Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Week 4

Erie SeaWolves

A 1-6 week from Erie has dropped their record to 8-17. The SeaWolves struggles have seen them fall into the basement of the Eastern League’s Western Division.

Spencer Turnbull posted his longest outing of the season this week, allowing three runs over six innings. The former Detroit Tigers second round pick also struck out eight without allowing a walk.

For the season, Turnbull has struck out twice as many as he’s walked, and has yet to allow a home run. He’s also been generating a ton of ground balls, picking up nearly twice as many outs from grounders as balls hit in the air. Those numbers would suggest an ERA better than the 6.00 mark he owns through five starts.

The reason for the elevated ERA could partially be bad luck. Per his FanGraphs page, Turnbull has allowed a .389 BABIP, which is well above average.

Additionally, Turnbull has stranded runners at a rate of 61 percent, which is roughly 10 percent below the major league average. Both of these numbers suggest a pitcher who has been more effective than his ERA suggests.

There are no guarantees, but if he keeps up a solid strikeout-to-walk ratio and continues to generate lots of ground balls, his overall numbers should start to improve. That improvement is just what Turnbull needs, in what is a potential make-or-break year for the right-hander.

The Offense

Kody Eaves returned from the disabled list to make his 2018 debut last week with Toledo. After a 1-for-10 start with the Mud Hens, Eaves was transferred to Erie.

A candidate to make his MLB debut with the Detroit Tigers sometime this year, Eaves went 0-for-5 in his first game with the SeaWolves. He followed that up by homering in back-to-back games, but has produced little else at the plate. Hopefully Eaves can settle in soon, and do enough to earn a promotion back to Toledo.

In the report’s first few weeks, we touched on the slow start at the plate for star defensive catcher Jake Rogers. Rogers managed a three-hit game this week, but they were the only three hits he had.

More concerning than his .190 average, is the lack of power he’s shown. All 12 of Rogers’ hits have been singles, meaning his slugging percentage is identical to his batting average. Not exactly what you’re looking for, even from a defense-first player.