Detroit Tigers: Three More Breakout Candidates for the 2017 Season

Joe Jimenez
Age: 22
Position: Relief Pitcher

Similar to JaCoby Jones, Joe Jimenez could break out next season due to his upside and position.

Like Jones, Jimenez is one of Detroit’s promising prospects. Also like Jones, the reliever can contribute at a position of need for the Tigers.

Francisco Rodriguez will obviously still close games, with Rondon, Justin Wilson and Shane Greene serving as setup men.

However, another late-inning arm would greatly help the team.

That could be Jimenez, who would provide a different look than the likes of Alex Wilson, Blaine Hardy and Kyle Ryan thanks to his velocity and ability to miss bats.

The 22-year-old dominated in the Majors last season. Making the jump from Advanced-A Lakeland to Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo, Jimenez turned in a stellar 1.51 ERA.

To go along with that, he also punched out 13.1 batters per nine frames.

In addition to racking up strike outs and keeping runners off the board, Jimenez also limited mistakes where base runners were concerned.

Over the span of 53.2 minor league frames in 2016, the reliever posted a solid 0.801 WHIP. He also surrendered just 0.2 home runs per nine innings.

It remains to be seen if Jimenez will break camp with the Tigers. However, even if he begins the season in Triple-A, he can still make an impact for the team later in the season.