Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Torrid Torkelson

Thursday was an outstanding day for the Detroit Tigers, as they won their series against Seattle, and three of their four minor-league affiliates were victorious. We saw a pair of walk-off wins and a lot of strong performances from 2020 draft picks. Read about it all in the…

Detroit Tigers Minor League Report

Triple-A: Toledo Mud Hens (16-16)

It took an extra-inning and a little bit of pain, but the Mud Hens won 3-2 and moved back to .500 last night when Zack Short took a pitch off his elbow with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th. The game was relatively quiet before it hit extras, with Toledo scoring in the 3rd on a groundout from Short, and then clinging on to a 1-0 lead until the 9th when Louisville loaded the bases against Robbie Ross Jr., and Aderlin Rodríguez committed an error at first. The Bats then scored one run in the 10th on a Alfredo Rodriguez double. Aderlin Rodríguez redeemed himself in the bottom of the 10th with a game-tying double, and then former Detroit Tigers pitcher Carson Fulmer loaded the bases and eventually hit Short to end it. It was a bullpen start for Toledo, and Wladimir Pinto, Drew Carlton, Buck Farmer, and Angel De Jesus combined to toss 8 scoreless innings before Ross ran into his trouble.

Double-A: Erie SeaWolves (22-10)

Erie ended up with the exact same result as Toledo — a 3-2, walk-off win in the 10th inning — but they went about it in a very different fashion. The game began as a classic pitching duel as SeaWolves starter Paul Richan (4.2IP, 3H, BB, 5K) and Somerset Patriots prospect Luis Gil (4.2IP, 3H, 2BB, 7K) took turns shutting down their opponents. The Patriots took a 2-0 lead in the 6th on a home run from Diego Castillo, but Erie knotted the score in the bottom of the 8th when Josh Lester hit his 6th homer of the season. The scored stayed that way thanks to some solid relief work from Brad Bass and Mark Leiter Jr., and Erie won it in the 10th on a gapper from Dylan Rosa. The SeaWolves went just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position on the night, but one of those hits came when it really mattered.

High-A: West Michigan Whitecaps (17-15)

The Whitecaps had a great time at the ballpark as they pummeled their in-state rivals the Lansing Lugnuts 10-0. The scoring started early, with Dillon Dingler smacking a single through the right side to plate Bryant Packard. West Michigan added two more runs in the 4th on doubles from Spencer Torkelson and Dingler, and a single from Daniel Cabrera. They added another run in the 5th, and then blew things open with five runs in the 7th. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Brendan White put together the best outing of his career, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out seven over four scoreless innings. The Whitecaps’ 2020 draft contingent (including Trei Cruz) had an excellent night, combining to go 9-for-16 with two doubles, four walks, four RBIs, and five runs scored.

Low-A: Lakeland Flying Tigers (14-19)

The Flying Tigers were the one team in the organization that didn’t get in on the fun last night, falling 6-1 to Dunedin, and managing just two hits in the process. Gage Workman hit his third triple of the year and then scored on a wild pitch in the 1st, but there were no other Flying Tigers knocks until Workman singled with two outs in the 9th. Lakeland starter Gio Arriera (4.1 IP, 5H, 3ER, 2BB, 7K) struck out four in his first two innings, but hard contact came in the 3rd, with the big blow a 3-run homer from Orelvis Martinez, one of Toronto’s top prospects.