Where trade deadline acquisitions rank among Detroit Tigers prospects

The Detroit Tigers added four new prospects to their farm system at Wednesday’s trade deadline, continuing the organization’s quest of building for the future.

With the Detroit Tigers trading away Nicholas Castellanos and Shane Greene on Wednesday, a group of new prospects from both Atlanta and Chicago now become new pieces of the Tigers’ rebuild. Following the new acquisitions, MLB Pipeline quickly updated its rankings of the top 30 Tigers prospects, so let’s take a look at where the new guys ended up on the list.

The highest-ranked of Wednesday’s acquisitions is LHP Joey Wentz, who finds himself as the tenth overall Detroit prospect after coming to the Motor City from Atlanta as part of the Shane Greene trade. The 21-year-old lefty has a 4.72 ERA through 20 Double-A starts this year and will find himself amongst an already extremely talented Erie SeaWolves starting rotation to begin his time with the Tigers organization.

Next on the list is RHP Paul Richan, who cracks the top 20 at number 19. Another starting pitcher, Richan comes to Detroit from the Chicago Cubs as part of the Nicholas Castellanos deal. At 21 years old, Richan has 3.97 ERA in 17 Single-A this year and is likely to be assigned to Lakeland to start his time with the Tigers.

The final new prospect from yesterday’s acquisitions on the list is RHP Alex Lange, who came along with Richan from Chicago and is ranked 29th in the Tigers system now. Yet another starter, Lange has a 5.82 ERA and 3-12 record through 18 minor league starts this year in both Single and Double-A.

The only prospect the Tigers acquired on Wednesday not on the list is OF Travis Demeritte, the other prospect Detroit received from the Braves in return for Greene. This is likely due to the possibility that Demeritte could find himself on the Tigers’ major league roster very soon, if not immediately, due to the fact that he is hitting .286 with 20 home runs in Triple-A this year.

The Detroit Tigers ended up adding more pitching to their farm system ranks despite the focus leading up to the trade deadline mostly being on offense. Despite that, it will be interesting to see how these new prospects perform on the road to Detroit.