is still high but is trending lower.

Peter

[Michael W]

Rainer still looks like a good prospect, and seems to be developing.  He’s got a ways to go yet.

Michael 

[Peter Welch]

Rainer is now hitting .276/.383/.459 (.842 OPS) for high-A West Michigan.   His walk rate is up to 14%.  Strikeout rate is at 34% but it was nearly 50% a few weeks ago.

He's still our top prospect (unless you want to argue Cris Rodriguez is our top prospect).  Rainer is probably 2-3 years away unless he makes a big jump in development next year.

Last year's #1 pick, 19-year-old SS Jordan Yost (yes, another lefty hitter) is hitting .252/.382/.353 for Lakeland.  Good OBA and walk rate (12.9%).  Strikeout rate of 14.1%.  Not bad for a 19-year-old in A-ball.  Yost is supposedly very good defensively.

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael W <miw...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 8:30 PM
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Subject: Re: Bryce Rainer

 

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[Michael W]

You don’t think Max Clark is our best prospect?

Michael 

[Peter Welch]

Ok, you could say Clark is, but I like Rainer's potential over Clark.  Rainer has way more power potential than Clark.

Peter

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Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2026 8:37 PM

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[Michael W]

Their age 20 iso power is almost identical, and Clark was a level higher.

I like Rainer too, but he hasn’t proved as much to me as Clark.

Michael 

[Peter Welch]

Rainer has hit some prodigious home runs and reportedly has elite bat speed.  I think he's got more home run potential than Clark.  We'll see.

I think Clark will turn out to be a decent player, but I don't think he's the next Pete Crow-Armstrong, but I hope I'm wrong.

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael W <miw...@gmail.com>

Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2026 9:18 PM
To: Detroit Tigers e-mail list <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Bryce Rainer

 

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[Peter Welch]

Speaking of Bryce Rainer and prodigious homers, he crushed a ball estimated 450+ feet to RF for a 3-run homer in West Michigan's 8-1 win at Dayton.

https://x.com/tigersMLreport/status/2071009991272571065

Rainer also walked twice and didn't strike out in the game.

He's been absolutely on fire this month.

Peter

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Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2026 9:53 PM

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[Peter Welch]

Rainer hit another homer (his 8th) today for West Michigan.  His OPS is now .883.

Peter

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From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>

Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2026 9:21 PM

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[Michael W]

Interesting stat I came across.  Among all Tiger minor leaguers with at least 40 PA this year (and there are 91 such players), Max Clark has the lowest percentage of swinging strikes.  Clark only swung and missed at 5.1% of pitches.  

I don't know what that means; #2 on that list was Wenceel Perez.  But I thought it was interesting.

Michael