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.

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.