Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Home runs galore

First-time accomplishments were the theme across the Detroit Tigers farm system last night as the Toledo Mud Hens and the Erie SeaWolves both won last night.

Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens (2-0)

The Mud Hens got the offense going early on with Derek Hill’s three-run home run in the third inning off Thomas Jankins. Overall, Hill went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks in addition to his home run.

Isaac Paredes started his run back up to Detroit by going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Zack Short’s three-run shot in the 8th gave the Mud Hens the lead for good. Robbie Ross Jr picked up his first save on the season.

Double-A Erie SeaWolves (2-0)

For the second night in a row, the SeaWolves offense scored in double digits and set a franchise record for most runs in their first two games in the 14-2 win.

Cole Peterson went 3-for-5 while playing second base and Kerry Carpenter, an outfielder who was last at short-season Connecuit in 2019 like Ryan Kreidler, went 2-for-3 and drove in two.  But the main story here was what Josh Lester and Riley Greene did. Lester and Greene both hit grand slams. That was the first time in SeaWolves history that two grand slams were hit in the same game.

High-A West Michigan Whitecaps (0-2)

The 2020 draft picks had a few firsts last night. Dillon Dingler went 2-for-4, including an opposite-field home run in the 2nd inning to give the Whitecaps the early 1-0 lead.

Spencer Torkelson and Daniel Cabrera singled to get their first professional hits. Fort Wayne would take the lead in the sixth, scoring three runs off Chavez Fernander. Both Brendan White and Zack Hess making their High-A debuts, combined to throw 2.1 innings of scoreless relief in the loss.

Low-A Lakeland Flying Tigers (1-1)

The Flying Tigers, like Erie, also had an impressive offense output as they would go hit three home runs in the 13-11 loss to Clearwater.  Outfielder Kingston Linak, first baseman Jimmy Kerr and third baseman Nick Quintana all went yard. Quintana also drew four walks.

Jose De La Cruz got his first professional hit and would go on to have a 2-for-4 night with 3 RBIs. Gage Workman went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and Cooper Johnson went 4-for-6. The Threshers scored five in the bottom of the 11th after Lakeland scored three in the top of the inning. A three-run home off Jack Dellinger was the difference for Clearwater.