Detroit Tigers: Prospects in Justin Verlander trade give team bright future

Detroit Tigers fans saw the team’s face-of-the-franchise, Justin Verlander, traded on Wednesday night. The move signals the start of a rebuild, but the team has a bright future.

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila did extremely well in the Justin Verlander trade on Wednesday night.

Trading Verlander will obviously be a tough pill to swallow for fans given what the ace has meant to the franchise and the city, but the three players acquired for the veteran give Detroit pieces to contend well into the future.

The Tigers announced the trade with the Houston Astros in a tweet on the team’s official Twitter account on Wednesday night.

Detroit tweeted the following:

“We’ve acquired Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron & Jake Rogers from the Astros in exchange for Justin Verlander & a PTBNL or cash considerations.”

The haul is one to get excited about, and it’s headlined by Perez.

Franklin Perez

Still just 19-years-old, the converted infielder already reached the Double-A level in Houston’s system this season.

That fact in itself is encouraging considering Perez’ age, however the right-hander has found plenty of success with Double-A Corpus Christi.

Playing against competition that is on average 5.1 years (!) older than him, Perez has pitched to a 3.09 ERA in 32 innings.

Perez being that advanced at only 19 is impressive enough, but the starter also mixes in four pitches.

In addition to a promising fastball that can hit the mid-90s, the right-hander throws a 12-6 curveball that could be a plus pitch, as well as well as a slider and a changeup.

All four pitches have the potential to be least above average in the Majors should Perez develop.

If he continues to develop at his current pace, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the prospect in Detroit down the stretch in 2018.

Even if he takes slightly longer to reach the Majors and begins pitching out of Detroit’s rotation in 2019, that’s a quick return for a pitcher who has the potential to be frontline starter.

All of a sudden, the Tigers’ future rotation looks even more promising when you add Perez to a mix that could also include Michael Fulmer, Matt Manning, Alex Faedo, Beau Burrows and Kyle Funkhouser.

Daz Cameron

Also joining the Detroit Tigers in the Justin Verlander trade is Daz Cameron.

An outfielder with tools, Daz is the son of former Major League outfielder Mike Cameron—a player who logged a 50.7 WAR in 17 Major League seasons.

It’s obviously unfair to compare Daz to his father—or any player to their father if he was a player in the Majors.

That being said though, Daz Cameron has a chance to make a significant impact in his own right.

Blocked in Houston long term by the likes of George Springer, Derek Fisher and Kyle Tucker, Cameron could potentially be a long-term starter in the Motor City.

Down the line, it isn’t hard to imagine Cameron slotting in alongside some combination of Christin Stewart, Mike Gerber and Derek Hill in the outfield.

As of late, Cameron has been enjoying a breakout season with Houston’s Single-A affiliate, Quad Cities.

In 511 plate appearance spread over 120 games, Cameron hit .271 with a .349 on-base percentage, a .466 slugging percentage and an .815 OPS.

He tacked on 79 runs scored, 73 RBI, 32 stolen bases, 29 doubles, 14 home runs and eight triples against competition on average 1.2 years older than him.

Cameron’s speed should allow him to cover some serious ground in the Comerica Park, making for a potentially dynamic defensive pairing with Hill.

If the former Houston famrhand’s offense continues to come together more over the years, he’ll be a regular in the Detroit Tigers lineup for the long haul.