Detroit Tigers: Spencer Turnbull, Jake Rogers highlight week

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CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 05: Miguel Cabrera #24 of the Detroit Tigers points to where he hurt himself after tripping and falling while running between first and second base to manager Ron Gardenhire #15 in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox during the Opening Day home game at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 5, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/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.

A major injury sent shockwaves throughout the Detroit Tigers organization this week. What effects will it have on the minor leagues going forward, and who snared the system’s sixth Pitcher of the Week award? We’ve got all that covered and more in this week’s edition of the Detroit Tigers Minor League Report.

Toledo Mud Hens

The Mud Hens slipped to 39-26 after a 2-5 week. Despite a slow week by their standards, Toledo still owns the best record in the International League.

The Miggy Effect

Detroit suffered a major injury this week, losing Miguel Cabrera for the remainder of the season. As a result, John Hicks will get the majority of playing time at first base, opening up the backup catcher position for Grayson Greiner.

The Tigers recalled Greiner prior to the Cabrera injury, with James McCann battling the flu earlier in the week. The injury to Cabrera, however, presumably will keep Greiner in the majors for the foreseeable future. Greiner made his MLB debut earlier this season, and hit .267 in nine games as McCann’s backup.

To replace Greiner in Toledo, the Tigers promoted Kade Scivicque from Erie. Scivicque finished his time with the SeaWolves with back-to-back multi-hit games, raising his average to .294. He has struggled in his time with the Mud Hens this year, slashing .180/.250/.296 in 15 games.

The Re-Turner

Last week, the Detroit Tigers re-signed former first rounder Jacob Turner, following his release from the Marlins organization. Turner made his first appearance since rejoining the organization Monday night.

Turner started and pitched very well, tossing three scoreless innings. He surrendered just one hit, struck out four, and walked two.

At 27, Turner is not the prospect he once was, but with all the injuries the Tigers have suffered this year, they’ll take all the healthy, competent arms they can get.

Lugo Continues to Rake

With Christin Stewart and others piling up big offensive numbers, Dawel Lugo has been flying a little under the radar. Lugo notched nine hits in 22 at-bats this week, raising his average to .283. The week included three more multi-hit games, giving him 20 for the season.

Lugo leads the International League in at-bats, and is in the top five in hits. His batting average hasn’t dipped below .260 since the opening week of the season. While Ronny Rodriguez earned the promotion when the Tigers placed Miguel Cabrera on the DL, it shouldn’t be long before the highly touted infielder makes his Motor City debut.

LAKELAND, FL – FEBRUARY 20: Spencer Turnbull #56 of the Detroit Tigers poses for a photo during photo days on February 20, 2018 in Lakeland, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Erie SeaWolves

A 4-2 week for the SeaWolves brought their season record to 28-36. Erie remains in the basement in the Eastern League’s Western Division.

Turnbull Dominates

Spencer Turnbull earned his second Eastern League Pitcher of the Week award, tossing a gem Sunday against Reading (Philadelphia). The righty fired his first complete game shutout as a pro, yielding four hits while fanning 11.

Turnbull entered 2018 looking to build off of the four mediocre starts he made for Erie near the end of last season. Thus far, he’s turned in mixed results. On the one hand, his strikeout numbers have been the best of his career. With 72 strikeouts in 63.0 innings, Turnbull boasts the best strikeout rate he’s had as a pro, at 10.3/9.

On the other hand, he’s allowed more walks and hits this year. That isn’t automatically a cause of concern, however. When making the jump to a new level, taking time to adjust to the higher level of competition is very common. Let’s hope this is the start of Turnbull turning the corner at the Double-A level.

Turnbull’s award is the sixth Pitcher of the Week award claimed by a member of the Detroit Tigers organization. Erie leads the system with three, two from Turnbull and one from Beau Burrows. Claiming the other awards were Blaine Hardy (Toledo), Alex Faedo (Lakeland), and Eudis Idrogo (West Michigan).

Hall Lights Out in the ‘Pen

In addition to Turnbull’s gem, the SeaWolves claimed the top relief performance of the week, too. Southpaw Matt Hall fired four excellent innings Friday night, fanning nine, with a hit batter the lone blemish. Hall then came back and retired all four he faced in his lone other outing of the week.

Selected in the sixth round of the 2015 draft, Hall sports a 2.78 ERA through 21 outings. With 47 strikeouts in 32.1 innings, the southpaw boasts a strikeout rate of 13.1/9. He’s surrendered just 21 hits, to hold opponents to a paltry .176 average. The Erie starters grab many of the headlines, but Hall and the bullpen have done a terrific job this season.

Rogers Finding his Stroke?

We’ve covered at length the struggles of defensive superstar catcher Jake Rogers at the dish in 2018. Rogers may finally be coming around at the plate after a strong week.

After back-to-back days off last weekend, Rogers went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs on Sunday. He followed that up Tuesday with three home runs in a 12-0 win over Hartford (Colorado). The outburst was part of a stretch where he scored three times in three straight games.

Going into Wednesday, he strangely led the SeaWolves in home runs with seven, despite having zero doubles. Rogers finally collected his first two-bagger of the season Wednesday. His average may still only be .188, but that’s 30 points higher than it was at the start of the month.

