Detroit Tigers: Future talent shines in latest prospect rankings

The Detroit Tigers are in the midst of a full-scale rebuild, and the latest ranking of baseball’s top 100 prospects has to have many Detroit fans feeling optimistic for the future.

On Tuesday evening, MLB Pipeline released its updated list ranking the current top 100 prospects in baseball. The list contained four Detroit Tigers prospects, a promising sign for the organization’s rebuilding efforts.

Obviously, the most prominent Detroit Tigers prospect featured on the list is pitcher Casey Mize. Mize jumped up to the number two spot in the rankings and retained his status as the highest ranked pitching prospect in all of baseball.

Last year’s number one overall pick, Casey Mize is a dazzling prospect and we’ve discussed his potential plenty of times over the past few months. However, Mize is currently on the minor league IL for Double-A Erie with “minor shoulder inflammation” which should not be seen as too serious yet could present a bump in the road for the Auburn product’s development.

The next Tigers prospect on the list is fellow Erie SeaWolves pitcher Matt Manning. Manning jumped ten spots from 43rd in the previous rankings to 33rd on this most recent list. The 21-year-old is having a solid year so far in Erie with a 5-4 record and 2.35 ERA through13 starts in Double-A.

Coming in at 63rd in MLB Pipeline’s rankings is Franklin Perez, yet another pitcher. Detroit acquired Perez from Houston as part of the Justin Verlander trade, and the righty has struggled with shoulder issues so far in 2019 and was just recently reactivated from the IL. In fact, Perez made just his second start of the season on Tuesday night for Single-A Lakeland, surrendering one run on three hits in 3.2 IP.

Rounding out the Tigers prospects on the list is INF Isaac Paredes (hey, finally a non-pitcher). Detroit acquired Paredes in a trade with the Chicago Cubs back in 2017, and the 20-year-old has been making an impact at the plate for the Erie SeaWolves all season long. Paredes currently is hitting .265/.357/.381 with 28 RBI down in Double-A.

Seeing a group of talented future potential superstars featured in these rankings has to be a bit encouraging for Detroit Tigers fans. Although maybe we would like to see a few more promising bats developing down in the minors, there certainly shouldn’t be any complaints that the Tigers are without their share of impressive prospects.