Detroit Tigers Minor League Preview

With the Detroit Tigers expected to have another rough season, many fans will be paying closer attention to the minors to see who the franchise’s next stars will be. All season long we’ll be taking a look at what’s happening down on the farm.

With the minor league season set to begin this week, Detroit Tigers fans can get their first looks of 2018 at some of the club’s top prospects. Today we take a look at Detroit’s four full-season affiliates and what to watch for from them this year.

Toledo Mud Hens

The Toledo Mud Hens have been the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers since 1987. The Mud Hens play a 140-game slate in the 14-team International League.

Toledo shares the International League West Division with the Columbus Clippers (Cleveland), Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh), and Louisville Bats (Cincinnati).

The Mud Hens visit Louisville on Friday night in their season opener. They begin their home slate on Thursday, April 12 against the Pawtucket Red Sox at Fifth Third Field.

Coaching Staff

Former Minnesota Twin Doug Mientkiewicz takes over as the new Toledo manager for the 2018 season. Mientkiewicz joins the Tigers organization after five seasons as a manager in the Twins system.

He made four playoff appearances in five seasons and won a pair of league championships in the Minnesota organization. Mientkiewicz led the Fort Myers Miracle to the 2014 Florida State League Championship, and the Chattanooga Lookouts to the 2015 Southern League Championship.

Joining Mientkiewicz on the staff are a pair of returners in pitching coach Jeff Pico and hitting coach Brian Harper. Pico is entering his third year with Toledo and spent 2014-15 as the Cincinnati Reds pitching coach.

Harper is back for his second year with the Mud Hens. He played for 16 years in the majors and won the World Series with the Twins in 1991.

Players to Watch

Many teams use their Triple-A affiliate as more of a reserve squad for the parent club than a place for top prospects. The Tigers have placed a mix of veterans and prospects in Toledo to start the campaign.

Note: The number next to each prospect’s name indicates their rank within the Detroit Tigers organization according to MLB Pipeline.

INF Kody Eaves (30th): Kody Eaves came into 2018 with high hopes. 2017 saw him reach Triple-A for the first time, and he then tore up the Arizona Fall League, hitting .337 in 22 games.

His 2018 debut will have to wait, however, as an elbow injury will keep him on Toledo’s disabled list to start the season. Despite the injury, he’s likely to be one of many to make their Tigers debut this season.

OF Mike Gerber (11th): Mike Gerber has been a steady riser as he’s worked his way through the minors. A .291 hitter in four minor league seasons, Gerber profiles as a reserve who can play all three outfield spots. He’ll be battling with a teammate to be the first outfielder called up in 2018.

INF Dawel Lugo (12th): Dawel Lugo arrived in Detroit as a part of the trade that sent J.D. Martinez to Arizona. Lugo can play shortstop, second, or third, but is known more for his bat. He is a career .276 hitter and will be making his first appearance at Triple-A when he debuts this week.

OF Christin Stewart (10th): A former first-round pick, Christin Stewart may be the best power hitter in the system. Stewart has blasted a combined 58 homers and 53 doubles the last two years. He and Gerber will be battling to see who is called up first, but both will be up at some point.

Pitchers to Watch

RHP Grayson Long (15th): Grayson Long was acquired last summer from the Angels in the Justin Upton deal. Long made just one appearance after the trade, for Erie. The righty will be a member of the Mud Hens rotation to start the year and is expected to reach Detroit at some point this season.

Erie SeaWolves

The Erie SeaWolves have been the Detroit Tigers Double-A affiliate since 2001. Erie plays 140 games as a member of the Eastern League.

The SeaWolves are in the Western Division alongside the Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland), Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh), Bowie Baysox (Baltimore), Harrisburg Senators (Washington), and Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco).

Erie begins their season on Thursday at Reading and then returns to UPMC Park on Friday, April 13 for their home opener against Altoona.

Coaching Staff

Former Tigers draft pick Andrew Graham takes over at the helm for the SeaWolves this year. Graham was a 19th round pick in 2003 and played for five seasons in the Detroit system. The native Australian represented his country in both the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics.

Graham caught on as a coach with the Tigers in 2009 and took his first managerial assignment in 2011 with Short-Season Connecticut. After three seasons, Graham was promoted to Class A West Michigan, where he led the Whitecaps to three straight playoff appearances and the 2015 Midwest League title. Graham spent last season as the manager of High-A Lakeland.

A couple other former Tigers will join Graham in the Erie dugout this season. Willie Blair played for four seasons in Detroit in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and formed the battery with former Tigers skipper Brad Ausmus on the final Opening Day at Tigers Stadium. Blair enters his third season as the Erie pitching coach.

Mike Hessman joins the Erie staff in what will be his third season as a hitting coach in the system. During his playing career, Hessman set a minor league record with 433 home runs while spending time in the Atlanta, Detroit, New York Mets, Houston, and Cincinnati organizations. He’s spent the last two years with Connecticut and West Michigan.

Players to Watch

As per usual, Erie is loaded with a ton of the Tigers top prospects, especially on the pitching side.

C Jake Rogers (5th): Jake Rogers came over in the deal that sent Justin Verlander to the Astros. A third-round pick in 2016, Rogers had a solid season offensively last year, hitting .265 with 18 homers and 70 RBI between Class A and High-A.

