Detroit Tigers: Kyle Funkhouser dominates and other MiLB notes

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DETROIT, MI – APRIL 22: Alex Wilson #30 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals during a MLB game at Comerica Park on April 22, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images) /

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.

Another week is in the books for the Detroit Tigers and their affiliates. This week saw a pair of rehabbers in Toledo, an MLB debut, and All-Star announcements for Lakeland and West Michigan. Let’s get to it.

Toledo Mud Hens

Toledo had another solid week, going 4-2. The Mud Hens are 37-20 for the year, good for a seven-game lead in the International League West.

The Rehabbers

Last week, we noted that Jordan Zimmermann’s first rehab start went horribly. Things went a lot better for the veteran on Wednesday.

Zimmerman worked four and a third innings, giving up one run on three hits. The right-hander also added five strikeouts, while walking a pair. He threw 72 pitches, nearly twice as many as his first rehab outing. According to Detroit Tigers beat reporter Jason Beck, Zimmermann is hoping to return soon.

Alex Wilson also made a rehab appearance for the Mud Hens this week. The righty worked a scoreless inning and a third, striking out two and walking one. Wilson’s performance was enough for the Tigers to activate him off of the disabled list Thursday. He came in to that night’s game against Boston and retired both batters he faced.

To make room for Wilson, infielder Ronny Rodriguez was optioned back to Toledo. Rodriguez had hits in his first two MLB at-bats last Thursday, but had been 0-for-17 since.

Despite his struggles in the majors, Rodriguez had a fantastic May. The infielder hit .383 for Toledo in May, earning him the International League Player of the Month award.

Alexander Promoted

Detroit called former second rounder Tyler Alexander up to Toledo for the first time this week. The southpaw had been enjoying a solid season at Erie, where he was 3-2 with a 3.75 ERA through nine starts.

Alexander struggled in his Mud Hens debut on Saturday. He surrendered six runs on 10 hits over five innings, although Toledo’s offense staked him to a 7-0 lead, so he earned the win.

The lefty lacks top-notch stuff, leaving him susceptible at times to getting knocked around. Alexander’s best attribute is his command, having never posted a walk rate above 1.5 per nine innings in any of his full seasons in the minors. As he continues to progress, his command will be even more important to make up for the lack of overpowering stuff.

Hello, Old Friend

One of the best trades in Tigers history was the acquisition of Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante near the 2012 trade deadline. At the time, the big prize Detroit sent to Miami in the deal was former first rounder Jacob Turner.

The ninth overall selection in 2009, Turner made six starts for Detroit between the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The righty pitched well for the Marlins for the remainder of the 2012 campaign and in 2013, but hit a rough patch in 2014.

Miami traded him to the Cubs in 2014, and he’s bounced around the league ever since. Turner landed back with the Marlins this year, working five and two-thirds innings out of their bullpen. He also made 11 relief appearances for Triple-A New Orleans before he was released earlier this week. Detroit signed Turner to a minor league deal Wednesday, sending him to Toledo.

Turner is far from the prospect he once was. He can still get his fastball into the mid-90s, and throws a hard slider. At 27, there’s still a chance he develops into a decent bullpen arm. At worst, he can provide some organizational depth for a team that has suffered its share of injuries in 2018.

DETROIT, MI – JUNE 4: Sandy Baez #62 of the Detroit Tigers pitches against the New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Comerica Park on June 4, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. The Yankees defeated the Tigers 7-4. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Erie SeaWolves

The SeaWolves are riding high, having won four straight, including a four-run 13th Thursday night to win in walk-off fashion. Despite their 5-1 week, Erie’s 24-34 record has them in the basement of the Eastern League Western Division.

Baez Makes MLB Debut

Sandy Baez earned his first promotion to the majors this week, serving as the 26th man for Monday’s doubleheader against the Yankees. Baez relieved Drew VerHagen, who started game one and was promptly knocked around.

The righty hit Greg Bird to begin his outing, but responded by fanning Giancarlo Stanton. All told, Baez worked four and a third innings without allowing a run or a hit. He added four strikeouts, and three walks. Not bad for an MLB debut against one of the league’s top offenses.

Detroit sent Baez back to Erie after the game, and he will return to the SeaWolves rotation this weekend. The Dominican has been incredibly consistent for Erie, allowing more than three earned runs once in 10 starts. In his final start before the promotion, Baez dealt seven strong innings, allowing just a pair of hits while striking out seven.

Funkhouser Dominates

We’ve mentioned the inconsistency of Kyle Funkhouser before. The dominant version of Funkhouser showed up this week. The former fourth rounder fired seven brilliant innings Wednesday night, yielding a run on two hits, with just one walk. Funkhouser also struck out nine, tying his season-high.

There has never been a doubt about his talent, but the control has been the question mark. The righty has as many starts this year with one walk (four), as he does with four or more walks. Outings like this one show how good he can be when on his game. It also makes the starts where the control isn’t there all the more frustrating.

