Detroit Tigers: Rookies Progress Report

The Detroit Tigers have used 12 rookies already. Here’s how they’ve fared.

If you’re wondering, 12 rookies is exactly average in this very strange year. A few teams have already called on more than 20 first-year players this season, and the Tigers themselves called up 25 rookies last year.

But this crop of rookies feels a bit different. In many ways the future of the Detroit Tigers franchise depends on the eventual performance of their current prospects, so we thought we’d check in on the rookie class of 2020 to see how they’re adjusting to the big leagues.

The sample sizes are small, and the jump from minor-league baseball to the Bigs is incredibly difficult, so we won’t be closing the book on any of these players. But an early look might help us learn how they can improve.

Note – We aren’t looking at the rookies Beau Burrows, Anthony Castro, Derek Hill, or David McKay, because they haven’t played enough.

Willi Castro

(ranks out of 47 rookies)

Grade: B

Analysis: Willi Castro isn’t as highly regarded as Isaac Paredes, but he is still generally considered one of Detroit’s top 15 prospects. After a great first game in which he went 3-for-4 with a homer, Castro hit the skids for about a week, and at one point he struck out in 8 consecutive plate appearances. He has seemingly turned things back around, though, and in his last 9 games he’s hitting .382. His defense has been an adventure, with at least three egregious throws, and his miniscule walk rate and sky-high BABIP suggest he’s due for a pretty severe regression. Still, what’s done is done, and he’s been very helpful.

Bryan Garcia

(ranks out of 116 rookies)

Grade: B+

Analysis: Garcia got his feet wet with the Tigers late last year, and in 2020 he has developed into one of Ron Gardenhire’s more reliable relievers. Lately he’s being called upon in high-leverage situations, and he has mostly done the job by inducing weak contact. Garcia has an above-average changeup and his slider is average, but he’s not missing enough bats right now to move into a late-inning role.

John Schreiber

(ranks out of 116 rookies)

Grade: D+

Analysis: Schreiber has done a good job throwing strikes for most of the season, and that’s helped him stay out of more trouble, but otherwise he’s been below average across the board. His unusual delivery offers some deception, but it’s not really helping his miss bats or keeping batters from hitting him hard. He’s been a bit unlucky, but even with average luck his best role would probably be mop-up duty.

Kyle Funkhouser

(ranks out of 116 rookies)

71st

Grade: D

Analysis: Funkhouser has been worse than Schreiber in nearly every way, but he avoids a failing grade because bad batted-ball luck has inflated his ERA. On the plus side, Funkhouser’s stuff looks very good at times. He’s hit the upper-90s with a lively fastball , and he can occasionally unleash a plus slider. There’s late-inning potential here, but Funkhouser still needs to take big steps in terms of developing better control and consistency.

Rony Garcia

(ranks out of 116 rookies)

114th

Grade: D-

Analysis: It feels a bit unfair to grade Rony Garcia because he normally wouldn’t be in the majors — although with the Yankees bullpen issues this year, who knows? The Tigers took him from New York with the first pick in last year’s Rule 5 draft, and therefore he must stay on the active roster all season. The Tigers have done a decent job keeping Garcia out of pressure situations, and to his credit he’s thrown a lot of strikes, but that may be part of the problem. Garcia has given up 5 home runs already, and his 3.38 HR/9 is the highest among all rookie pitchers.

Casey Mize

(ranks out of 116 rookies)

Grade: D

Analysis: The biggest name of all the rookies to arrive for the Tigers so far, Casey Mize has had a rough go of it in his first three outings. He flashed signs of his skill in his debut, and there’s no disputing how nasty his splitter is, but Mize has struggled to throw quality strikes, and innings have snowballed on him quickly. Mize has run into a little bad luck, but it’s been a rocky start.

Tarik Skubal

(ranks out of 116 rookies)

Grade: D

Analysis: Tarik Skubal hasn’t found the big leagues any easier than Casey Mize, though Skubal does have a win to his name. The Tigers have been slow to let Skubal loose, but he’s made some strides in each start. He throws plenty of strikes, but they aren’t always where he needs them to be, and his changeup and curveball have a ways to go before they are reliable offerings.

Conclusion: It’s been a decidedly mixed bag for the Detroit Tigers rookies so far in 2020. We’ve seen plenty of flashes of talent, but just about every one of these rookies needs to show more consistency. We’ll check back at the end of the season to see if there’s been progress.