The Detroit Tigers Guide To The Sweet 16

We won’t pretend the Detroit Tigers have your undivided attention right now. Spring training doesn’t matter, and not everyone cares about exit velocity.

It’s getting warmer outside, and there’s still that whole pandemic thing happening, though thankfully COVID-19 shots are becoming more available.

But above all else, we are smack in the middle of the best time of the year for college basketball. It’s hard to care about the 8th inning of a meaningless Detroit Tigers game when brackets and bragging writes are on the line.

So, in an effort to needlessly shoehorn baseball into your basketball experience, we’ve decided to offer a rooting guide to the Sweet 16 based solely on each school’s ties to the Detroit Tigers.

Detroit Tigers Sweet 16 Matchup 1: Oregon St. vs. Loyola Chicago

Notable Detroit Tigers:

Loyola Chicago: None

Oregon State: Matthew Boyd, Jordan Lennerton, Jonah Nickerson, Chris Wakeland

This is the first game of the weekend, but it’s a tough one for us, because Loyola Chicago doesn’t have a baseball program. The closest we can get is John Hyde, a left-handed pitcher the Tigers drafted but didn’t sign in 1968, who attended Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL.

Oregon State, on the other hand, has been something of a baseball powerhouse the last few decades. The Detroit Tigers have drafted four Beavers, including the hirsuit Canadian frontiersman you see above, Jordan Lennerton. He spent parts of eight seasons in the Tigers’ minor-league system, and he was even their representative at the 2013 Futures Game. And then there’s Matthew Boyd, this year’s Opening Day starter.

Winner: Oregon State, by default.

Detroit Tigers Sweet 16 Matchup 2: Villanova vs. Baylor

Notable Detroit Tigers:

Villanova: Bob Loscalzo, Andrew Mante, Frank Skaff

Baylor: John Bevil, Nicholas Cassavechia, Dean Crow, Josh Turley

The Detroit Tigers have never drafted a player from Villanova, but for one very strange summer they had a former Wildcat for a manager. Frank Skaff played in just 38 MLB games, but he spent most of his life as a coach and scout. He joined the Detroit Tigers coaching staff in 1965, serving as the bench coach in 1966, but he became the manager when both Chuck Dressen and interim manager Bob Swift tragically fell ill and died during the season. The Tigers went 40-39 under Skaff, but he was replaced by Mayo Smith in 1967 and never managed another game.

The Tigers have never had a prominent player from Baylor on their team, though Dean Crow did see action in 15 games back in 1998. Their most notable recent Baylor draft pick is probably Josh Turley, a 16th-round pick in 2012 who spent parts of three seasons with Triple-A Toledo. He was a lefty who would throw occasional knuckleballs in games, but he never got a serious look from the Tigers, and he retired in 2018.

Winner: Baylor, because less tragedy.

Detroit Tigers Sweet 16 Matchup 3: Oral Roberts vs. Arkansas

Notable Detroit Tigers:

Oral Roberts:  Michael Hollimon, Mike Moore, Brian Rios

Arkansas: Dominic Ficociello, Jack Kenley, James McCann, Drew Smyly

The Detroit Tigers have drafted a dozen players from Oral Roberts University, but their most prominent pick was the bloody gentleman you see above, Michael Hollimon. Don’t let the blood fool you, he wasn’t a butcher in the field, and he had some tools on offense, but he only played 11 big-league games during the 2008 season. He struggled with injuries, moved on the the Twins organization, and retired in 2012. Mike Moore had a very nice big-league career, even making the All-Star team in 1989, but he had a career 5.90 ERA in his three seasons with the Tigers.

The Tigers have made a habit of drafting Razorbacks in the past 15 years. Drew Smyly and James McCann are probably the best of the bunch, and both found themselves landing solid paydays this off season. The team actually drafted Ficociello twice, and he was a solid organizational soldier for parts of six years. Kenley was Detroit’s 8th-round pick in 2019 and he hasn’t had much of a chance to play in pro ball.

Winner: Arkansas.

Detroit Tigers Sweet 16 Matchup 4: Syracuse vs. Houston

Notable Detroit Tigers:

Syracuse: Glenn Borkhuis, David DeLuca, John Larkin

Houston: Larry Coker, Kyle Dowdy, Bryan Pounds, Joe Wood

Syracuse has a rich athletic history, but it isn’t a big baseball powerhouse. The Detroit Tigers have only drafted three players from the Orange, and none of them made the big leagues. Of the three, DeLuca was the only player to have any kind of baseball career, tossing 485 minor-league innings and reaching Double-A Montgomery three times before retiring.

