Detroit Tigers future success will be built on starting rotation

Alex Faedo, Beau Burrows and Kyle Funkhouser

After years of giving up first-round picks to sign players like Victor Martinez, Jose Valverde and Prince Fielder, the Detroit Tigers are slowly starting to reap the benefits of keeping the team’s first-round picks.

After taking Manning in the top 10 of the 2016 draft, Detroit snagged another elite pitching prospect with the 18^th-overall pick in 2017.

That would be Alex Faedo. Armed with a fastball, a changeup and a slider, the latter pitch should help miss plenty of bats upon reaching the Majors.

Like Perez, Beau Burrows made it to Double-A this season.

Like Perez, he’s likely to make it to the Majors before Manning, Faedo and others.

Also like many arms in Detroit’s minor league system, Burrows throws hard. He struggled somewhat in his Double-A, but still turned in a 3.41 FIP and 8.84 strikeouts per nine innings in 76.1 innings against competition that is on average 4.3 years older than him.

Detroit’s starting pitching prospects don’t stop there, though.

Kyle Funkhouser may not be a rotation headliner in the future like Perez or Manning, but he could be a strong second or third starter.

In 62.2 minor league innings in an injury-shortened, 2017 season, Funkhouser held batters to .230 average while striking out 83 hitters. He also allowed just 19 walks in a promising sophomore campaign.