Detroit Tigers Top Prospect #6: Mike Gerber

Motor City’ Bengals’ countdown of the top prospects in the Detroit Tigers minor league system continues with outfielder Mike Gerber.

#20 Artie Lewicki             #19 Drew Smith                   #18 Austin Kubitza            #17 Josh Turley                       #16 Montreal Robertson           #15 Jairo Labourt                               #14 Steven Moya                   #13 Adam Ravenelle                #12 Wynton Bernard                   #11 Paul Voelker                   #10 Dixon Machado                       #9 Kevin Ziomek                  #8 Christian Stewart              #7 Spencer Turnbull                                       

Since joining the Detroit Tigers organization, all outfielder Mike Gerber has done is produce.

The former 15^th-round pick was drafted by Detroit in the 15^th round of the 2014 MLB draft. Gerber is a left-handed batter and operates predominantly as a right fielder.

He has yet to make his Major League debut, but MLB.com estimates that the 23-year-old will arrive in the Majors in 2018.

Stats So Far

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Gerber has only played two minor league seasons, but he’s excelled in both. The outfielder debited in 2014, playing in 65 games for two Single-A teams. During those 65 games, he hit .298 with a .367 on-base percentage and a .492 slugging percentage. The Creighton product stuffed the stat sheet with 19 doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 42 RBI and nine stolen bases. His OPS was .859, and he crossed home plate 44 different times.

Following that success, the prospect took part in his first full season of professional ball in 2015. With Single-A West Michigan, Gerber again excelled in a number of statistical areas. He upped his batting average to .292, while posting a .355 on-base percentage, a .468 slugging percentage and a .822 OPS.

In the 135 games that he played, Gerber scored 74 runs. In addition to that, he continued to show solid power, collecting 31 doubles, 10 triples and 13 home runs. All told, he drove in 76 runs to go along with an additional 16 stolen bases.

His play earned him a trip to the Arizona Fall League in 2015, where he continued to rake with a .280 batting average, .371 on-base percentage, .440 slugging percentage and an .811 OPS. He drove in 14 runs in 20 games, stole four bases and smacked five doubles. What’s more, he also added two triples, a home run and 14 runs scored.

Skillset

As evidenced by his numbers so far, Gerber seems likely to hit for average as he moves through the system. His ability to collect extra-base hits (54 in 2015) suggests that power will continue to be part of Gerber’s game.

The prospect also shows the ability to draw a healthy number of walks. In 200 minor-league games, Gerber has 78 walks. He collected 11 free passes in 20 Arizona Fall League games.

Next: Tigers One Reliever Away from an Elite Bullpen

Future Role

With J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton potentially playing the outfield corners for the better part of the next decade, Gerber’s future role isn’t set in stone. However, if he continues to produce and the pace he has been, the player will create a role for himself.

In the future, Mike Gerber could easily form a three-man rotation with Martinez and Upton. The three could rotate between left field, right field and designated hitter.