Detroit Tigers announce prospects added to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 draft

Detroit Tigers fans now know which prospects have been added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft, according to a tweet from the team’s official Public Relations Twitter account.

Detroit Tigers prospects Grayson Greiner, Mike Gerber, Gregory Soto, Gerson Moreno, Spencer Turnbull, Eduardo Jimenez and Sergio Alcantara have all been added to the team’s 40-man roster.

The Tigers announced the move in a tweet on the team’s official Public Relations Twitter account.

Greiner, a catcher, and Gerber, an outfielder, seems like the most likely to make it to the Majors and make an impact in Detroit next season.

The former essentially replaces Bryan Holaday as the franchise’s third catcher.

In 388 plate appearances for Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo last season, the 25-year-old swatted 21 doubles and 14 home runs to go along with 44 RBI and 34 runs scored.

If the Tigers are forced to rely on James McCann’s primary backup, John Hicks, at another position like first base or designated hitter, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Greiner deputize.

At the very least, he seems a lock to receive a call up in September when rosters expand as a third catcher, if not sooner should McCann or Hicks go on the disabled list.

Mike Gerber

Meanwhile, Gerber’s path to Major League playing time is a bit clearer.

While he’s only played four games at the Triple-A level, Gerber had a strong campaign in 2017, notching an .869 OPS, 69 runs scored, 50 RBI, 26 doubles, 14 home runs, 10 stolen bases and three triples.

Capable of playing all three outfield spots, Gerber could provide an offensive compliment to JaCoby Jones in center field.

The former 15^th-round pick could also fill in as a right fielder if Nicholas Castellanos moves to a different position full time.

Gerson Moreno

Of the rest of the prospects, the next closest to the Majors is Moreno, who reached Double-A as a 22-year-old in 2017.

It was very much a tale of two seasons for the hard throwing right hander.

Moreno struck out 30 compared to just 19 hits, eight walks, five earned runs and a home run allowed in 22.1 innings for Advanced-A Lakeland, where the competition was on average 2.1 year solder than him.

The hard-throwing reliever then allowed 23 hits, 20 runs, 17 walks and four home runs in 28 frames for Erie against competition that was on average 3.3 years older than him.

That being said, he continued to miss bats with 36 strikeouts in a SeaWolves uniform.