Detroit Tigers Minor League Preview

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.