Detroit Tigers: Pair of draft picks begin road to big leagues

The second and third round picks for the Detroit Tigers from this month’s MLB Draft have officially begun their road to the big leagues.

Second round pick Nick Quintana and third-round pick Andre Lipcius have joined the West Michigan Whitecaps roster, per Steve Kaminski of MLive, officially kicking off their journeys to Detroit. The pair of infielders join the Class A affiliate for the Detroit Tigers and will begin their professional careers with the Tigers organization in the Midwest League.

Detroit selected Quintana out of the University of Arizona in the second round of this year’s draft. Quintana hit .342/.462/.626 with 77 RBI in his junior season this year with the Wildcats earning him Pac 12 All-Conference honors.

The third baseman has also received praise for his skills on the defensive side of the diamond as well. Quintana finished his junior year at Arizona with a .921 fielding percentage and was named a Pac 12 All-Defensive team honorable mention.

A fellow third baseman, Andre Lipcius from the University of Tennessee was selected in the third round by the Detroit Tigers. Also being drafted following his junior year, Lipcius hit .308/.393/.483 with 58 RBI for the Volunteers in 2019.

Like Quintana, Lipcius also presents prowess on defense as well as skill at the plate. Lipcius finished his season with the Vols with a .925 fielding percentage and helped turn nine double plays.

With second and third round picks officially joining a roster in the Tigers’ farm system, first-round pick Riley Greene is yet to join a roster at the moment. Greene was introduced by the organization at Comerica Park just days after the draft and was then reported to be sent to train at the team’s facility in Lakeland, but that seems to be the last we have heard regarding Greene for now.

Quintana and Lipcius joining the Whitecaps roster marks the beginning of their roads to the major leagues. Make sure to follow Motor City Bengals on Facebook and Twitter and keep checking out our site for the latest big news regarding Tigers prospects.