3 Detroit Minor-Leaguers Who Could See a Promotion Soon

Number One: Riley Greene

Riley Greene is one of the most intriguing prospects in all of baseball and we wouldn’t be surprised if our number one ranked prospect gets a promotion from the Double-A Erie SeaWolves to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens in the near future. Greene, a 20-year-old outfielder, is the number two overall prospect in the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system and he has been tearing it up in Double-A baseball this season.

Riley Greene has gotten the job done with his bat and has made his fair share of highlight-reel plays from his center field position as well. Greene, thus far this season, has averaged .263 while drilling four home runs and 16 RBI. Greene has excelled at getting on base, which is nothing new for him, as his average in that department currently sits .362 which ranks him ninth amongst all Double-A Northeast outfielders.

Riley Greene still has some growing to do and Detroit isn’t likely going to rush the development of Greene considering the significant talent they have in Triple-A right now, which could pay off in the long haul. While the Tigers don’t want to rush Riley’s development, I have a hard time believing that we’ll see Greene suiting up for the SeaWolves beyond late July.

Number Two: Gage Workman

Gage Workman was a fourth-round pick by the Detroit Tigers in 2020 and their 2020 draft class is already looking like it’s going to pan out into something special. Gage Workman has been putting in work this season (no pun intended), and he could certainly warrant promotion from the Low-A Lakeland Flying Tigers to the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps.

Workman, a 21-year-old third baseman, has displayed a consistent ability to put the ball in play with his bat in seemingly every at-bat and he has drawn nationwide attention with his torrid start. Workman, in the early going this season, has hit .288 with 23 hits, 11 RBI, two home runs, 16 runs, and six stolen bases. Workman has also done an excellent job of working himself on base as his average currently sits at .383 in that category.

Gage Workman has hit for the cycle already this season and Detroit’s number 12 overall prospect could see a leap up to High-A ball in the near future. If Workman continues to shine in the lower levels, I wouldn’t be surprised if a late-season call-up to Double-A Erie came to fruition.

Number Three: Elvin Rodriguez

Elvin Rodriguez has been a major spark for the Erie SeaWolves’ pitching staff this season, and it begins to raise questions surrounding how much longer the 23 year old right-handed pitcher will be in town. As a contributor from Erie, all the buzz around town has been about two guys; Riley Greene and Elvin Rodriguez. Rodriguez, oddly enough, was never drafted into the MLB but was added via a trade with the Los Angeles Angels back in 2017.

Elvin Rodriguez has been lights out in Erie this season and it’s hard to believe he’ll stick around for much longer. Rodriguez, prior to his last start, had two consecutive starts where he didn’t allow a base hit and he has been the ace of a rather efficient Erie pitching staff this season. Rodriguez has pitched 19.1 innings this season and has posted an earned run average of just 1.40 (good for second in the Double-A Northeast) and a WHIP of just 0.78.

Rodriguez has also posted a strikeout to walk ratio of 23 to 7, and he could be in line for a promotion to Triple-A in the near future. Elvin Rodriguez may not be a top 30 Detroit Tigers prospect according to the MLB, but he could wind up being one of the most underrated and promising pitchers to gain promotion to the big leagues for the Tigers in quite some time. I wouldn’t rule out a potential Elvin Rodriguez big league debut in 2021.