Detroit Tigers Top 20 Prospects: How are they Performing

Prior the the season, the team at MCB released our Detroit Tigers top 20 prospects list. Our plan is to update the list after the draft to give a better idea of the industry consensus on how each prospects relative value has changed. However, in the meantime, we now have about a month of additional performance to discuss for the players listed below. In this article, let’s look at how each prospect in the MCB top twenty is performing so far this season.

Detroit Tigers No. 20 Prospect – Adinso Reyes

Adinso Reyes has not yet been assigned to a minor league affiliate and therefore has no statistics to discuss.

Detroit Tigers No. 19 Prospect – Roberto Campos

Roberto Campos has not yet been assigned to a minor league affiliate and therefore has no statistics to discuss.

Detroit Tigers No. 18 Prospect – Colt Keith

Colt Keith has not yet been assigned to a minor league affiliate  and therefore has no statistics to discuss.

Detroit Tigers No. 17 Prospect – Jose De La Cruz, Lakeland Flying Tigers

2021 Stats: 83 ABs, .108/.213/.108, 0 XBH, 48 Ks, 7 BB

It was always going to be a difficult assignment for a very young player (19) who hadn’t played a competitive game in over a year but the 83 at-bats JDLC has taken in 2021 were worse than most analysts worst case expectations. He has been playing everyday and the Tigers brass seem intent on letting him work through his issues but, if things haven’t improved, after the draft he may get a demotion to regain some confidence.

Detroit Tigers No. 16 Prospect – Gage Workman, Lakeland Flying Tigers

2021 Stats: 101 ABs, .277/.373/.495, 3 HRs, 14 XBHs, 12 SBs, 30 Ks, 16 BB

Basically the exact opposite of his teammate above, Jose De La Cruz (to be fair though, he is two years older), Workman has probably exceeded expectations. Workman has shown all the tools he became known for leading up to the 2020 draft. He has shown some power, speed, and has even made a bit more contact than many were expecting. As an added bonus, the college third basemen has been the everyday shortstop for Lakeland and reports indicate he is more than holding his own.

Detroit Tigers No. 15 Prospect – Bryant Packard, West Michigan Whitecaps

2021 Stats: 63 ABs, .238/.377/.424, 3 HRs, 3 2Bs, 20 Ks, 12 BBs

So far in 2021, Packard has performed fairly well. The batting average has tailed off a bit but he also hasn’t played since May 27th so perhaps he was playing at less than 100%. He has commanded the strike zone well and even hit for some power. In a bit of a surprise move, he has spent the majority of his time in the outfield despite organizational talk about him moving to first base. Defensively, he isn’t going to win a gold glove but his trimmed down frame seems to have helped his range and allowed him to be a passable defender in the outfield.

Detroit Tigers No. 14 Prospect – Jake Rogers, Detroit Tigers

2021 Stats: 33 ABs, .212/.257/.333, 1 HR, 12 Ks, 2 BBs

Now, it is only 33 at-bats with the big league club but the early performance is not going to help the viewpoint that Rogers isn’t going to hit. A 33% K rate and only two extra base hits to this point is lackluster even for a catcher. He has been a positive on defense leading to 0.2 WAR defensively but he will need to prove he can be more productively offensively over the remainder of the season otherwise he may be out of chances with Detroit.

Detroit Tigers No. 13 Prospect – Alex Faedo

Faedo has not played and will miss the entire 2021 season due to TJ surgery.

Detroit Tigers No. 12 Prospect – Franklin Perez

Perez has not played and likely will not play in 2021 due to shoulder surgery. The former centerpiece of the Justin Verlander deal was actually released by Detroit however he agreed to resign with the club.

Detroit Tigers No. 11 Prospect – Parker Meadows, West Michigan Whitecaps

2021 Stats: 70 ABs, .129/.307/.323, 0 HRs, 4 XBHs, 29 Ks, 13 BBs

Meadows start to the 2021 season is certainly one he hopes to forget. He struggled mightily at the plate and was rarely in a position to make solid contact. Outside of the batters box, Meadows has been able to still show some of the tools that have tantalized evaluators since his high school days. He still has speed, arm strength, and plays solid defense. He was placed on the IL at the end of May so perhaps that was impacting him in the batter’s box.

Detroit Tigers No. 10 Prospect – Daniel Cabrera, West Michigan Whitecaps

2021 Stats: 102 ABs, .284/.345/.480, 3 HRs, 5 SBs, 21 Ks, 10 BBs

On May 14th, Cabrera was hitting .094/.167/.156 since then he has caught fire and looked every bit the polished offensive player scouts believed he was during his time at LSU. Reports on his offense indicate he has a strong approach and looks to have quickly caught up to the speed of the pro game. Reports on his defense have been more mixed but overall Cabrera is living up to expectations after a slow start.

Detroit Tigers No. 9 Prospect – Daz Cameron, Toledo Mud Hens

2021 Stats: 65 ABs, .292/.395/.446, 1 HR, 7 XBHs, 2 SBs, 15 Ks, 9 BBs

Cameron started the season on the IL and had a brief rehab stint at Lakeland before a promotion to Toledo. During his brief stint so far at Toledo Cameron has been excellent offensively. Commanding the strike zone and hitting for average and power. His defense remains strong as well and assuming he can stay healthy should be in line for a promotion to Detroit later this summer assuming the need arises.

Detroit Tigers No. 8 Prospect – Dillon Dingler, West Michigan Whitecaps

2021 Stats: 86 ABs, .302/.413/.628, 7 HRs, 29 Ks, 12 BB

(Insert eye popping emoji here) Dingler has been nothing short of superb to this point in 2021. He has likely already cemented himself inside the top 100 prospects in baseball with his performance and he certainly will be rising among prospects in the Tigers system. Name the area and Dingler has done nothing but exceed expectations. If you were trying to nit-pick his strikeout rate is a bit high but that is really splitting hairs.

Detroit Tigers No. 7 Prospect – Joey Wentz, Erie SeaWolves

2021 Stats: 5.2 IP, 4.76 ERA, 7 K s, 1.24 WHIP, 3 BB

Wentz is on a rehab assignment and was assigned to Lakeland. He has started two games and the second of those starts was very promising. Four, scoreless innings, five strikeouts, one hit, and no walks is an encouraging sign for a prospect coming back from major surgery. Also, reports on his velocity have him sitting in the low 90s which is another positive sign. It is great to see him back playing baseball and hopefully with our next update there will be lots more to dissect.

Detroit Tigers No. 6 Prospect – Isaac Paredes, Toledo Mud Hens

2021 Stats: 100 ABs, .270/.357/.390, 2 HRs, 6 XBHs, 16 Ks, 13 BBs

Let’s start with the positive, Paredes is doing what he has done in the past. Showing an advanced approach at the plate, as demonstrated by the strong BB:K ratio, and making lots of contact. Evaluators have always been high on his bat to ball skills and he is proving them correct. The problem early in 2021 has been Paredes hasn’t shown an uptick in his power production. His SLG% and his ISO are both below average. After a slow start he has been heating up with the weather though so the power may show up more consistently soon. His has primarily played second base and he has proven capable defender at the keystone. This helps his versatility and gives him a broader range of outcomes to help in Detroit.