Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Week 6

The Detroit Tigers are in rebuilding mode. “Future Friday” is a segment where we examine the bevy of prospects in the organization and their future impact in the Motor City.

It has been another busy week for moves throughout the Detroit Tigers organization as the club continues to search for the right mix of healthy arms.

For those not shuffling back-and-forth between the majors and the minors, pitching continues to dominate the system headlines. Two more Detroit Tigers minor leaguers claimed Pitcher of the Week Awards, making it three straight weeks someone from the system has been honored.

As always, let’s get this week started with the hottest team in the system.

Toledo Mud Hens

Toledo is red-hot, having won five in a row and 10 of their last 11. The Mud Hens 26-12 record remains the best in the International League.

Shuffling the Deck

Thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness, the Tigers have been sending guys back-and-forth between Detroit and Toledo a lot lately. This week, Louis Coleman and Zac Reininger both made their 2018 Tigers debuts.

Coleman had a 2.40 ERA and eight saves with Toledo prior to his promotion to the majors, his first since 2016 with the Dodgers. To make room for Coleman, the Tigers designated Chad Bell for assignment. A few days later, the Braves claimed Bell off of waivers.

Reininger was called up last week, but had not pitched for Detroit until appearing in last Saturday’s doubleheader against Seattle. When Reininger was sent back to Toledo, it was Artie Lewicki who took his place.

Ryan Carpenter had a busy week. He was called up to Detroit for Saturday’s doubleheader, sent down the next day, and rejoined the Tigers a few days later. The organizational leader in strikeouts, Carpenter started against Cleveland on Wednesday and got roughed up.

Stewart Leading the Offense

A four-hit game on April 24 was just what Christin Stewart needed to catch fire. Since then, Stewart has slashed .363/.402./813, raising his season line to .296/.374/.622.

The best power hitter in the system leads the International League with 11 homers, and is second in RBIs with 28. He had his first multi-homer game at the Triple-A level on Sunday, launching a pair against Louisville (Cincinnati). Toledo hit six long balls in that game, with Ronny Rodriguez also homering twice.

When Jeimer Candelario landed on the disabled list earlier in the week, Dawel Lugo was called up for the first time. It didn’t last long, however, and Lugo was sent back to Toledo before appearing in a game. Although he didn’t get a shot this time around, it won’t be long before the promising infielder makes his MLB debut.

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.