However, anything he does with the bat is a bonus. MLB Pipeline rates Rogers as the best defensive catching prospect and raves:

Few doubt Rogers’ ability to make it to the big leagues on his glove work alone. He is an outstanding receiver who moves well behind the plate and works well with pitchers. His plus arm, a combination of solid arm strength with a very quick release and uncanny accuracy, continues to cut down the running game, to the tune of a 46 percent caught stealing rate in 2017.

Others in the top 30: INF Sergio Alcantara (25th), OF Troy Montgomery (26th), and OF Jake Robson (27th).

Pitchers to Watch

LHP Tyler Alexander (19th): Former second-rounder Tyler Alexander struggled for the first time in 2017. The lefty’s strikeout rate went up and walk rate stayed pretty much the same, so why did he struggle? Bad luck.

Alexander allowed a career-high .356 BABIP and had a career-low 62.8% strand rate, a recipe that led to a 5.07 ERA. A turnaround in luck should see Alexander bounce back and reach Triple-A at some point.

RHP Beau Burrows (4th): Beau Burrows reached Erie for the first time last year after dominating the Florida State League. A career 8.2 K/9 pitcher in the minors, Burrows is the closest of the system’s top starters to be ready for the big leagues.

RHP Kyle Funkhouser (6th): If Kyle Funkhouser’s first two professional seasons are any indication, he may not be far behind Burrows. Since he was drafted out of Louisville, Funkhouser has a 2.52 ERA and has struck out more than four times as many as he’s walked. Getting his first crack at Double-A is a great challenge for the righty.

RHP Franklin Perez (1st): Unfortunately for Franklin Perez, his season will start on the disabled list. Perez came over with Jake Rogers and Daz Cameron in the Justin Verlander trade last summer.

The righty has yet to throw a pitch for a Detroit Tigers affiliate but was excellent with Houston. Between High-A and Double-A last year, Perez had a 3.02 ERA with about eight strikeouts per nine innings. The rate was the lowest of his three-year minor league career, as his average was in the double-digits in both 2015 and 2016. Let’s hope the Tigers top prospect gets healthy soon.

Others in the top 30: RHP Sandy Baez (20th), LHP Matt Hall (24th) and RHP Gerson Moreno (28th).

West Michigan Whitecaps

Rounding out the Tigers full-season affiliates is the West Michigan Whitecaps. The Whitecaps have been the Detroit Tigers Class A affiliate since 1997.

West Michigan plays a 140-game season as a member of the 16-team Midwest League. Joining the Whitecaps in the Eastern Division are the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Tampa Bay), Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati), Fort Wayne Tin Caps (San Diego), Great Lakes Loons (L.A. Dodgers), Lake County Captains (Cleveland), Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto), and South Bend Cubs (Chicago Cubs).

The Whitecaps open their season on Thursday night against South Bend at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park.

Coaching Staff

Lance Parrish will manage West Michigan this season after spending the last four years with Erie. Parrish is yet another former Detroit Tiger managing in the system.

The former catcher spent his first 10 major league seasons in Detroit. Parrish represented the Tigers in six All-Star Games, and helped the team win the 1984 World Series.

Mariano Duncan joins the organization as the Whitecaps hitting coach. Duncan played 12 seasons in the majors, and has coached for the last 15 years in the Cubs and Dodgers organizations.

The pitching coach will be former Tigers minor leaguer Jorge Cordova. Cordova has been a pitching coach in the system since 2007, and this will be his second year with West Michigan.

Players to Watch

The Whitecaps don’t have many players currently listed in MLB Pipeline’s Top 30, but they have several who could break onto that list soon. West Michigan’s roster boasts seven of the Detroit Tigers top 10 picks from last June’s draft.

Among them are OF Reynaldo Rivera (second), C Joey Morgan (third), RHP Dane Myers (sixth), RHP Brad Bass (seventh), LHP Max Green (eighth), OF Luke Burch (ninth) and OF Garrett McCain (10th).

C Joey Morgan (21st): A third round pick out of Washington, Morgan hit .250 in 34 games for Connecticut last summer. Morgan was known as a glove-first backstop when he arrived in college, but boosted his profile with a big junior year. Morgan hit .324 with 45 RBI in 53 games, and was named to the All-Pac-12 Team.

OF Reynaldo Rivera (22nd): Rivera hit just .187 with Connecticut last summer in his pro debut. Looking at his college numbers, however, it’s easy to see why he was a second round pick. In two years at Chipola College in Florida, Rivera hit .418, including .438 with 20 homers last spring.

Pitcher to Watch

RHP Matt Manning (2nd): Rated 55th overall by MLB Pipeline, Matt Manning got his 2017 off to a great start. The former ninth overall pick posted a 1.89 ERA in nine starts with Connecticut to earn a promotion to West Michigan.

Manning struggled with the Whitecaps, but kept the stellar strikeout rate he’s had so far in his young career. In 80.1 pro innings, Manning has 108 strikeouts (12.1/9 IP).

A couple weeks ago, the 20-year old suffered an oblique strain. The injury will keep him back at extended spring training for the time being. He will join the Whitecaps once he’s healthy.

Next: Opening Weekend Observations

We’ll be keeping tabs on the minor leagues all season long. Make sure to check back each Friday to see how the Detroit Tigers affiliates and their top prospects are doing. It’s only a matter of time before some of these guys are taking the field at Comerica Park.