Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Week 5

Lakeland Flying Tigers

Lakeland posted a 2-4 week to drop to 14-19 on the year. Despite being five games under .500, the Flying Tigers are still in third place in the Florida State League North Division.

Starting Staff Update

Alex Faedo is still in search of his first pro win despite another solid outing. Last year’s first rounder yielded a run on five hits in five and two-thirds on Saturday, lowering his ERA to 2.34.

Looking at the .217 BABIP he’s allowed, you may fear regression is coming for Faedo. However, his batted ball profile may suggest otherwise. Like we discussed with Burrows, Faedo is getting a lot of fly balls, as nearly half of the balls put in play against him are in the air.

More than half of those are infield fly balls. That suggests lots of very weak contact is being made, as hitters pop-up into easy outs. Weak contact and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.5:1 should keep Faedo’s numbers from regressing too much.

A starter we have not yet touched on in this space is Tom de Blok. de Blok grew up in Amsterdam, and pitched for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic last year. Shortly after the tournament, the Detroit Tigers signed him.

The right-hander spent most of last season with West Michigan. Splitting his time between the rotation and the bullpen, he posted a 2.87 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 5.5:1.

His first few starts this year were a disaster, but de Blok has started to right the ship. In de Blok’s last three outings, he has gone at least five innings, allowed one run, and given up four or fewer hits. His ERA still sits at 6.11, but it’s a lot better than the 12.34 mark he had after three starts.

The Offense

Chad Sedio has been one of the top hitters in the Detroit Tigers system this year. A 27th round pick in 2016, Sedio has a hit in 25 of the 29 games he’s played in.

This past week, he added three more multi-hit efforts, including a pair of three-knock games. His .306 average is the highest in the organization among those who have enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title.

2017 Midwest League All-Star Danny Woodrow joined Lakeland this week after starting his season on the disabled list. Woodrow hit .271 and stole 31 bags for West Michigan last year, giving the Flying Tigers more speed with Derek Hill currently on the DL.

Woodrow had a pair of hits in his 2018 debut on Monday, and added three more last night to get off to a 6-for-17 (.353) start at the dish. He’s also already stolen three bases in four tries in his four games.