Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Week 6

Erie SeaWolves

The SeaWolves continued to tread water this week, posting a 3-3 record. They now sit at 15-23 overall, and are in last place in the Eastern League Western Division.

A Pair of Dominant Righties

As I mentioned earlier, a pair of Detroit Tigers minor leaguers claimed Pitcher of the Week awards, making it three straight weeks a member of the system has been honored. Beau Burrows took home last week’s award, while fellow righty Spencer Turnbull made it two straight Eastern League Pitcher of the Week awards for Erie.

Turnbull has not given up a run in 11.0 innings of work over his last two starts. He allowed five hits while striking out 12 in those two outings. For the year, Turnbull owns a 4.11 ERA, and has fanned just more than a batter per inning. After a somewhat rocky start, he seems to be improving in what is a make-or-break year for his development.

Burrows built on last week’s award by turning in two more strong outings. He gave up one hit in five scoreless frames last Friday, then allowed one run over six on Wednesday.

The former first rounder has won four straight starts, and is 5-2 for the year. His five wins tie him with Toledo’s A.J. Ladwig for the most in the system. In 36.2 innings, Burrows owns a 2.21 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and opponents’ batting average of .206.

The Two Jakes

As we’ve covered a few times already, it’s been a rough 2018 offensively for top catching prospect Jake Rogers. Rogers picked up his first extra-base hit of the year on Monday, launching a home run as part of a three-hit night.

Rogers is still hitting just .173 for the campaign, but his hits have come in bunches. Of the 10 games he has a hit in, five of them have been multi-hit games, including a pair of three-hit efforts. Let’s hope finally getting that first homer out of the way helps Rogers’ bat wake up over the coming weeks.

Canadian outfielder Jake Robson is having a much better time at the plate these days. Robson had a four-hit game last Saturday, which tied his career-high. His .269 average is solid, but even when he doesn’t get a hit, he has a knack for getting on base.

Robson’s 21 walks are tied for the team lead with fellow outfielder Troy Montgomery. An eighth round pick in 2016, Robson has reached base in all 14 games he’s played at home this season. Overall, Robson has reached at least once in 12 straight games. During the streak, he’s hitting .295 with a .415 on-base percentage.

Lakeland Flying Tigers

After a bit of a rough stretch, the Flying Tigers have started to turn things around. Lakeland has won four straight, and crept back to within two games of .500 at 18-20.

Faedo Roughed Up

For the first time in his young career, Alex Faedo was knocked around last Friday against St. Lucie (N.Y. Mets). Last year’s first rounder gave up eight runs on 10 hits and lasted just two innings.

Despite the bad outing, Faedo’s numbers are still solid. His ERA sits at 4.17, his WHIP is 1.06, and he owns a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 5:1. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back in his next start this weekend.

A less-heralded right-hander for Lakeland has been Spenser Watkins. Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 30th round out of Western Oregon in 2014, Watkins has been a solid organizational arm in his career.

2018 has been no exception. Mostly used as a long reliever this year, Watkins made his first start of the campaign for the Flying Tigers on Wednesday. The right-hander responded very well, tossing six scoreless frames with six strikeouts.

Earlier in the year, Watkins made a spot start for Toledo. While he ended up getting roughed up, having guys like him available to eat innings on short notice is valuable to an organization, even if he never reaches the Motor City.

The Offense

Back-to-back multi-hit games have raised Daz Cameron’s average to .279. While he hasn’t shown the power that saw him hit 14 homers prior to the trade that brought him to Detroit, he does lead Lakeland with eight doubles.

Cameron has also drawn 19 walks, trailing only another son of a former big leaguer, Cam Gibson. The duo has done a nice job of getting on at the top of the order. As of late, Gibson (.400 OBP) has been leading off, and Cameron (.373 OBP) has been hitting second.

Since touching on him last week, Chad Sedio has been on a tear. The former Miami Redhawk hit safely in all five games he played this week, including four straight multi-hit games. For the week, Sedio was 10-for-22 (.455), raising his season average to .331.

West Michigan Whitecaps

A 2-4 week has seen the Whitecaps slip down to 20-18. They are currently in third, six games out of first place in the Midwest League Eastern Division.

Idrogo Continues Dominance

Eudis Idrogo joined Spencer Turnbull among the weekly award winners this week, claiming the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. In his lone outing, the righty tossed a seven-inning complete game shutout. Idrogo yielded three hits, did not walk a batter, and fanned 11.

We’ve touched on Idrogo a few times already, but his numbers are worth mentioning again. Through six starts, he has posted a 0.49 ERA, and opponents are hitting .188 against him. Despite his terrific numbers, his record is just 2-2, which gives you an idea of how bad West Michigan’s offense has been.

The right-hander people have had their eyes on the most on the Whitecaps staff is, of course, Matt Manning. The former first rounder surrendered three runs in five innings in his lone outing of the week.

It was more of the same for Manning, who continues to put up ludicrous strikeout numbers. He added eight in his five innings, bringing his strikeout rate to 14.8/9. On the other hand, walks are still an issue. With three more free passes, Manning’s walk rate is a shade under 7.0/9.

At some point this summer, Manning should advance to Lakeland. However, he will have to improve his control to prove he’s ready for the next step.

The Offense

As has been the case for much of the year, Luke Burch and Cole Peterson have been leading the Whitecaps offense. Burch has seven hits in his last two games, raising his season mark to .292. Peterson’s .288 average is second on the club, and he leads West Michigan in hits, runs, and steals.

First baseman Jordan Pearce leads the team by a wide margin with 27 walks drawn. However, he’s only hitting .192 to go with his .353 OBP. How can a guy with plate discipline like that be hitting 160 points less than his on-base percentage?

The reason appears to be bad luck. Pearce’s BABIP is a lowly .214, which is well below average, suggesting he’s due to heat up a little bit. In the meantime, walking more than you’re striking out is a great start.

Next: What can the Tigers expect from the No. 1 pick?

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