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.