There have been a handful more Houston Cougars who found their way to Detroit but again the MLB success is minimal. This Larry Coker is not the former head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, and this Joe Wood is not the great dead-ball era hurler Smoky Joe Wood. Bryan Pounds never made the bigs despite having a great last name for a hitter. Kyle Dowdy was a 12th-round pick for the Tigers in 2015, but he was sent to Cleveland as part of the Willi Castro trade, and his only MLB time came with the Texas Rangers in 2019.

Winner: Houston has no problem.

Detroit Tigers Sweet 16 Matchup 5: Creighton vs. Gonzaga

Notable Detroit Tigers:

Creighton: Kimera Bartee, Ethan DeCaster, Mike Gerber, Danny Woodrow

Gonzaga: Ryan Carpenter, Ed Clelland, Eric Rodland

The Detroit Tigers have drafted six Creighton Blue Jays in the last decade, so their history is getting stronger there. Mike Gerber was a bit of a minor-league fan favorite who made it to the majors but struggled mightily, while Ethan DeCaster and Danny Woodrow both saw time in spring training this season. But the best former Blue Jay to play for the Tigers is probably Kimera Bartee, who manned center field at Tiger Stadium for parts of four seasons.

The Pacific Northwest has a solid baseball pedigree, but Gonzaga hasn’t been a big producer of MLB talent. Their most prominent player is Jason Bay, who won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2004 and made three All-Star teams. But Ryan Carpenter is the only former Bulldog to play for the Detroit Tigers, and he was…not great. Carpenter pitched in 15 games for the Tigers over two seasons, giving up 95 hits in just 63 innings, and posting an ERA of 8.57.

Winner: Creighton by a nose.

Detroit Tigers Sweet 16 Matchup 6: Florida State vs. Michigan

Notable Detroit Tigers:

Florida State: Drew Carlton, Johnny Grubb, Larry Rothschild, Devon Travis

Michigan: Chris Fetter, Bill Freehan, Charlie Gehringer, Rick Leach

Florida State is one of the powerhouses of college baseball, but for whatever reason good pros from FSU haven’t really found their way to the Detroit Tigers. Drew Carlton was a 32nd-round pick in 2017 who has been a valuable minor-league reliever, if not a legitimate MLB prospect. Johnny Grubb had a solid big-league career, and he spent his final five seasons in pro ball as a bench bat with the Tigers. Larry Rothschild barely pitched for Detroit — just seven appearances — but he’s had a long career as a big-league coach. Devon Travis might be the best of this bunch, but the Tigers traded him for Anthony Gose, and then injuries ruined Travis’ career.

If you know your Tigers history then there’s not much to discuss here. Chris Fetter is the current pitching coach, and he’s highly regarded within the game. Rick Leach is a Michigan high-school legend who was a Heisman Trophy finalist as a quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines, but he never really found MLB success. Bill Freehan is the best catcher in franchise history, and he was an 11-time All-Star and should probably be in the Hall of Fame. And then there’s The Mechanical Man, Charlie Gehringer, who IS in the Hall of Fame, and is one of the best second basemen ever.

Winner: Michigan in a walk.

Detroit Tigers Sweet 16 Matchup 8: Oregon vs. USC

Notable Detroit Tigers:

Oregon: Steve Baker, Drew Gangier

USC: Gabe Álvarez, Davy Jones, Steve Kemp, Eric Munson

Pretty slim pickings for Oregon here. Steve Baker was drafted by the Mets in 1974 but he made his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers in 1978, when he threw 6.1 innings of one-run ball and struck out future Hall-of-Famer Eddie Murray twice. Big-league hitters beat him up in 1979 and he was out of the organization shortly thereafter. Drew Gangier was a 17th rounder in 2010 and he made 27 relief appearances in Connecticut before leaving the organization.

USC has a claim as the best college baseball program ever, with 12 national championships and Hall-of-Fame alumni like Randy Johnson, Ralph Kiner, Tom Seaver, and Don Sutton. Gabe Álvarez was one of Detroit’s best prospects in the late 1990s, coming to the Tigers in a 1997 trade of Travis Fryman, but he never panned out in the big-leagues. Davy Jones had a law degree and served as the speedy leadoff man for the great early 1900s Tigers teams. Steve Kemp was the first overall pick in the 1976 draft and put up strong numbers for Detroit for five seasons before being traded for Chet Lemon. And of course there’s Eric Munson, who was the 3rd overall pick in the 1999 draft but never quite hit enough in pro ball.

Winner: The Trojans in a rout.