Fortunately, Double-A is a perfect environment for him to learn and improve. Trying to work on that stuff in the majors often fails. This makes Funkhouser a perfect example of why the Tigers shouldn’t be in a hurry to rush him, or any of their top pitching prospects, to the Motor City.

LAKELAND, FL – MARCH 01: A view from the Tiger spring training home Joker Marchant Stadium before the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium on March 1, 2016 in Lakeland, Florida. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Lakeland Flying Tigers

A 3-5 week for Lakeland dropped their season record to 31-28. The Flying Tigers sit in third in the Florida State League North, three games out of first.

Duo Named to All-Star Team

The 2018 Florida State League All-Star Game is coming up on June 16 in Tampa and the teams were announced this week. Two Flying Tigers were named to the North Division team, outfielder Daz Cameron and infielder Isaac Paredes.

The most complete outfield prospect in the Detroit Tigers system, Cameron is having a solid first year in the organization. Cameron leads Lakeland in hits (52), runs scored (32), and total bases (74). He’s also second on the team in doubles with nine, and is hitting .264 with seven stolen bases.

Looking at Paredes’ batting average (.220), you might assume he’s not having an All-Star-caliber season. Despite the low average, Paredes has been very productive due to his extra-base power. The 19-year old leads Lakeland in doubles (14), homers (five), and RBIs (32).

Another good sign for the Detroit Tigers is the success both are having at their age in the Florida State League. Cameron is a year and a half younger, and Paredes is three and a half years younger than the average player in the league. Succeeding against opponents who are mostly older and more experienced bodes well for their futures.

Faedo Keeps Rolling

Alex Faedo turned in another stellar outing this week, tying his career-high with seven strong innings. Last year’s first rounder yielded a run on five hits, struck out three, and did not issue a free pass.

The start continues a dominant first season for Faedo. He has given up one run or fewer and no more than five hits in seven of his last eight starts. Through 11 starts, the right-hander owns a 3.20 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and opponents have hit .221 against him.

DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 18: A detail of a Detroit Tigers hat with an official postseason logo is seen on the bat rack in the udgout againstthe New York Yankees during game four of the American League Championship Series at Comerica Park on October 18, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

West Michigan Whitecaps

The Whitecaps lost three straight, then followed that up with a three-game winning streak. West Michigan’s 31-28 record has them sitting in third in the Midwest League Eastern Division.

Pair Headed to All-Star Game

The Midwest League All-Star Game comes to Lansing on June 19. The league announced the rosters for the game this week, and the Whitecaps will have two representatives.

Unsurprisingly to frequent readers of the Minor League Report, shortstop Cole Peterson was named to the Eastern Division’s team. One of the few consistent hitters for the Whitecaps in 2018, Peterson leads the club in hits (63), runs (34), triples (five), total bases (79), and steals (11). Put all that with a .290 average and a strong glove and he was very deserving of the selection.

The other Whitecaps player to earn a spot was right-hander Brandyn Sittinger. Sittinger has been a strikeout machine out of the West Michigan bullpen. In his most recent outing on Wednesday, he celebrated his 24th birthday with five strikeouts in three scoreless frames of work.

For the season, Sittinger has struck out 36 in 27.0 innings, a rate of 12.0 per nine innings. His ERA sits at 5.00, largely due to giving up four runs in back-to-back appearances in late May. Take out those two outings and his ERA drops to 2.74. Sittinger has been an innings-eater as well, working at least two frames in 10 of his 12 appearances. Like Paredes, one number doesn’t tell the whole story with Sittinger.

Manning Struggles

Matt Manning struggling is not something we’ve had to say very often this year. The former first rounder did have a tough outing Sunday, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits over five innings.

On the bright side, he did fan eight, while walking two. Like we mentioned with Funkhouser, Manning also struggles from time to time with free passes. The righty walked five in his last start prior to Sunday, the second time he’d done that this year.

What Manning hasn’t done often is give up many hits. The seven knocks surrendered on Sunday tied his career-high, set earlier this year. Opponents are hitting .229 off of Manning this year, but that number could be even lower, as the BABIP against him is .373. If he can keep the walks down and strikeouts up (14.1/9), he won’t be in West Michigan much longer.

The New Kid in Town

Finally, 19-year old outfielder Ulrich Bojarski made his 2018 debut for the Whitecaps Wednesday. He promptly went 2-for-4, and has driven in a run in each of his first two games.

Born in South Africa, Bojarski signed with the Detroit Tigers in the summer of 2016 after having played for the Perth Heat in Australia. He hit .225 in 38 games for the GCL Tigers West last season, his first affiliated experience. Following the season he returned to Australia, slashing .307/.367/.553 in 33 games for Perth.

The Tigers have been trying to strengthen their position player depth, as evidenced by the selections that followed Casey Mize in this week’s draft. Bojarski is another young, raw player with the potential to get his name into the mix for the future. Detroit is amassing as many of these guys as they can, in the hopes that a few will work out.

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

That’ll do it for another week of the Detroit Tigers Minor League Report. Make sure to check back each Friday for the latest news and updates from around the system.

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