Detroit Tigers: Five players are in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list

#30 Matt Manning

Bless You Boys writer Matt Manning is the conductor of the Matt Manning prospect train and there are reasons for it.  He has above-average control and at every level, has dropped his walk rate. He also commands both sides of the plate with a combination of a plus fastball and curveball that is just nasty.

According to Baseball America’s report, Manning’s changeup flashes above-average with sinking action but still needs further development. For anyone to be a starter in the majors, they have to throw at least three good to above-average pitches to survive.

But as James Chipman of Prospects Live, who has seen Manning in Lakeland, said about his changeup.

 “The offering has made significant gains with pro instruction and Manning’s track record of pitch development suggests the offering could reach solid average overall”

A huge downfall of not having the minor league season in 2020 was for Manning to work in-game action. The good news is the forearm strain back in August was not serious and was throwing in instructs, which is a huge sigh of relief. The Tigers outside of Manning, Joey Wentz, and Franklin Perez have a drop off in starters outside of the Triple-A and Double-A levels.