Detroit Tigers: Three players who should not be traded this offseason

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TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 9: James McCann #34 of the Detroit Tigers holds on to the ball after tagging out Kendrys Morales #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays at home plate in the seventh inning during MLB game action at Rogers Centre on September 9, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

James McCann

As it stands, there are a probably a handful of other young players who might be more valuable to the Tigers like Shane Greene or Mikie Mahtook, but Detroit should hang on to James McCann for the time being.

It would be a different story if Jake Rogers was closer to the Majors. However, the younger backstop prospect just wrapped up the 2017 season at the Advanced-A level in the minors.

Until Rogers is ready, the catcher’s position is McCann’s to lose.

Detroit’s starter had a bit of a down year from a defensive metrics standpoint, seeing his DRS dip from +9 to -4 and his rSB plummet from +7 to 0.

While he wasn’t the same from a statistical standpoint defensively, McCann took some significant strides forward at the plate.

Offensive improvements

After logging 373 plate appearances in 2016, McCann notched 391 this past season.

In those 391 plate appearances, he cut his strikeout percentage from 29.2 to 22.8 while upping his walk rate a smidgen from 6.2 to 6.6.

He also set a career high with a .162 ISO (up from .162), a 94 wRC+ (up from 66) and a .316 wOBA (up from .273).

McCann still struggles with pitch framing, as his -30.2 runs above average was, according to StatCorner, the worst rate in the league among backstops.

However, if he can continue to take steps forward at the plate and regain his form defensively, he’ll give Detroit above-average production at a premium positon.

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