Detroit Tigers Minor League Report: Holy Toledo

West Michigan Whitecaps (53-55) – 4th place in High-A Central, East Division

The West Michigan Whitecaps kicked off a season-ending 12-game homestand with a terrific 5-1 performance against the Peoria Chiefs that kept the club within six games of a playoff spot. The week was highlighted by a power surge from 2017 2nd-rounder Rey Rivera that earned him Player of the Week honors:

https://twitter.com/tigersMLreport/status/1433222361411686407?s=20

West Michigan also got strong performances from Jake Holton, who hit two kinds of home runs, Austin Murr, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and Gage Workman and Parker Meadows, who combined to hit .277 with with two doubles and two homers. The club also threw in a walk-off win for good measure.

Adam Wolf (4.1 IP, 8H, 6ER) had a bit of a rough go for the Whitecaps on Saturday, but as a whole the starting pitching was terrific last week, posting a 2.81 ERA overall with 32 strikeouts in 32 innings. Austin Bergner (6IP, 4H, 8K) and Brendan White (5.1 IP, 6H, ER, 8K) were particularly dominant, but the two most notable pitching performances of the week may have come from position players.

Sunday’s 4-2 Caps win also marked the professional pitching debut of Peoria’s Masyn Winn, who was drafted by the Cardinals in the 2nd round last year as a potential two-way player. He has held his own on offense this year, but he displayed some nasty stuff off the mound on Sunday. Meanwhile, Whitecaps infielder Jose King made his professional pitching debut on Friday night, during West Michigan’s lone loss of the week (also the game Rogelio and I happened to attend). His stuff wasn’t quite as electric, but it was fun to watch nonetheless.

West Michigan concludes its home schedule this week with a six-game series against the Great Lakes Loons, with promotions celebrating dogs, fans, Paw Patrol, and The Office. Seems like a solid time to change the team’s name to the Dwightcaps, but maybe that’s just me.