Prospect Profiles #40-#36

As James mentioned, all of our prospect lists are going to be followed by myself doing mini-scouting reports on all of the prospects on the list. Most of these scouting reports are compiled from various sources of information including; scouting reports, sources around baseball, first-hand reports, statistical data, and most importantly James and myself actually seeing a majority of the players. I feel by incorporating all of these things together, we can give you some of the most accurate Tigers prospect information out there.

I am by no means a professional scout, but will say I have been following Tigers prospects, and prospects in general for over 10 years now, and have picked up enough information along the way to have an informed opinion.

Anyway, myself and James hope you all enjoy the series and the information……..

#40 Tommy Collier-

Collier is a right-handed starting pitcher that I considered to be one of the more interesting selections in the 2011 draft. Lasting until the 22nd round in large part because of recovery from Tommy John surgery, Collier possesses a solid 3 pitch mix. With a fastball, slider, and change up combo, Collier projects nicely to the back of the rotation. None of his repertoire is considered plus, however, all project out to be average to above average. His fastball sits in the 89-92 range, and while that isn’t outstanding, Collier throws it with good movement and sink, helping the pitch play up a little bit. He also throws a slider in the low to mid 80’s that features good sharp break at times, and has been a plus pitch for him in the past. Some believe that as he continues to develop confidence in his surgically repaired elbow, Collier will consistently throw an above average slider that has swing and miss potential. Collier also throws a change up that has a chance to be good as well. He throws it with good arm speed and has some arm-side fade to it as well.

All in all, Collier offers an intriguing combination of stuff and room for development. He should start in West Michigan this year.

#39 Josue Carreno–

Carreno is the 2nd right handed pitcher on this list today, ranking him slightly ahead of Collier who probably has a little bit more polish in the present than Carreno. Carreno however offers a little bit more in terms of ceiling, and has the potential for a mid-rotation workhorse if everything goes well with him. Carreno has a strong pitchers frame, with a little more room for projection at just 20 years old. His fastball sits in the low 90’s most nights, and couples that with a curve ball and change up that are still developing. Carreno has improved his control and ability to throw strikes already, and has developed his curve enough to get some swings and misses at this point. His curve can run flat at times, however, it is becoming a solid offering that he can get over the plate when he needs to. His change is still developing, but he has the arm speed needed to be able to at least have it as a usable pitch down the road. Carreno has flashed real good ability, but needs to work on consistency from start to start. If he continues to develop command of his fastball and curve, and gets another mph or two on his fastball, Carreno could potentially reach the mid-rotation ceiling.

#38 Jose Ortega–

Ortega is another in the long line of Tigers reliever who are a little bit short in stature, but still have a big arm. Like fellow Venezuelans Lester Oliveros and Brayan Villareal, Ortega has a potential plus fastball that lacks command all too often. His fastball has gotten as high as 98 at times, but sits in the mid 90’s on most nights. He throws his pitches with some effort, and he has trouble repeating his delivery at times, making his command waver from night to night. When it’s on though, Ortega has set-up man potential. He couples that blazing fastball with a slider that also has plus potential. When Ortega stays on top of it, it has good sharp break that is late, and has some depth to it as well. It is a true swing and miss offering, however, like his fastball, he struggles with consistently throwing the pitch where he wants to. Ortega struggled mightily last season in AAA, and with the volatility of relievers in general, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a bounce back coming this season. If Ortega learns to be more consistent in his delivery to command his pitches on a regular basis, he is an 8th inning type pitcher at least, with some potential to close. Then again, he could just as easily be on the scrap pile that is littered with guys who are throwers and not pitchers.

#37 Tyler Stohr

Tyler is kind of a what you see is what you get kind of pitcher. He comes at hitters with all he has on every pitch. Stohr’s mentality and approach lend itself to a back of the bullpen pitcher, even if he doesn’t have a high 90’s fastball.
His fastball sits low 90’s, rarely touching the mid 90’s. The pitch doesn’t have a lot of movement on it, but when it is down in the zone it has a little arm-side run, and has more life on it than when it is up in the zone. He has shown an ability at times to command the pitch to both sides of the plate, though he does go through bouts of wildness. His delivery tends to be a little violent, lending to his inconsistency with his command.

Stohr’s second pitch is the slider. When I have seen him, this pitch flashes as plus at times, and in the end is a potential  above average offering. His slider has good two plane break, and can get down and in on left handed hitters when he needs a swing and a miss. Stohr has also shown the ability to throw the pitch for strikes as well, essential to his success moving forward.

Like many relievers, Stohr has had consistency issues. If he can take care of those and be more consistent with his delivery and command, he has potential to be a late inning reliever because of his aforementioned approach. He will likely wear a big league uniform at some point, however, I am not confident in predicting he sticks. The Tigers felt Stohr has enough potential that they protected him from the Rule 5 draft and put him on the 40 man roster.

#36 Brandon Loy

Often times, there are guys that you don’t want to rank, but you have to. Brandon Loy legitimately fits into that category for me personally. Loy is what you call a guy that is low ceiling, but high floor. Meaning he isn’t likely to ever become an All Star type player, but should wear a big league uniform for multiple years. His offensive profile is well…somewhat offensive. There is little power in his frame, and he doesn’t generate a lot of bat speed. He is solid runner on the base paths, but doesn’t possess speed enough to leg out infield hits or steal bases. His plate discipline is solid, however he doesn’t walk as much as people would really like. He also tends to get too pull happy, which isn’t good for a guy that doesn’t hit home runs.

Now, the good part. Defensively, Loy is about as good as they come. He possesses good footwork at SS, has real good hands, and a strong throwing arm. Loy makes all the plays at SS consistently and with little effort. He rarely will make mistakes, and could potentially make his living at the defensive end alone.

This isn’t an exciting profile here folks, and I am going to make a comparison here that will make folks cringe, but Loy’s profile is similar to that of ex-Tiger Adam Everett.