Detroit Tigers Prospect Report: Jose King

The Detroit Tigers are in rebuilding mode. “Future Friday” is a segment where we examine the bevy of prospects in Detroit and their future impact in the Motor City.

The Detroit Tigers sold off a lot of veteran talent over the past year in exchange for prospects.

While it can be hard for fans to see all-stars like J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton and Alex Avila dealt, not to mention franchise icon Justin Verlander, the return can be an exciting batch of prospects who will become the next stars in Detroit.

‘Future Fridays,’ is a new weekly column where we pick a prospect and delve into their expected impact on the team. We want to help Tiger fans identify the newest wave of prospects as they move into rebuilding mode.

So far, we have analyzed all the prospects acquired in the Justin Verlander, Justin Upton and Justin Wilson/Alex Avila trades.

We talked about the prize of the J.D. Martinez deal, infielder Dawel Lugo, last month. However, the Tigers also acquired two other infielders in that deal, Sergio Alcantara and the subject of today’s Future Friday post, infielder Jose King.

The King of Speed

Forgive the punny headline, but as you might have guessed Jose King’s calling card is his speed. King’s first taste of pro ball was as a 17-year-old in the Dominican Summer League. He slashed .350/.402/.413 with 21 stolen bases in 61 games.

His bat took a step backward in 2017. He hit .261 with a whopping 39.2% strikeout rate in 13 games for the Diamondbacks rookie affiliate. He fared much better in Detroit’s rookie league, hitting .321 with eight stolen bases and a 110 wRC+ in 28 games after the trade.

King’s youth and limited exposure to professional pitching make him a relative unknown at this point. He possesses what Mark Anderson of Baseball Prospectus calls ‘Plus-Plus speed’ but his glove and bat are both underdeveloped. More from Anderson:

He’s a premium athlete who has physical projection remaining, and aside from the general athleticism the profile is highlighted by plus-plus speed that plays well in the field and on the bases. King has some feel for the barrel and a chance to develop a contact-oriented bat with limited power. He fits better at second base due to a fringe arm, but he could be an above-average glove at the position.

While MLB Pipeline does not have King among their top-30 prospects, he is ranked #30 at Prospects1500 and #28 by Bless You Boys.

Expect King to start 2018 with short-season Connecticut, with a move to Grand Rapids a possibility for the 19-year-old. He is still a ways away from even making it to Double-A, and has years before he makes his big league debut.

Next: Tigers Prospects entering make-or-break seasons

The return for J.D. Martinez was not a popular one at the time of the trade. The Tigers hope that one of Lugo, Alcantara and King become a big league starter. King is the furthest away, but may have the best odds of reaching that potential.