Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Week 5

West Michigan Whitecaps

The Whitecaps went 3-4 for the week, bringing their season mark to 18-15. That record has them in fourth, three games out of first place in the Midwest League Eastern Division.

Keeping with the theme of the week, we lead off with a strong start by Matt Manning. The young righty was roughed up last week, but bounced back in a big way on Wednesday.

Over the course of six scoreless innings, Manning gave up four hits, one walk, and struck out eight. As we touched on last week, walks have been a problem for Manning this year, so allowing just one is a good sign. He also continues to pile up ridiculous strikeout numbers, having fanned 26 in 15.2 innings (14.9/9).

A few weeks back, we touched on the hot starts of Eudis Idrogo and Wladimir Pinto. Idrogo has been as consistent as anyone in the Detroit Tigers organization this year. Through five starts, the southpaw has gone at least five innings in each, not allowed more than one run, and given up five or fewer hits.

On Sunday, the Venezuelan tossed six frames of one-run ball while striking out five. For the year, Idrogo owns a 0.60 ERA across 30.0 innings with a 0.97 WHIP. While his strikeout rate is less than 7.0/9, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is still strong, at nearly 3:1.

In the bullpen, Pinto continues to baffle opposing hitters. The right-hander has held opponents to three hits in 11.1 innings for an .081 average, and has yet to yield a run.

Pinto’s strikeout rate is somehow even higher than Manning’s, at 15.9 per nine innings. He is also 7-for-7 in save opportunities, and his seven saves lead the Midwest League.

The Offense

West Michigan has had a tough time generating offense all season, hitting .231 as a club. Their most notable offensive performance this week came from Zac Shepherd, who had a four-hit game on Saturday.

The four-hit effort came in the middle of three straight multi-hit games for the Australian infielder. His strong week at the plate raised his average to .254 after a slow start. Shepherd’s on-base per percentage is much more impressive. Through 22 games it sat at .425, and he had walked nearly as many times (19), as he has had struck out (20).

Detroit’s brass took notice of Shepherd’s on-base prowess, promoting him to High-A Lakeland on Thursday. He made his first appearance for the Flying Tigers this year that night, going 1-for-2 and scoring a run.

Next: Analyzing the last 10 No. 1 overall picks

That wraps up another week of the Minor League Report. Make sure to check back each Friday for the latest updates from around the Detroit Tigers system.