Detroit Tigers: Ranking Nine Fun Things

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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