Detroit Tigers: Power Ranking the Scheduled 2020 Opponents

The Detroit Tigers will be facing just the AL Central and NL Central for the shortened season. What is different for each team and how do they rank in difficulty for Detroit?

With “Summer Camp 2020” just days away, the Detroit Tigers have their 60-man roster set for the shortened season, minus two spots that will be announced the next day with the signing of Torkelson and the corresponding move.  The camp will be held at Comerica Park, with the first pitchers and catchers workout scheduled for July 3.

Baseball America, among others, noted the roster is prospect heavy, which is a good sign that the farm system is showing continued improvement.  The new top 50 board at the Tigers Minor League Report has a heavy dose of the 2020 draft picks in the top 30 and that may have helped them catch up with their division rivals.  Detroit now leads the parade among farm system rankings, according to Bleacher Report with the Royals coming in at number 10, Chicago at number 12, Twins at 15, and Cleveland at number 20.

There is a possibility that we could see some of the top Tigers prospects playing in games this season. With that, there is an inherited risk with the threat of COVID-19.  The risk has been reduced to the best of MLB’s abilities with this shortened schedule.

The Tigers will have 10 games against the Royals, Indians, White Sox, and Twins with four each against all NL Central teams. In addition to what the rest of the division looks like prospect wise, the NL Central is loaded with some talented prospects.

On each team, I will list a few impactful prospects that may or may not make an appearance as we start these team rankings. To have a working knowledge of some of the names you may be familiar with in the future should be helpful. Without further ado, let’s start with the power rankings for Detroit’s opponents for 2020, ranked from least to the most difficult.