Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Week 4

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 season is roughly one month old for the Detroit Tigers affiliates. Whose stock is on the rise, and who is ready to forget a tough month? It’s week four of the Detroit Tigers Minor League Report.

Toledo Mud Hens

After a 3-4 week, the Mud Hens continue to lead the International League West Division. Their 16-9 mark is also good for the best record in the entire 14-team International League.

Last week, we touched on Blaine Hardy and his dominance so far in 2018 as a starter. The lefty kept on rolling in his most recent outing, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings, while fanning 10.

The 10 strikeouts were a career-high for Hardy, who now has struck out 30 in 24.1 innings (11.1 K/9). His last two starts earned him the International League Pitcher of the Week Award for the week of April 23-29. Hardy is the first member of the Detroit Tigers organization to win a Pitcher/Player of the Week Award in 2018.

As Andy Patton argued earlier this week, Hardy deserves another chance to help a mediocre Tigers bullpen. There is still an open spot on the 40-man roster, meaning Hardy could be added without the need for a corresponding move. His combination of domination this season and past major league success should make this move a no-brainer.

Former First Rounder Shining

Another pitcher who has come out of the gates strong is righty Kevin Comer. A former first round pick of the Blue Jays, Comer was the final piece of a 10-player trade between Toronto and Houston in 2012.

Comer had been with the Astros ever since, until signing as a minor league free agent with Detroit this offseason. In nine appearances for the Mud Hens, Comer has posted a 1.98 ERA, .180 opponents’ batting average, and 10.5 K/9.

The last few weeks he’s been especially hot, having gone six straight outings without allowing a run. During this six-outing stretch, Comer has pitched nine innings, yielded four hits, and struck out 15.

Hot Hens Bats

Last week, we noted Christin Stewart had a four-hit game, hoping it was a sign he was heating up. It now appears that’s exactly what it was, as Stewart is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak.

During the streak, Stewart is 15-for-30 (.500) with four doubles, a triple, three homers and 10 RBIs. His average now sits at .306, once again showing the potential to be a key piece of the Detroit Tigers offensive future.

Joining Stewart with great weeks at the plate were Chad Huffman and Jim Aducci. Huffman has hit safely in 14 of 16 games, and is now hitting .345 for the year, which is tops in the organization.

Aducci boasts an 11-game hitting streak, and has been a big run-producer for Toledo. Through 21 games, Aducci has driven in an International League-leading 19 runs to go with his .309 average.

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.

Lakeland Flying Tigers

The Flying Tigers went 3-3 for the week, bringing their season mark to 12-15. They are currently five games out of first place in the Florida State League North Division.

Each week, we’ve been chronicling the starts of last year’s Detroit Tigers first round pick, Alex Faedo. Faedo was solid again this week, although he did have his first bit of trouble with walks.

Faedo walked three, having walked just one total in his first four outings. There doesn’t seem to be much cause for concern however, as the righty still threw more than two-thirds of his 94 pitches for strikes.

He also surrendered just three hits and one earned run over six innings, while striking out four. Through five starts, Faedo now owns a 2.48 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and .175 opponents’ batting average.

Blaine Hardy wasn’t the only Detroit Tigers farmhand to record double-digit strikeouts in the last week. Lefty Austin Sodders struck out 10 in five innings on Tuesday against Clearwater (Philadelphia).

Sodders was a seventh round pick of the Tigers in 2016 out of UC Riverside. The southpaw entered 2018 with a 1.92 ERA over the course of his first two minor league seasons. It’s been an up-and-down start to the campaign for Sodders, but a 10-strikeout performance shows he’s more than capable of making some noise in the system.

The Offense

After a little bit of a slow start, Daz Cameron’s bat has started to heat up. Cameron has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games, raising his average to .283. Cameron has also shown a good power stroke with eight doubles thus far, one shy of the Florida State League lead.

When the Detroit Tigers acquired the toolsy outfielder, they knew what they were getting in terms of defense and speed. It’s good to see the improvement in power he showed last year has stuck around, too.