Top prospect Franklin Perez makes 2018 debut

Erie SeaWolves

Three straight wins propelled the SeaWolves to a 5-2 week. Erie’s season mark stands at 36-41, good for fifth place in the Eastern League Western Division.

Burrows’ Career Night

Beau Burrows turned in another great outing Sunday, giving up two runs on four hits over six innings. The former first rounder walked four, tying his career-high, and also set a new career-high with 11 strikeouts.

While the strikeouts have come and gone somewhat this season, Burrows has been consistently stingy in allowing hits. Opponents have hit .215 against the righty this year, the lowest total he’s allowed since 2015.

Part of the reason for the low average is a BABIP of .254, which is well below average. While some of that can be chalked up to luck, another portion can be attributed to his batted ball profile.

Per FanGraphs, Burrows has allowed roughly 10 percent fewer line drives than he did in his 15 starts for Erie in 2017. Additionally, the 21-year old ‘s infield fly ball rate has increased by nearly 10 percent. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out inducing more pop-ups and yielding fewer line drives is a recipe for improved numbers.

Through 14 starts for the SeaWolves this season, Burrows sports a 3.33 ERA over 75.2 innings of work. He’s yielded fewer than seven hits per nine innings, helping lead to a 1.15 WHIP. Last year, Burrows allowed 9.3 hits per nine, and posted a 4.72 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 15 outings for Erie. Don’t be shocked to see Burrows get a taste of Triple-A before the season ends.

Cameron Catching Fire

We mentioned last week the hot start Daz Cameron got off to after his promotion to Double-A. The hot streak continued for the 21-year old outfielder this week. In his first 10 games for the SeaWolves, Cameron hit safely in nine of them, recording multiple hits in five of the 10.

Not only is Cameron hitting, he’s hitting for power. Of the 16 hits he’s collected, six of them have been for extra bases. Cameron hit just three home runs in 58 games for Lakeland, but has already launched two for the SeaWolves, including a grand slam on Sunday. Cameron likely won’t hit .400 for the rest of the year in Erie, but it’s a great sign he’s off to a terrific start at a new level.

New Face in the Organization

The Detroit Tigers added a veteran backstop to the mix this week, signing Josh Thole. Thole spent at least part of eight straight seasons in the majors with the Mets and Blue Jays from 2009-2016. He joined the Diamondbacks last year, but tore his hamstring in spring training and missed the entire season.

Thole began 2018 with Arizona as well, but was released during spring camp. Like recent signee Hunter Cervenka, Thole went the independent route, signing with New Britain of the Atlantic League. In 17 games for the Bees, he hit .317, and walked nearly as often as he struck out.

Detroit inked the 31-year old last Friday, and assigned him to Erie. In his debut on Sunday, Thole picked up a pair of knocks and scored a run, while catching Burrows’ gem. Organizations always need catchers, and adding a veteran to work with all the pitching prospects with the SeaWolves makes a lot of sense.

Lakeland Flying Tigers

Despite dealing with multiple rain outs, Lakeland has started off the second half hot. They’ve won six straight to open the second half, giving them the top spot in the Florida State League North. The Flying Tigers overall record sits at 42-34.

Watkins Dazzles Again

Spenser Watkins turned in another brilliant outing for Lakeland this week. The Florida State League All-Star tossed his second complete game of 2018, shutting out Charlotte (Tampa Bay) on one hit over seven innings. The righty added seven strikeouts, while walking just one.

Wednesday’s outing marked the eighth straight appearance for Watkins allowing two earned runs or fewer. Over that span, the right-hander owns a 1.42 ERA across 44.1 innings of work. For the season, his 1.55 mark leads the Florida State League.

All-Star Promoted

Following the Midwest League All-Star break, the Detroit Tigers promoted shortstop Cole Peterson to Lakeland for the first time. As mentioned here multiple times, Peterson’s bat was one of the few consistent ones for West Michigan, especially early on.

In 66 games for the Whitecaps, Peterson hit .277. His 72 hits and 13 stolen bases remain atop of the West Michigan leaderboard.

It’s been a rough first week for Peterson in Lakeland. He drove in a run in his debut, but is just 2-for-18 at the plate in his first six games.

Outfield Shuffling Continues

The Christin Stewart injury caused a ripple effect for Lakeland and West Michigan as well. Cam Gibson was promoted to Erie, while Jose Azocar returned to the Flying Tigers.

Gibson hit .240 in 66 games for Lakeland, and his 36 walks leads the club. His 16 stolen bases were second on the team behind Derek Hill’s 18. This marks the first time Gibson has reached Double-A.

Azocar returns to Lakeland after he was sent down to West Michigan in late May. After a slow start with the Whitecaps, Azocar turned it on. He hit .317 during his roughly month-long stay in the Midwest League, including a league-leading six triples. Azocar will be looking to improve upon the .214/.231/.252 slash line he posted in 30 games for Lakeland prior to the demotion.

