Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: The Whitecaps Power Committee

It was a big day in the Detroit Tigers Minor League system as Spencer Torkelson hit his first professional home run, Riley Greene hit his fourth home run of the season, and Jose King helped Tigers fans “win the trade” for the day.

The Detroit Tigers Minor League Report

Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens (6-10)

Matt Manning went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and struck out seven in the 5-3 loss to Columbus. Bradley Zimmer went deep off Manning in the 3rd but overall as Jake Boes noted on his start last night, showed his curve to be a plus pitch.

Yariel Gonzalez went yard again for Toledo, going 1-for-4 on the day. He is tied with Riley Greene for most home runs across the Tigers minor league system. Derek Hill went 2-for-4 with a double and Victor Reyes went 1-for-2 on the day with a pair of walks.

Double-A: Erie SeaWolves (12-5)

The SeaWolves saw their winning streak get snapped with a 6-4 loss to Binghamton. Riley Greene hit his fourth home run of the season.

Three SeaWolves batters had multiple-hit games. Josh Lester went 2-for-4 with a double, Kerry Carpenter, 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, and John Valente went 2-for-3.  Valente by the way, is second on the team in batting average next to Jacob Robson, batting .367.

High-A: West Michigan Whitecaps (7-9)

The monkey is off his back. Spencer Torkelson went deep yesterday for the first home run of his professional career in the 9-8  loss to Wisconsin in the first game of a doubleheader.  Here is Dan Hasty’s call of the home run.

In the first game, Torkelson went 3-for-4 and drove in three. Daniel Cabrera went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Rey Rivera hit his third home run of the week, going 2-for-4.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Whitecaps lost 8 to 7 but saw more power as Jose King, Cabrera, and Andre Lipcius went yard.  Torkelson went 1-for-4 but stole three bases in the second game. King’s home run was an oppo taco and his first of the season.  Cabrera and Lipcius went back to back in the seventh inning with Lipcius’s home run tying the game at seven.

King in the second game went 3-for-3 with the home run and also added a double with a pair of  RBIs.

Low-A: Lakeland Flying Tigers (8-9)

Jimmy Kerr went 2-for-4 and Andrew Navigato went deep for his first professional home run to tie the game but the Flying Tigers fell short, losing 7-6 to Bradenton.

Jose De La Cruz showed off his arm with absolute laser for an impressive assist from the outfield.