Detroit Tigers Farmhands Await Rule 5 Draft Fate

Brendan Wise is a native or Perth, Australia and came to the Tigers by way of their 8th round selection of the 2005 draft. He was a solid reliever for both Erie and Toledo this past season and finished 6-2 with a 1.87 ERA between the two teams. Wise’s strikeout rate fell from six per nine innings to four after his promotion but he made up for it by issuing just two walks per nine compared to four.

Andy Bouchie spent the 2009 season in independent baseball before having his contract purchased by the Tigers last December. He was originally drafted out of Oral Roberts by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 7th round in 2006 but found himself the odd-man out due to organizational depth at catcher. Bouchie made his way from Lakeland to Erie to Toledo this past season but was a light hitter all the way up. He finished with a season total of 10 home runs, 33 RBI and a .189 batting average.

Max St. Pierre was the feel good story of the Tigers organization in 2010. He finally made his major league debut on September 4 after playing minor league ball since 1997. Max is a career .251 hitter in the minor leagues but is a quality individual to have in the organization for his display of perserverence. He won’t be selected in the rule 5 draft and should start next season in Toledo and could be the guy the Tigers look to if Alex Avila or Victor Martinez need to hit the DL.

Michael Bertram is a corner infielder that the Tigers took in the 39th round in 2006. Most of his minor league appearances have come at first base but he has seen a fair amount of action at third base with the occasional appearance in left field. Betram is your run of the mill minor leaguer that doesn’t have great power or hit for a great average.

Justin Henry has spent most of his time as a second baseman but saw game action at every position except for pitcher and catcher last season. 2010 was Henry’s first season above A-ball, although he did manage to move up from Erie to Toledo by season’s end.  He is the athletic type with stolen base potential and was the Tigers’ ninth round selection out of Mississippi in 2007.

Maxwell Leon, a native of Mexico City, was selected by the Tigers in the 50th round of the 2004 draft. His 2010 season consisted of 89 appearances for the Toledo Mud Hens, partly as a utility man and partly as a designated hitter. Unfortunately, he is a little light on the hitter part as shown in his .238 batting average and a strikeout to walk ratio on the wrong side of 2-to-1. Leon is currently playing winter ball in Mexico and having a little more success.

Cesar Nicolas came to the Tigers after they signed him out of independent baseball in June 2009. The stats say that he only played for Erie in 2010. While that is true, he was actually promoted to Toledo but was suspended one day later for testing positive for amphetamines. Nicolas was a .279 hitter for Erie while playing some first and third base.

Shawn Roof mostly split his time at second, short and third for the Erie SeWolves and Toledo Mud Hens last season. He hit a disappointing .223 at AA but rode the high of a promotion for a .354 average in his 79 AAA at-bats. As a 33rd round draft pick Roof has never been considered a major prospect. He has a career average of .251 in the minor leagues with very little power.

Christopher White is an outfielder that came to the Tigers organization by way of the 2007 draft’s 12th round. This past season was his fourth of professional baseball yet he started it with the Lakeland Flying Tigers. He did manage to make stops at Erie and Toledo before the season ended although that isn’t necessarily attributed to his play. White is a rather light hitting small outfielder that has can swipe some bases but isn’t a defensive wiz.

Brooks Brown came to the organization through the Arizona Diamondbacks after they had selected James Skelton from the Tigers in the 2009 rule 5 draft and opted to complete a trade rather than return him to Detroit. Arizona used a supplemental first round pick in 2006 to select Brown from the University of Georgia. Scouting reports suggest that his pitching arsenal is no longer as good as it was in college and that his future is limited to relief duty. That may be the case but he still made 18 starts for Erie last season. He finished 12-9 with a 4.15 ERA and 1.24 WHIP.

Ramon Garcia spent his early years in the minors as a starter but made just eight starts in his 38 appearances between Lakeland, Erie and Toledo in 2010. He gave up more than one hit per inning but didn’t lose many hitters to walks, just 18 to be exact while striking out 65. Garcia spent all of 2009 in Erie and made progress in 2010.

Deik Scram may have a great name but his prospect potential is limited. He finished with some good batting averages in the lower levels of the minor leagues but he hasn’t been able to find the same level of success as he rises up the ranks. Scram got some playing time with Toledo in 2010 but it appears that his career has plateaued at the AA level. He has a decent glove in the outfield but may never get the chance to show it at the major league level.

Brent Wyatt spent most of last season in Lakeland but did play in 16 games with Erie. He has played mostly as an outfielder but has the ability to play some middle infield as well. He has the ability to steal some bases but only hits in the mid-.250s while striking out more than he walks.

Kyle Peter was drafted four different times, including three times by the Tigers. The Red Sox were the first to call Peter’s name with their 42nd round pick in 2004. The Tigers then drafted him in three consecutive years with a 40th round pick in 2005, a 49th round pick in 2006 and then a 34th round pick in 2007. His offensive numbers don’t indicate that the Tigers are being rewarded for their persistence but Peter did steal 42 basis for the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2008. He has not hit a home run in his 759 career at-bats and has a .262 career batting average.

Wilfredo Ramirez became a professional baseball player after the Cleveland Indians signed him out of Venezuela in the fall of 2005. He played for the Tigers’ Venezuelan summer league team in 2009 and the Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2010. He made three starts this past year but saw most of his game action as a reliever and finished with a 4.94 ERA. Ramirez did put up an impressive 37 strikeouts compared to just 5 walks.

Check back Wednesday for a review of the players more likely to be selected in the 2010 rule 5 draft.