Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Week 7

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.

The last few weeks have featured numerous transactions for the Detroit Tigers and their affiliates. This week was a little lighter on that front, but there’s still plenty to talk about in this week’s Minor League Report.

Toledo Mud Hens

The Mud Hens continue to cruise along atop the International League West. After a 4-2 week, Toledo is 30-15 for the year. Yesterday’s win over Columbus (Cleveland), made the Mud Hens the second team in all of MiLB to reach 30 wins in 2018.

Jeimer Nearing Return

Of the few moves the Detroit Tigers did make this week, the most notable was to send third baseman Jeimer Candelario on a rehab assignment to Toledo. After an 0-for-4 effort in his first game back Wednesday, Candelario picked up a pair of hits and drove in a run Thursday.

When a position player is sent out on a minor league rehab assignment, he can stay there for up to 20 days. It appears Candelario won’t need that much time, as he reportedly could return to the Tigers as soon as this weekend.

Hot Hens Bats

Toledo’s lineup has been hot lately, including a 15-hit performance last Friday, in which every Hen recorded at least one hit and scored a run. One of the hottest hitters as of late has been utility man Ronny Rodriguez.

Rodriguez had four hits Thursday, and leads the International League with 53. He had an 18-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday, the longest streak posted by a Detroit Tigers minor leaguer this year. While Niko Goodrum is holding down the Tigers utility role for now, don’t be surprised to see Rodriguez up at some point.

Chad Huffman has been having a solid year for the Mud Hens as well, but exploded yesterday. A minor league free agent signing in the offseason, Huffman hit a pair of homers, including a grand slam, and drove in seven. It was the first time a Toledo batter had driven in seven in over six years:

Dark Horse September Callup?

A lot of shuffling has been going on with the Toledo staff this year as the Tigers send guys back-and-forth. One constant has been right-hander A.J. Ladwig. The 2014 11th rounder has started five games, and been used as a long reliever in two others.

Ladwig has been consistent no matter the role, going at least five innings in each start, and only surrendering more than three runs once. His strikeout rate is merely 6.8/9, but he’s made up for it by limiting walks to 1.9/9.

There are plenty of other right-handed pitchers in the organization who are more highly-touted than Ladwig. However, if the Tigers brass feels those prospects need more marinating in the minors and don’t want to start their service clocks, Ladwig would be a prime candidate to eat up innings in September.

As Adam McIntosh pointed out earlier this week, left-handed knuckleballer Josh Turley could be in position to reach Detroit in September, too.

Erie SeaWolves

The SeaWolves went 3-4 for the week, bringing their season record to 18-27. That mark has them in the basement in the Eastern League Western Division.

A Dominant Bullpen

Primarily in this space, we’ve focused on the glut of prospects in the Erie rotation. However, the recent run by the SeaWolves bullpen deserves mentioning. Since last Friday, Erie’s bullpen has surrendered just one run. Their dominant week included a stretch of a combined 23.0 innings without allowing a run.

Most teams use their top pitching prospects as starters in the minors, giving them more experience and innings to develop. As a result, minor league bullpens generally don’t have many guys considered to be on track to reach the majors.

The same is true of the current Erie bullpen. Only hard-throwing righty Gerson Moreno is featured on MLB Pipeline’s most recent top 30 list of Detroit Tigers prospects. Moreno has struggled with control at times, but has struck out 11 over his last three appearances. For the year, he owns a 4.41 ERA, with 20 strikeouts and 11 walks in 16.1 innings.

Righties Mark Ecker and John Schreiber have been solid all year. A 2016 fifth round pick, Ecker boasts a 2.96 ERA and has struck out more than a batter per inning. A native Michigander, Schreiber has gone four straight appearances without allowing a run. For the season, he sports a 3.20 ERA and leads Erie with four saves.

Since starting the season on the disabled list, righty Zac Houston has been very impressive. The 2016 11th rounder has fanned 20 in 14 innings, and yielded just six hits. A pair of recent additions from Lakeland have been chipping in, too. Right-hander Joe Navilhon and local lefty Trent Szkutnik have combined to toss four scoreless appearances since their promotion.

Sedio Joins the Offense

One of our favorites at the Minor League Report recently has been Chad Sedio. Sedio was hitting .319 in 37 games for Lakeland before earning his promotion to Erie this week. In his first game on Wednesday, he went 2-for-4.

Another player who started his season with the Flying Tigers is outfielder Danny Woodrow. Woodrow went 8-for-21 (.381) in five games for Lakeland before his promotion. He’s stayed hot since joining the SeaWolves lineup, hitting .324 through 10 games.

Lakeland Flying Tigers

In a week that featured a few rainouts, the Flying Tigers went 3-2 to climb to within a game of the .500 mark. Lakeland sits in third place in the Florida State League North Division at 21-22.

Faedo Bounces Back

Last week, we wondered how Alex Faedo would bounce back from his first rough start as a pro. He responded emphatically, blanking Tampa (N.Y. Yankees) on two hits over seven innings. Faedo earned the win for his effort, the first as a pro for last year’s first rounder.

Faedo’s outing also earned him the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week award. That makes it four straight weeks a Detroit Tigers minor leaguer has won a Pitcher of the Week award. A Tigers pitcher has now won a weekly award at each level this season, with Blaine Hardy (International League – AAA), Beau Burrows and Spencer Turnbull (Eastern League – AA), Alex Faedo (Florida State League – A+) and Eudis Idrogo (Midwest League – A) all being honored.

Elsewhere in the Lakeland rotation, lefty Gregory Soto continues to pile up the strikeouts and walks. After an 11-day layoff following a five-walk outing, Soto pitched well on Monday. The southpaw struck out seven in seven innings, and issued two walks.

Soto has posted high strikeout and walk rates throughout his minor league career. He’s fanning batters at a rate of 10.1/9 this year, right in line with his career rate of 10.0. However, his walk rate has jumped to 8.0/9, the highest since the 8.7 he put up as an 18-year old in 2013.

Pitching dominates any Detroit Tigers prospect list you’ll find, but the vast majority of them are righties. Soto is the most well-regarded of the lefties, but could become the next Jairo Labourt, if he doesn’t improve his control.

Power Surge

A big reason for the Flying Tigers recent improvement has been an improved offense. Daz Cameron is riding a nine-game hitting streak, and has boosted his average to .293. One of Detroit’s top outfield prospects, Cameron displayed some of the power he’s been missing since joining the organization, launching a pair of homers Wednesday night.

Cameron wasn’t the only Flying Tiger to go deep twice this week. First baseman Dylan Burdeaux homered twice on Tuesday, and drove in a career-high five. A 20th round pick last year, Burdeaux has been garnering the majority of the playing time at first for Lakeland since Blaise Salter was promoted to Erie.