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

Lakeland posted a 4-3 mark for the week, bringing their season record to 35-31. The Flying Tigers have now climbed into second place in the Florida State League North.

Faedo Update

Alex Faedo took a no-decision in his lone start this week, his sixth in 12 starts. Last year’s first rounder worked four and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits, with six strikeouts and a pair of walks.

Although he struggled a little more than usual with his control, the strikeouts are a good sign. Faedo hasn’t posted big strikeout numbers thus far, relying more on inducing weak contact.

The righty has done a tremendous job of limiting walks, with nearly a 4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. It’s also noteworthy that Faedo has held opponents to a .217 average, and yielded just one homer since giving up a pair in his first start.

More Flying Tigers Earn All-Star Nods

Last week, we noted Daz Cameron and Isaac Paredes were named to the upcoming Florida State League All-Star Game. That duo will be joined by a trio of pitchers, Alfred Gutierrez, Eduardo Jimenez, and Spenser Watkins.

Gutierrez turned in one of the best pitching performances in the Detroit Tigers system this week. On Saturday, he tossed five scoreless frames without allowing a hit. Burris Warner and Jimenez worked the final four innings to complete the shutout.

Featuring as both a starter and reliever at times, Gutierrez has been effective in both roles this season. In 17 appearances, he’s posted a 2.76 ERA, 10.7 K/9, and a 4.7:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Jimenez has been Lakeland’s closer for the majority of the year. Across 21 outings, he owns a 4.01 ERA, and has fanned nearly a batter per inning. Jimenez also leads the Florida State League with 11 saves in 12 opportunities.

Like Gutierrez, Watkins has spent time in the rotation and bullpen for the Flying Tigers. He made a pair of quality starts this week, allowing four runs in 13.0 innings over his two outings. This year with Lakeland, he owns a 1.59 ERA, and has held opponents to a .218 average. Watkins also made a pair of spot starts for Toledo earlier in the year.

Catcher Austin Athmann was named an All-Star as well, but will miss the game due to injury. The 2018 Florida State League All-Star Game is Saturday in Tampa.

Going the Wrong Way

It has been a tough season at the plate thus far for outfielder Troy Montgomery. Acquired in the Ian Kinsler trade over the winter, Montgomery began his campaign with Erie. Through 48 games, he was hitting .227 and slugging .287. That led to a demotion to High-A Lakeland

Despite his struggles in the average department, Montgomery continued to get on base, thanks to a high walk rate. He drew 27 free passes, which trailed only Jake Robson for the team lead, and helped him post a .346 on-base percentage. This is not new for Montgomery, who put up double-digit walk rates in each of his first two pro seasons.

This move was somewhat of a head scratcher. If the Tigers demoted Montgomery to promote Daz Cameron or Derek Hill, that would have been understandable, but having him join the already crowded Lakeland outfield is puzzling.

DETROIT, MI – MARCH 30: Jordan Zimmermann #27 of the Detroit Tigers throws a first inning pitch while playing the Pittsburgh Pirates during Opening Day at Comerica Park on March 30, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

West Michigan Whitecaps

The Whitecaps suffered through a 2-6 week, dropping them back below .500 to 33-34. West Michigan’s slide eliminated them from contention for a playoff spot in the Midwest League Eastern Division’s first half race.

Zimmermann on the Mend

Jordan Zimmermann made another rehab start this week, this time suiting up for West Michigan. The veteran righty tossed five and one-third innings, allowing one run on seven hits, with no walks and six strikeouts.

Zimmermann threw 89 pitches, the most he’s thrown in any of his three rehab starts. Following the outing, it seems Zimmermann is set to return to the Tigers rotation, possibly as soon as this weekend.

Manning Update

Matt Manning earned his third quality start of the season this week, yielding three runs over six innings. The strikeout machine added six more K’s to his total, and issued three free passes.

With each passing start, it seems to be more of the same for the former first rounder. Manning has fanned at least one batter per inning in each of his nine starts, for a rate of 13.4/9. On the other hand, he continues to have walk issues. Manning has walked three or more in six of his nine starts, and has walked a career-high 5.8 per nine innings.

Manning’s other numbers are still solid. Opponents have hit .235 against him, and he’s allowed just three long balls in 2018. Overall, his ERA sits at 4.32 through 41.2 innings of work.

Bortles’ Hot Month

Since the calendar flipped to June, Colby Bortles has been red-hot. The Whitecaps third baseman has hit safely in 11 of 14 games for the month, during which he’s hitting .333. Bortles’ five doubles increased his total to 15, which is tied for the team lead.

The younger brother of Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, Colby continues to drive in runs for the Whitecaps, too. He drove in eight this week alone, giving him nine for the month. The nine raised his season total to 33, lifting him past Dylan Rosa and Rey Rivera for tops on the club.

Short-Season/Rookie Leagues Starting

Today marks Opening Day for the Short-Season Connecticut Tigers of the New York-Penn League. Headlining the roster are righty Wilkel Hernandez, shortstop Jose King, and catcher Sam McMillan. The Tigers acquired Hernandez and King in the Ian Kinsler and J.D. Martinez trades, respectively. Detroit selected McMillan with their fifth round pick a year ago. The Detroit Tigers two Gulf Coast League affiliates begin play on Monday.

Next: Top 10 Tigers Catchers of All-Time

That wraps up 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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