Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Week 8

Erie SeaWolves

The SeaWolves snapped a nine-game losing streak with a win over Binghamton (N.Y. Mets) on Thursday. Erie remains in last place in the Eastern League Western Division at 19-33.

Baez Deals Gem

Sandy Baez turned in a great outing in a losing effort on Tuesday. The righty worked a season-high seven innings, yielding two runs on two hits. Baez struck out seven, the most he’s fanned since striking out 10 in his first start of the year.

Baez has been consistent in his first extended taste of Double-A. Since going 4 2/3 in his first start, Baez has gone at least five innings in each of his last nine outings. The Dominican has given up more than three earned runs once, and more than six hits twice.

On the other end of the consistency spectrum sits Kyle Funkhouser. Funkhouser made two starts this week, one good and one not so good. The former fourth rounder allowed a run on four hits over six innings on Saturday. In that outing, he also struck out six and walked one. Thursday, he struck out seven, walked four, and gave up six runs in six innings.

Often when Funkhouser has gotten into trouble it has been because of free passes. Prior to this year, the right-hander had issued less than 2.5 walks per nine innings. This year that has jumped to 4.7.

Funkhouser struggled at times with walks at Louisville, but his first couple of years in the minors seemed to suggest he’d figured things out. The problem has resurfaced and he’ll need to work on improving his control as the season progresses.

The Offense

Ronny Rodriguez wasn’t the only Detroit Tigers minor leaguer to have a multi-homer game this week. On Thursday, Dominic Ficociello and Jake Robson both went deep twice.

Ficociello’s two blasts were part of a four-hit game in which he drove in five. The former Arkansas Razorback is hitting .286, and leads Erie with 27 RBI.

Robson leads Erie with five homers after Thursday’s game. He’s also been drawing a lot of free passes, leading the team with 29. For the year, Robson is hitting .283 with a .396 OBP.

Will Maddox has continued to rake since coming off of the disabled list. Maddox enters Friday with an 11-game hitting streak, and his season average stands at .347.

Lakeland Flying Tigers

Lakeland has taken over as the hottest team in the Detroit Tigers system. The Flying Tigers won six straight before a doubleheader split on Thursday. At 28-23, Lakeland is within a game of first place in the Florida State League North Division.

Lakeland’s 1-2 Punch

Last year’s first rounder Alex Faedo made two starts this week. The first was a little bumpy due to a career-high four walks, but he was able to pitch around them successfully. Helping the cause were a career-high seven strikeouts, which kept Faedo from allowing more than one run over his four and two-thirds innings of work.

Faedo’s second start lasted one inning, as it was cut short by a lengthy rain delay. Through 10 starts, his ERA sits at 3.47 and his WHIP at 1.02. He’s allowed one or zero earned runs in seven of those 10, and allowed more than three only once. His strong first two months earned him a mention in an MiLB.com piece taking stock of the 2017 draft class.

Venezuelan right-hander Anthony Castro is quietly having a very strong season, too. In his latest outing, he gave up one run on six hits in a season-high seven innings. He also set a season-high with eight strikeouts.

Through nine starts, Castro sports a 3.38 ERA and opponents are hitting .232 against him. He doesn’t have the gaudy strikeout numbers of some of the others around the system, but his 8.0 K/9 rate is solid. Like Faedo, Castro has been very consistent, allowing two earned runs or fewer in six of his nine starts.

Castro may not be as well known as some of the other pitching prospects in the organization, but he’s been good at every stop. His career ERA is 3.26 in nearly 400 professional innings.

New Addition to the Outfield

After spending the first few months as one of the few consistent hitters for West Michigan, outfielder Luke Burch was promoted to Lakeland this week. Burch was hitting .313 at the time of his promotion, and has kept on hitting with his new club.

In his first seven games with the Flying Tigers, Burch is hitting .304 and has already driven in six runs. Even with highly touted prospect Daz Cameron, Cam Gibson, and Derek Hill sharing the outfield with Burch, he’ll command playing time if he keeps hitting the way he is now.

Prior to the season, our Andy Patton wrote about a handful of prospects entering make-or-break seasons. One of the players on the list was former first rounder Derek Hill. Hill was off to a rough start, hitting .170 before landing on the disabled list in early May with a knee injury.

Hill has been hitting much better in the eight games since his return. He’s hit safely in seven of the eight, and posted a .363 average to raise his season mark to .209. Hill stole his first base since returning from the DL Thursday night and is 12-16 on the season. Known first for his speed and defense, it seems Hill is on the right track after a rough start to 2018.

West Michigan Whitecaps

A 2-5 week for West Michigan dropped their record to 28-25. The Whitecaps currently sit in third place in the Midwest League Eastern Division.

More of the Same From Manning

In Matt Manning’s lone start of the week, the right-hander continued to do what he’s done all season. Strike a lot of guys out, and walk a lot. The 2016 first rounder struck out five and walked five in four innings.

Manning has struck out 48 in 30.2 innings for a rate of 14.1 K/9. His walk rate is up to 6.5 BB/9, more than two walks higher than last year. In Monday’s start, the righty threw a mere 53.3 percent of his pitches for strikes. Like Funkhouser, improved control is the number one priority for Manning this summer.

The pitching performance of the week in the Detroit Tigers organization came on Tuesday from Elvin Rodriguez. The righty dealt a career-high seven innings, allowing one run on three hits. He also established a new career-high in strikeouts for the second straight outing, fanning 12.

After a bit of a rough beginning to the season, Rodriguez has gotten better in each of his last three starts. In those outings, he’s given up 13 hits, two earned runs, walked five, and struck out 27 in 18.1 innings. Tuesday’s outing was also the first start this season in which Rodriguez did not walk a batter.

This is Rodriguez’s first season with the organization, having come over from the Angels as the player to be named later that completed the Justin Upton trade. Like Manning, he’s 20 years old, making him roughly two years younger than the average age in the Midwest League. Not bad for a guy who was essentially a throw-in in the deal.

Going the Wrong Way

To make room for Burch’s promotion, outfielder Jose Azocar was sent down to West Michigan. Azocar is another from Andy Patton’s prospects entering make-or-break seasons list. After having a rough 2017 in Lakeland, Azocar was off to a slow start again this year, slashing .214/.231/.252 through 30 games.

The Tigers brass hopes returning to West Michigan, where he hit .281 in 2016, will help pull Azocar out of his funk. If it doesn’t work out, he may be the odd man out in the search for future outfielders in the Motor City.

Azocar is off to a decent start with the Whitecaps. In five games, he’s 6-for-22 (.273) and has scored four runs. It’ll be interesting to see what it will take for him to move back up to Lakeland.

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

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