West Michigan Whitecaps

The Whitecaps posted a 5-3 week, bringing their season record to 41-37. West Michigan’s start to the second half has them in third place in the Midwest League Eastern Division’s second half standings.

Manning Dominates, Receives Promotion

Matt Manning turned in another dominant outing for West Michigan this week. The former first rounder tossed seven innings for the second start straight, and allowed one run on eight hits. He also fanned eight without issuing a walk.

Following the outing, Detroit promoted Manning to High-A Lakeland. In 11 starts for West Michigan, Manning posted a 3.40 ERA, and struck out 76 in 55.2 innings.

His final two starts for the Whitecaps were especially strong. In 14.0 innings of work, he gave up one run on 11 hits. Manning also struck out 14, while walking just one. He will make his first career appearance at High-A in the coming days.

Elsewhere in the Rotation

Dane Myers turned in a pair of very good starts to begin his season back in April. Unfortunately, the strong start was followed by a month-long stint on the disabled list.

Since returning, Myers has picked up where he left off. Outside of his June 2 outing, during which he allowed five runs on seven hits, the right-hander has kept his opponent to three or fewer runs and five or fewer hits.

Wednesday night’s start continued the trend for last year’s sixth round pick. Myers tossed a career-high seven innings, yielding a run on five hits. He added four strikeouts and walked one. For the year, Myers boasts a 2.91 ERA through eight starts.

Despite losing more than a month to injury, Myers continues to build on what was a stellar pro debut season in 2017. Last year with Connecticut, he posted a 2.33 ERA in 13 appearances, 12 of which were starts. With Manning promoted, Myers should rightly get more attention for the work he’s done in his young pro career.

Rivera Raking

Like Myers, Rey Rivera also missed a chunk of time due to injury earlier in the year. Last year’s second rounder sat out most of April before joining a struggling West Michigan lineup.

Rivera gave the Whitecaps a power threat in the middle of the order and he has produced. Through 57 games, he’s collected 23 doubles, tied for the most in the Midwest League. His 39 RBIs trail only Colby Bortles, and his 99 total bases lead the Whitecaps.

The Puerto Rican really took off a couple weeks ago. Rivera has picked up at least one hit in 10 of his last 13 games, and multiple knocks in four of them. The two-week stretch boosted his season average 22 points, to .267. For the year, Rivera boasts a .267/.332/.481 slash line.

Connecticut Tigers

The Connecticut Tigers snapped a 10-game losing streak with a walk-off win Thursday night. Their 3-10 start to the campaign puts them in last in the New-York Penn League’s Stedler Division.

One of the few bright spots for the club has been Isrrael De La Cruz. De La Cruz posted a four-hit game on Saturday, and leads the Tigers in most offensive categories.

The Dominican owns a .364 average, and his 11 runs scored are more than twice the total of his next closest teammate. He’s tied for the team lead in hits, tops the club in total bases and steals, and is one of two Connecticut players to go deep thus far.

GCL Tigers

Both of the Detroit Tigers GCL affiliates are off to solid starts. Despite losing three straight, Tigers West stand at 5-3, in a tie for first place in the GCL Northwest. The 5-4 start to the season for Tigers East has them alone in first in the GCL Northeast.

Perez Debuts

The Detroit Tigers have acquired several promising prospects over the last year as they rebuild. Sending Justin Verlander to the Astros netted three of the most interesting of those prospects in Daz Cameron, Jake Rogers, and Franklin Perez.

The trio were all slated to start the season with Double-A Erie, until Perez went down with an injury. Perez finally made his 2018 debut on Monday, working a pair of innings on a rehab assignment for Tigers East.

Facing Tigers West, Perez allowed one run on one hit, and struck out a pair. Ranked as the top prospect in the organization, the right-hander reached Double-A for the first time last year with Houston at the age of 19.

For his minor league career, the Venezuelan owns a 3.34 ERA, a strikeout rate of 9.5 K/9, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.6:1. The Tigers won’t rush Perez back, but expect him to head to Erie in the near future.

Top Three Picks Signed

Earlier this week, the Detroit Tigers signed their top three selections from this month’s draft, Casey Mize, Parker Meadows, and Kody Clemens. 36 of Detroit’s 40 selections have now signed, including each of the top 10 picks.

Meadows became the latest to make his professional debut, suiting up for Tigers West on Thursday. The second rounder reached base three times, going 1-for-2 and walking twice. The speedy center fielder is the younger brother of Pittsburgh’s Austin Meadows, who was also drafted straight out of high school.

Another 2018 draft pick off to a strong start is Jordan Verdon. A 23rd rounder out of San Diego State, Verdon has reached safely and driven in at least one run in each of his first six games. The 21-year old has collected four doubles, a triple, eight RBIs, and scored five times, while hitting .409.

Next: Exploring Trade Possibilities for Leonys Martin

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 organization.