Detroit Tigers: Ranking Nine Fun Things

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 09: Manager Ron Gardenhire #15 of the Detroit Tigers in action against the Houston Astros during a spring training baseball game at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 9, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Astros defeated the Tigers 2-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 09: Manager Ron Gardenhire #15 of the Detroit Tigers in action against the Houston Astros during a spring training baseball game at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 9, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Astros defeated the Tigers 2-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
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Detroit Tigers Manager Ron Gardenhire Gave the Media a Cryptic Answer After Tuesday’s Game.

Moments after the Detroit Tigers closed out their 8-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, news broke that outfielder Christin Stewart was being sent back to the alternate training site in Toledo. That unexpected, though not unsurprising news — Stewart is hitting just .171 with 3 home runs this season — put a bit of a damper on the solid win. But then Gardenhire added some of intrigue:

Maybe it’s just a public relations stunt to distract from the fact they’re sending down a former first-rounder who was supposed to be a big piece of the rebuild, but nevertheless…we’re intrigued.

So, here are our guesses for who this mystery call-up is, ranked by how much fun it would be.

LAKELAND, FL – FEBRUARY 14: Beau Burrows #37 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during Spring Training workouts at the TigerTown Facility on February 14, 2020 in Lakeland, Florida. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
LAKELAND, FL – FEBRUARY 14: Beau Burrows #37 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during Spring Training workouts at the TigerTown Facility on February 14, 2020 in Lakeland, Florida. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

RHP – Beau Burrows

So this wouldn’t be much fun at all. It’s nothing against Beau Burrows, of course. He’s a former first-rounder and still has a chance to be part of the future, but we’ve already seen him several times this year, and right now he doesn’t look like much more than a mop-up reliever.

Fun Rating: 2 out of 10

DETROIT, MI – JULY 27: Anthony Castro #38 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in his Major League debut during the Opening Day game against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park on July 27, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. The Royals defeated the Tigers 14-6. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – JULY 27: Anthony Castro #38 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in his Major League debut during the Opening Day game against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park on July 27, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. The Royals defeated the Tigers 14-6. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

RHP – Anthony Castro

Well, this isn’t all that much more fun than Burrows. Castro is another middle reliever with interesting stuff who we’d definitely like to see again, but we wouldn’t really call it “fun.” He does get a slightly higher rating than Burrows, simply because we’ve only seen him once this season.

Fun Rating: 3 out of 10

PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 01: Dereck Rodriguez #57 of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch in the bottom of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 1, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 01: Dereck Rodriguez #57 of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch in the bottom of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 1, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

RHP – Dereck Rodriguez

Another option who doesn’t really move the needle. We wrote about Rodriguez last week, and sure, it might be kind of fun to see the son of Pudge back in Comerica, but that’s not the sort of thing fans would pay to see. It might actually make some sense from a baseball standpoint, though, as the Tigers have six games in the next five days, and they always need pitching.

Fun Rating: 4 out of 10

GOODYEAR, ARIZONA – MARCH 07: Zack Short #76 of the Chicago Cubs gets ready to make a play at third base during a spring training game against the Cleveland Indians at Goodyear Ballpark on March 07, 2020 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
GOODYEAR, ARIZONA – MARCH 07: Zack Short #76 of the Chicago Cubs gets ready to make a play at third base during a spring training game against the Cleveland Indians at Goodyear Ballpark on March 07, 2020 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

IF – Zack Short

We also wrote about Short last week, and while it would be pretty fun to see the one player the Tigers landed this trade deadline, it wouldn’t make a ton of sense right now. It never hurts to have extra infielders, but with Stewart moving back to Toledo the Tigers only have four natural outfielders on their team.

Fun Rating: 5 out of 10

LAKELAND, FL – FEBRUARY 25: Franklin Perez #58 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the Spring Training game against the New York Mets at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on February 25, 2020 in Lakeland, Florida. The Tigers defeated the Mets 9-6. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
LAKELAND, FL – FEBRUARY 25: Franklin Perez #58 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the Spring Training game against the New York Mets at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on February 25, 2020 in Lakeland, Florida. The Tigers defeated the Mets 9-6. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

RHP – Franklin Perez

Well, now we’re talking. The bloom has come off the Franklin Perez rose a bit over these last three years, but this is still the top prospect involved in the Justin Verlander trade, and it would be a lot of fun to see him come up and pitch. There’s a built-in feel-good story about perseverance, and fans could possibly get a glimpse at another future member of the rotation.

Fun Rating: 6 out of 10

LAKELAND, FL – MARCH 02: Daz Cameron #75 of the Detroit Tigers bats during the Spring Training game against the Atlanta Braves at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on March 2, 2019 in Lakeland, Florida. The Tigers defeated the Braves 7-4. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
LAKELAND, FL – MARCH 02: Daz Cameron #75 of the Detroit Tigers bats during the Spring Training game against the Atlanta Braves at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on March 2, 2019 in Lakeland, Florida. The Tigers defeated the Braves 7-4. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

OF – Daz Cameron

Another key piece of the Justin Verlander trade, Daz Cameron gets a small edge over Franklin Perez because the Tigers are still in desperate need of potential average big-league bats, and Cameron has a chance to be that. He struggled last year, and this year he’s been dealing with an unnamed illness that is probably Covid-19, but it would be a lot of fun to see another one of the team’s young hitters play every day.

Fun Rating: 7 out of 10

THE ASTONISHING RETURN OF C.J. CRON

via GIPHY

No, it doesn’t make any sense and won’t happen…but would it be fun? You better believe it.

Fun Rating: 8 out of 10

DETROIT, MI – JULY 04: Major League Baseballs number one draft pick Spencer Torkelson #73 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the Detroit Tigers Summer Workouts at Comerica Park on July 4, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – JULY 04: Major League Baseballs number one draft pick Spencer Torkelson #73 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the Detroit Tigers Summer Workouts at Comerica Park on July 4, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

IF – Spencer Torkelson

Holy cow would this be fun. Fans would lose their minds, if not in excitement over the unexpected arrival of this year’s first overall pick, then in anger for how seemingly nonsensical it would be. But if you’re gonna go for it, go for it, right? Let’s see some dingers.

Fun Rating: 9 out of 10

DETROIT, MI – JULY 14: Riley Greene #31 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the Detroit Tigers Summer Workouts at Comerica Park on July 14, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – JULY 14: Riley Greene #31 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the Detroit Tigers Summer Workouts at Comerica Park on July 14, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

OF – Riley Greene

Riley Greene absolutely stole the show during Spring Training and Summer Camp this year, and with one outfielder going to Toledo, another one coming up would actually make some sense. The Tigers would have to clear space on the 40-man roster, but that’s part of what would make this so much fun. If the Tigers call him up tomorrow, it essentially means they are ready to pencil in Riley Greene as one of their everyday corner outfielders in 2021. And that not only makes the final 20 games of this season fun, but all of next year, too.

Fun Rating: 10 out of 10

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