Detroit Tigers: Four under-the-radar prospects to keep an eye on

The Detroit Tigers are beefing up their farm system with an eye toward the future. While the big name prospects get all the attention, here are four under-the-radar players who could make an impact in the Motor City.

The Detroit Tigers are in rebuilding mode, and with that comes a flurry of new prospects for Tiger fans to follow. While Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron, Isaac Paredes and Alex Faedo are getting most of the attention there are plenty of other, less heralded prospects in the Tigers farm system that could someday make an impact in the motor city.

The Tigers have a storied history of finding “diamonds in the rough”.

Bobby Higginson, who hit 187 home runs for the Tigers, was a 12th round pick in 1992.

Former first baseman Chris Shelton was a 33rd round pick by the Pirates whom the Tigers snagged in the Rule 5 draft. He went on to post back-to-back productive seasons from 2005-2006 before injuries derailed his career.

Flamethrower Joel Zumaya threw 209 innings of 3.05 ERA ball after being selected in the 11th round of the 2002 draft.

And lastly, Gabe Kapler was selected in the 57th round of the 1995 MLB draft. He went on to play in 1,104 games in the major leagues, including 137 with the Tigers.

It’s hard to say whether any of the following players will be big leaguers. However, they all have intriguing numbers in the minor leagues and could contribute for the Tigers, some as soon as 2018.

Without further ado, here are four prospects to pay attention to this upcoming season:

Kody Eaves

Kody Eaves was originally drafted out of high school by the Los Angeles Angels in the 16th round of the 2012 draft.

He swiped 22 bags in a half season with the Angels rookie affiliate in 2013 before getting the promotion to A-Ball in 2014. Eaves hit .268 with 10 home runs and 25 stolen bases at that level.

He spent all of 2015 at High-A, hitting .248 with 11 home runs, 21 stolen bases and 71 RBI.

After the season, the Tigers traded first baseman Jefry Marte to acquire Eaves, then ranked the No. 22 prospect in the Angels system.

At the time of the deal, General Manager Al Avila was quoted as saying:

“He’s a second baseman, but he can play second, short, third, left field,” Tigers general manager Al Avila said. “Right now he’s going to play mostly second base. He hits left-handed, can run a little bit. He’s got a good arm. He can hit a little bit. He’s got a little pop. He’s going to start in Double-A.”

Eaves indeed spent all of 2016 at Double-A. While his batting average dipped to .222, his walk-rate skyrocketed to 10.4% and he added 11 home runs and six stolen bases.

2017 was Eaves’ strongest professional season, as he slashed .272/.343/.472 with 13 home runs and nine stolen bases. He also posted a 124 wRC+, the highest mark of his career.

That earned him a call-up to Triple-A Toledo, where Eaves went 7-for-27 (.259) in eight games.

Defensively, Eaves has started 119 games at third base and 64 games at second base while in Detroit’s organization.

It’s hard to say exactly what changed Avila’s mind, but with Jeimer Candelario blocking Eaves at third base his route to the major leagues will either be as a second baseman or as a utility infielder.

However, the 25-year-old will get a shot at the utility infielder role out of camp. Expect him to start the season out at Triple-A Toledo, but Eaves could make his big league debut in 2018.

Paul Voelker

The Tigers drafted Voelker in the tenth round of the 2014 draft out of baseball powerhouse Dallas Baptist. Voelker immediately made an impact, tossing 27 innings between rookie ball and short-season that summer and striking out 31.

2015 saw Voelker climb from A-Ball to High-A to Double-A. He threw 55.1 total innings and

We are looking at a guy who has similar size, velocity and offerings as former Tiger Al Alburquerque.

carved hitters up, striking out 63 and only walking 20.

His ERA at each level was 2.25, 1.64 and 2.60.

Voelker saw an uptick in his ERA across a full season at Double-A in 2016, but his strikeout numbers remained elite. In fact, the right-hander struck out 79 in just 54 innings of work. He acted as the closer, locking down 13 saves despite the 4.17 ERA (2.71 xFIP).

Voelker got his first taste of Triple-A in 2017. Although he only tossed three innings in Toledo, he posted a 2.17 ERA and struck out 30 in 29 innings at Double-A Erie.

Across 172.1 career minor league innings, Voelker has struck out 217 and walked only 62.

Voelker’s high strikeout numbers and good command point to a career in a major league bullpen. While his ceiling is that of a closer, he seems more likely to land in a middle relief capacity, possibly falling into a set-up role if needed. Voelker gets his fastball up into the mid-90’s, but his slider could be his best pitch.

We are looking at a guy who has similar size, velocity and offerings as former Tiger Al Alburquerque. Voelker has posted better walk numbers than Alburquerque did in the minors, so if he can keep that control he could be a valuable piece in the Tigers bullpen for many years.

At 25 years old, Voelker has the best chance of anyone on this list of making his major league debut in 2018.

Up next we have the son of a Tiger’s great whose performance is starting to look more like his father’s:

Cam Gibson

The son of legendary Tigers outfielder Kirk Gibson, Cam Gibson was drafted by the Tigers in the fifth round out of Michigan State in 2015.

After three games in rookie ball, Gibson finished the year out in short-season A-ball, where he hit .252 with six home runs and four stolen bases.

His first full season in 2016 was ugly, which significantly hurt his prospect stock.

He spent the entire year at Single-A. Across 394 at-bats, Gibson hit .221/.302/.330 with just six home runs and 26 stolen bases. While the speed was nice, Gibson’s inability to get on base and his 24.6% strikeout rate were cause for concern.

However, Gibson quietly rebuilt a lot of his stock last season. He started out at Single-A and hit .273 with 10 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 263 at-bats. His 14.9% strikeout rate was a dramatic improvement from the season previously, and his .205 ISO was nearly 100 points higher than he had in 2015.

His strong start at Single-A earned him a promotion to High-A, where he hit .240 in 146 at-bats. However, he posted a 12.6% walk-rate and added three home runs and seven steals.

Gibson’s success last season has earned him some attention. FanGraph’s Chris Mitchell profiled Gibson as one of the most improved hitting prospects during the season last year.

With a .274/.351/.496 batting line, Gibson seems to be growing into a speedy center fielder who can both hit and hit for power. Those can be quite valuable.

At 23 years old, Gibson is still a few years away from being MLB ready. However, his hitting has continued to improve at each level and it may not be long before another member of the Gibson family is wearing the Old English D.

Finally, we have a pitcher who posted some jaw-dropping numbers in West Michigan last year: