Detroit Tigers: Prospects recently added to 40-man roster most likely to make 2018 Opening Day unit

Very unlikely

First, let’s remove from this discussion the unlikely players to make the jump to Detroit next spring.

Leading the way is Alcantara.

A glove-first shortstop, Alcantara’s future value is most likely going to come from his defensive work.

While he did hit .266 with a .334 on-base percentage at stops with Advanced-A Visalia in the Arizona system and Detroit’s Advanced-A affiliate in Lakeland—where the competition was, respectively, on average 2.6 and 2.7 years older than him— Alcantara is still a few years out from reaching the Majors.

There’s also Soto and Jimenez.

Both had strong seasons in 2017, with Soto pitching to a 2.25 ERA, 144 strikeouts and a 1.306 WHIP in 124 innings spanning 23 starts.

Those starts came split between Single-A West Michigan and Lakeland.

Jimenez also played for West Michigan and Lakeland. However, unlike Soto, Jimenez pitched in relief.

The right-hander worked to a 2.13 ERA, a 1.125 WHIP and 60 strikeouts compared to just 15 walks and 12 earned runs allowed.

As a reliever, he could very well shoot through Detroit’s minor league system in 2018, similar to Zac Reininger, Jairo Labourt and Bryan Garcia this past season.

If that happens, it could put the reliever in a position to debut later in the season as opposed to Opening Day.

Possibly later in the season

Speaking of relievers who could shoot through the system, we now come to Gerson Moreno.

Like a number of relief pitcher prospects who pitch in the Detroit Tigers farm system, Moreno throws hard. His fastball-slider combination will eventually help him miss bats in the Majors.

That could conceivably be sooner rather than later.

Moreno has a bit of a head start on Jimenez considering he finished the season with Double-A Erie.

At first glance, the 22-year-old’s numbers don’t exactly match up well with his dominant displays at Lakeland to begin the season.

Gerson Moreno with Advanced-A Lakeland in 2017: 22.1 innings, 2.01 ERA, 2.42 FIP, 82.7% strand rate, 1.21 WHIP and 12.09 strikeouts per nine innings.

Gerson Moreno with Double-A Erie in 2017: 28.0 innings, 6.43 ERA, 4.65 FIP, 61.5% strand rate, 1.43 WHIP and 11.07 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Double-A stats aren’t exactly easy on the eyes, but it’s encouraging to see that Moreno continued to keep his strikeout rate relativity high despite the step up in competition.

The right-hander’s xFIP also checked in at a very respectable 3.86 in a SeaWolves uniform—against competition that was on average 3.3 years older than him no less.

He also logged a career-best 52.2% ground ball rate with Erie.

If Moreno continues to make progress and start dominating in Double-A and produces similar results with Triple-A Toledo, it’s conceivable he could make the jump to Detroit.

Spencer Turnbull

Spencer Turnbull’s development has likely been hindered somewhat by injuries, but he made the jump all the way to Double-A Erie in 2017.

Similar to how Artie Lewicki jumped from Erie to Toledo and then to Detroit, it’s possible that the 25-year-old Turnbull could make it to the Majors, but at this point, Moreno seems like a better bet to reach Detroit.

Most likely

We finish up the slide show with the two most likely players to make the Detroit Tigers’ Opening Day roster in 2018.

Unsurprisingly, the duo are also the closest to the Majors.

Both Grayson Greiner and Mike Gerber could fill positions of need for the Tigers right out of the gate in 2018.

Of the two, Greiner has more road blocks in terms of making the team in Spring Training.

His addition to the 40-man roster and his most recent minor league affiliate make the 25-year-old the de facto third catcher in the event that James McCann or John Hicks is injured.

However, if the Tigers shift Miguel Cabrera to designated hitter on a full-time basis, it would open up more playing time for Hicks at first base.

With Andrew Romine gone, the former fourth-round pick is now the only reserve option at first.

Should Hicks see the bulk of his time at first base, it could allow Greiner to make the team as McCann’s primary backup.

Mike Gerber

While Greiner could conceivably make the team, Mike Gerber has the clearest path to not only a roster spot, but also consistent playing time.

Outside of Gerber, the only other outfield options currently on the 40-man roster are Mikie Mahtook, Nicholas Castellanos and JaCoby Jones.

The 25-year-old only logged 18 plate appearances for Triple-A Toledo down the stretch in 2017, but enjoyed a strong season with Erie.

In 394 plate appearances, the former Creighton product hit .291 with a .363 on-base percentage, a .477 slugging percentage and a .374 wOBA.

He also added a .186 ISO and a 131 wRC+ to go along with 62 runs scored, 45 RBI, 13 home runs and 10 stolen bases.

A capable defender, Gerber could split time with Jones in center field, or take up a roll as the team’s fourth outfielder.

Next: This former top-12 pick could be worth a look for Tigers in the Rule 5 Draft

The prospect could also inherit more playing time if Nicholas Castellanos moves to another position.