Detroit Tigers: Good Bye JaCoby Jones. Hello Victor Reyes. What’s Next?

A few weeks ago, I spoke about the Detroit Tigers’ need for an outfield reboot and there has been some subsequent shuffling.

First, the Detroit Tigers sent struggling outfielder Victor Reyes down to Triple-A Toledo.  Apparently, he must really like the first-class accommodations of Major League Baseball as he promptly found his stroke to the tune of .391/.482/.543 at the plate with 7 walks in this 56 plate appearance, notable because that is extremely out of character from his 3.8% career walk rate.

JaCoby Jones meanwhile continued to struggle, as those flashes of offense we saw the last couple of years appear to be out of his grasp. In the last 14 days, he has managed just .200/.286/.200 and for the season contributing an abysmal OPS+ of 30.

Now the roles are reversing as Reyes has earned a recall from General Manager Al Avila and his trusty cohorts, and JaCoby Jones looks like he has found his Mikie Mahtook season at age 29, demoted to Toledo for some Tony Paco’s before he ends up unceremoniously being released at season’s end, latching onto a new organization for depth on a minor league deal.

Enter Victor Reyes for his last chance tryout for the 4th outfielder position next season. Turning 27 in October and entering his arbitration years, Victor is giving a golden opportunity to prove he can be a serviceable major league player. Sustained improvement in plate discipline and some power must be part of the equation this go around for me to consider moving forward with him as he becomes more costly.

Any reasonable performance and his roster spot should be secure for the rest of this season as CF depth is a real issue with Baddoo being the only other real option on the roster with Hittin’ Harold Castro able to spell the position in a pinch. What if Victor Reyes flames out quickly again? Let’s take a look at the options that Detroit has on their 40-man roster.

Detroit Tigers prospect Derek Hill

While I am still extremely doubtful he hits enough to be a major league regular, Derek Hill warrants at least a look if he continues this .302/.373/.509 start with the MudHens.  I think they should have given him a look now for a week or two while he has the numbers and confidence and sees what happens but this front office love affair with Reyes just could not be denied. Daz Cameron, another popular name that fans often call for is struggling out of the gate as he returns from injury. I want to see his call-up earned and in another few weeks that could be the case but his time is not now and Hill is in front of him at the 1/4 pole but that could change easily by the half-mile marker.

Derek Hill has shown extra-base power with three doubles, a triple with the pair of home runs, and his walk rate is at 9.8%, which his highest since Low-A in 2017. He already has been spent time being the 27th man on the roster whenever the Tigers have needed the position filled and his ability to play all three positions in the outfield and already familiar with the spacious Comerica Park, you might as well see what he can do with more playing time.

Hill’s all-or-nothing style in the outfield has created some of these web gems.