Detroit Tigers Future Friday: 3 Prospects who made huge gains in 2018

Wenceel Perez

Perez spent 2017, his first season with the Tigers organization, over in the Dominican Republic playing for the DSL Tigers. He hit .314/.387/.358 in 61 games, a good sign of things to come.

He has taken a step forward here in 2018. He began the season with the Gulf Coast League Tigers, slashing a blistering .383/.462/.543 with seven doubles and a pair of steals in just 20 games. That earned him a quick call up to the Connecticut Tigers in the short-season New York Penn League.

Perez struggled a bit at that level, as he was on average three years younger than his competition. He hit just .244 there, although his 13.8% strikeout rate was still outstanding and his seven steals in just 21 games wasn’t too shabby either.

However, the reason he cracks this list is what he did next. Perez earned himself yet another promotion, this time with the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps in the Midwest League. He was about 3.5 years younger than most of the player at that level, but it didn’t matter. Perez slashed a tidy .309/.324/.441 with a 109 wRC+. His 2.8% walk rate at that level is certainly not ideal, but his 11.3% strikeout rate is incredible considering his age and inexperience.

All-in-all, Perez rocketed up three levels at the age of 18, and is beginning to look like a solid future shortstop. His ability to make contact is one of the best in the entire system, and although he has no power to speak of, it’s entirely possible he adds some muscle to his current five-foot-eleven, 170 pound frame.

The Tigers will certainly take their time with the young shortstop, but his ability to put the ball in play should help him succeed at all stops.

Jacob Robson

Since being selected in the eighth round of the 2016 draft, Robson’s future value has long counted on him developing at least a little bit of power. He is a speed-first, high-OBP hitter who hit just four home runs in 167 minor league games between 2016 and 2017.

2018 was the year fans were waiting for, as the 23-year-old outfielder finally showed some over the wall pop, while maintaining his excellent speed and on-base skills. He started the year out at Double-A Erie, where he slashed .286/.382/.450 with seven home runs, 11 stolen bases and a 133 wRC+. He was promoted to Triple-A primarily to fill-in while Christin Stewart was hurt, but he hit so well at that level that he never relinquished his spot.

In 57 games with Toledo, Robson slashed .305/.369/.427 with four home runs, seven steals, and a 127 wRC+. He posted a 12.5% walk rate in Double-A and a 9.4% rate at Triple-A, while maintaining a strikeout rate around 25%.

Strikeouts may be a factor down the line, but at this point Robson’s strong season has him in the picture at some point in 2019. Don’t expect to see him there on opening day, but if he keeps hitting over .300 in Toledo he will find his way onto the big league roster. Especially if that power keeps up.

Matt Hall

His big league career has gotten off to a rocky start, but when you look at the numbers he put up just to reach the big leagues this season than Hall’s 2018 looks considerably better.

Hall has performed well since he joined the Tigers system in 2015. He posted a 2.55 ERA and 8.9 K/9 across 23 starts in 2016. He made 24 starts in 2017, with a 2.60 ERA and a much improved 9.7 K/9.

While it seems tough to improve on that, Hall did exactly that in 2018. He began the year at Double-A, where the Tigers experimented with him as a reliever. He posted an incredible 1.58 ERA and a 12.00 K/9 in 57 innings. That earned him a call up to Triple-A Toledo, where he rejoined the rotation. In ten starts he posted a 4-0 record with a 2.67 ERA and a 9.26 K/9. His 3.14 BB/9 was particularly solid, giving him a career-high K/BB ratio.

Hall parlayed his excellent minor league performance into his first big league call up. He’s thrown 6.2 innings out of the bullpen, but has not found any success. He’s surrendered 17 hits and 12 earned runs, with just four strikeouts and three walks.

While it has been a disappointing start to his big league career, Hall’s tremendous season in the minor leagues will keep him in the picture for a rotation spot next season. He has only made ten starts in Toledo however, so expect him to start the season out there to try to reclaim some of his mojo.

While there was a lot of growth across the board in the Detroit Tigers farm system, these three are names to keep an eye on as they look to continue their growth in 2019.