3 Detroit Tigers High-A Players to Keep an Eye On

Infielder Wenceel Perez warms up for practice during Detroit Tigers spring training.
Infielder Wenceel Perez warms up for practice during Detroit Tigers spring training.
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GoErie.com
GoErie.com /

The Detroit Tigers have seen a lot of success throughout their minor league system this season thus far, and a lot of that has to do with the surplus amount of talent in the lower ranks.

Detroit’s High-A affiliate, the West Michigan Whitecaps, have seen a lot of on-field success this season and they have seen a slew of talent join Double-A Erie this season as well. A pair of notable recent call-ups to Double-A include third baseman Spencer Torkelson (who’s the number one prospect in the Detroit Tigers’ system) and catcher Dillon Dingler (who checks in at a very respectable number four Tigers’ ranking spot), and West Michigan is proving that they have the talent to see more eventual call-ups.

All eyes are on High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie in the Detroit Tigers minor league system right now, and rightfully so as five of their top seven prospects reside within those two branches of the system. West Michigan currently owns the future of the Detroit Tigers, and it likely won’t be too much longer before we start to see them repping the lucrative ‘D’ on their upper chest in Mo-Town.

The West Michigan Whitecaps currently has a total of seven players on their roster that reside in Detroit’s top 30 prospects list (according to MLB.com), which ranks them first amongst the Tigers’ minor leagues. The future of the Detroit Tigers are currently in West Michigan, and there are certainly some guys who could warrant a promotion to Double-A Erie in the near future. Let’s take a look at the three guys I believe are ready for the next level of the minor leagues.

Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press /

High-A Detroit Tigers Prospect number number to consider: Wenceel Perez

The first player on our list that could surely warrant a promotion at some point this season is shortstop Wenceel Perez. Perez, a 21-year-old switch hitter, is the number 18 overall prospect in the Detroit Tigers organization and he has all the tools to take his talents to the Double-A level by the end of the season.

Wenceel Perez, this season, has logged 42 hits, 23 runs scored, three home runs, 16 RBI, nine stolen bases, a .266 batting average, and a .331 on-base percentage this season through 158 at-bats. Perez is not only electric with the bat, but he’s also flashy with the glove as he’s logged 42 assists and turned eight double plays to this point in the season. Perez does need to clean up his errors a bit before moving up to the next level, but he has shown more than enough to prove that he can be counted on to make a play with the leather more often than not.

Perez may have a hard time finding a spot to move up to Double-A anytime soon as Ryan Kreidler is thriving as Erie’s everyday shortstop, but if the Tigers want to get Perez some experience later in the season in the upper ranks of the minors; he could serve as stellar depth for the team. I don’t think that Perez will be called up anytime soon, but perhaps a mid to late August arrival in Erie could be reasonable.

Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press /

High-A Detroit Tigers Prospect number two to consider: Daniel Cabrera

The second player on our list checks in as a bit of a trend for the Detroit Tigers in recent years, which is outfield success in the minors. We’ve seen a lot of success in the minor leagues from the outfield position in recent years including the emergence of Derek Hill, Daz Cameron, and Riley Greene. The next big outfielder in the Detroit Tigers’ organization could be a man residing in High-A-West Michigan at the moment in Daniel Cabrera.

Daniel Cabrera, 22, is the number five prospect in the Detroit Tigers organization and he’s only in his first professional season. Cabrera was a second-round draft pick out of LSU in 2020, and they must love his potential considering they signed him to a 1.2 million dollar contract before he ever took a pitch. Cabrera is tearing it up in High-A this season, as he’s batting .272 through his first 162 at-bats and has an on-base percentage of .318.

Cabrera is putting some noticeable charge into his swings as he’s driven in 30 RBI and has hit four long balls in the early going. Cabrera, if he can continue this torrid pace, could very well join Detroit’s number 1, 2, and 4 prospects in Double-A Erie before it’s all said and done.

The Post-Crescent
The Post-Crescent /

High-A Detroit Tigers Prospect number three to consider: Bryant Packard

The Detroit Tigers have some exceptional outfield talent littered throughout their minor league system, and Bryant Packard could get a nod at a possible promotion to the upper minors. Bryant Packard, 23, is Detroit’s number 19 overall prospect in their minor league system and ranks as the seventh-ranked outfielder in the system.

Packard was a fifth-round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers back in 2019, and he has been tearing the cover off the ball in 2021 to this point. Packard, this season, has 30 hits, 19 runs scored, three home runs, 14 RBI, five stolen bases, a .256 batting average, and a staggering .360 on-base percentage through his first 117 at-bats in High-A.

Packard is also a very good outfielder as he can play all three positions in the outfield, and is nearly perfect in doing so, committing just one error in his minor league baseball career to this point. Bryant Packard is a year older than Daniel Cabrera, so he could get the nod to join some exceptional talent in Erie before Cabrera does if he continues to show consistent growth.

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