Detroit Tigers: Franklin Perez Ready For The Spotlight

Here at the Corner, we round up Detroit Tigers news and rumors around the Tigers blogosphere so that you don’t spend hours surfing the web searching.

Detroit Tigers prospect Franklin Perez  is considered by some to be the top prospect in the organization. It’s a label that he’s not afraid to be given, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive.com.

Perez is braced for an ascension through the Detroit Tigers farm system, according to Chris McCoskey of the Detroit News. And he just might be the real deal, writes Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press.

From Fenech:

“He’s the real deal,” the coach says. “You just watch him play catch and you’re like, ‘Damn.’ ”

Pitchers and catchers report in just three days down in Lakeland. The start of spring training has five things to look out for, according to Fenech. One of those things is Daniel Norris, which our own Jim Kramer broke down highlights of his health and the implications of that.

There are also some spring training position battles to watch for, writes staff writer Mike Gilpatrick.

The Detroit Tigers are in need of bullpen help, and Austin Green thinks there are two free agent relievers who could help their bullpen woes. The 2018 Tigers are 200/1 favorites to win the Fall Classic. This is not surprising, but it does put them as the team with the worst odds, along with the Miami Marlins.

We also have a poll up on Twitter, what free agent do you think the Tigers should target? Let us know in the comments!

SB Nation’s Bless You Boys continues to give their top thirty prospect rankings out each day. At 25 they have LHP Matt Hall. According to BYB, his curveball is the real deal. Coming in at #24 they put OF Jake Robson. Robson had an offensively breakout season in 2017 at the Single-A and High-A levels.

Next: Position Battles To Watch In Spring Training

Robson found himself, alongside Daz Cameron, on KATOH’s list of top 100 prospects. If you don’t know what KATOH is, you can read a full guide here. In a nutshell though, its FanGraphs projection system for minor leaguers and what their WAR will be in the majors. This is of course based off their minor league statistics.