Detroit Tigers: The most important offseason move

The 2021 Detroit Tigers have surpassed expectations in nearly every way, and that, naturally, has fans excited about the future.

Rest assured, the staff at Motor City Bengals will spend most of the offseason proffering ideas for how the Detroit Tigers can improve, but why wait a few weeks when we can start talking about the most important move right now?

And no, it’s not finding a shortstop. The Detroit Tigers DO need a shortstop, of course, but this team is still 15-20 wins away from playoff contention. One player isn’t going to put them over the top.

The most important move for the Detroit Tigers this offseason is finding the right director of player development.

In case you missed it, just a few weeks ago the Tigers made a few surprising, if not slightly overdue changes to their front office.

Dave Littlefield, the Tigers’ vice president of player development for the last six years, has been reassigned to a role as a special assignment scout. Kenny Graham, Detroit’s player development director, will oversee the department as the organization searches for a full-time replacement. David Chadd, Al Avila’s top assistant in the front office since the latter took over as general manager in 2015, will retain his title of VP and assistant GM but will shift his role toward a focus on player development and scouting.

It’s rare for MLB General Managers to simply dismiss members of their front office, particularly when they’ve long been trusted lieutenants, like Chadd and Littlefield have been for Al Avila. Instead we see reassignments. But make no mistake, these men were demoted in lieu of being fired, because the results simply haven’t been there.

What does the head of Player Development do?

This may seem self explanatory, but it’s probably worth it to provide a quick overview of what player development is. At a very basic level, a Director of Player Development is charged with putting in place the minor-league personnel and processes to help produce big-league players.

In a more abstract sense, player development is a license for flexibility. Teams covet MLB talent, and the more contributors and trade chips they can produce, the easier it is for them to improve at the highest level.

Player development isn’t about taking someone off the street and making him an all-star. It’s about finding every possible way to help already talented baseball players improve and maximize their natural ability.

And it doesn’t just happen at the minor-league level. We’ve seen plenty of player development take place in Detroit this year, and much of the credit for that seems to rightfully fall on the shoulders of A.J. Hinch, Chris Fetter, and the rest of the coaching staff.

But one also has to wonder if all that development in the big leagues helped lead to these front office changes. Players will always have to adjust at the highest level, but perhaps Hinch and Fetter would prefer players be a bit more polished when they arrive in Detroit.

And Hinch, of course, knows what great player development looks like. The Houston Astros are among the best in baseball at development, and because of that they’re about to win their 4th division title in the last five seasons.

Sustained success is the goal for the Detroit Tigers. And a huge part of achieving that goal lies with the new Director of Player Development. They absoutley have to nail this hire.

So who are some of the top candidates to fill the position? Hit the jump see our suggestions.

Detroit Tigers Player Development Option 1: Kenny Graham

Littlefield’s reassignment meant the Detroit Tigers had to find a replacement to handle the day-to-day duties of the position for the rest of the season. They turned to Kenny Graham, who was originally hired in late 2019 to be the team’s Director of Player Development, with an emphasis on developing hitters. Graham has a solid resume, including stints as a college coach and as the minor-league hitting coordinator for both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Detroit Tigers seem intent on going outside the organization for their new head of player development, but Al Avila said Graham is a candidate. With no minor-league action in 2020, Graham didn’t get much of a chance to prove his value last year, but one could argue 2021 has been one of the Detroit Tigers’ best development years in recent memory. It helps to have high draft picks in the system, but there have also been impressive signs from players like Beau Brieske, Dillon Dingler, Colt Keith, Ryan Kreidler, and Gage Workman.

Still, some of Detroit’s other priority prospects have stagnated, and this may simply be a case of too-little, too-late for Graham. So who might the Tigers target from outside the organization?

Detroit Tigers Player Development Option 3: Raid College

There has always been an interesting dynamic in college baseball when it comes to player development. Obviously it behooves teams to help players maximize their ability, but the drive to win games often comes at the expense of pitch development, swing optimization, and, sadly, player health.

But the last decade has seen 2nd- and 3rd-tier programs embrace player development as a means to compete with more talented schools. Many college teams took to modern development methods quicker than their pro counterparts — Wake Forest’s pitching lab rivals anything at the MLB level. Big-league clubs took notice and began picking off college pitching coaches like Derek Johnson, Wes Johnson, and of course, Chris Fetter.

But why stop at pitching coaches? Why not target the people in charge of the whole program? After all, their entire job is taking a bunch of 17-23 year olds and teaching them how to play winning baseball. It’s probably impossible to lure away the elite coaches like Kevin O’Sullivan of Florida, or Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin, but what if the Tigers turn to Ann Arbor again?

Michigan Head Coach Erik Bakich has an outstanding track record, from working as a volunteer assistant at Clemson, to running recruiting at Vanderbilt, to successful stints as the head coach at Maryland and Michigan. Eight Michigan players have been drafted in the top five rounds in the past three years. Only Louisville, Mississippi State, UCLA, and Vanderbilt have had more top-five picks, with nine apiece. That’s a remarkable achievement for a Big Ten school, and the Detroit Tigers would be wise to see if Bakich is interested in moving to pro ball.

Detroit Tigers Player Development Option 4: Raid the Private Sector

Over the last decade an increasingly large amount of player development has been taking place during the offseason, away from team facilities. And once again MLB teams have taken notice of the gains made by their players while working with private instructors. The Dodgers hired Robert Van Scoyoc as a hitting consultant in 2016, the Reds brought on Kyle Boddy as a pitching coordinator in 2019, and last year the Yankees brought in Eric Cressey to oversee their training staff.

Tigers fans may already be familiar with the name Doug Latta. He is credited with helping alter the swings of Marlon Byrd and Justin Turner, among others, and has worked with current Tigers players/prospects Derek Hill, Ryan Kreidler, and Jake Rogers. Maybe he isn’t interesting in joining an MLB team, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

And that brings us back to Boddy. There’s not a bigger name in private baseball instruction than Driveline Baseball, which he founded in 2012. Scores of players and coaches have ventured to Washington to learn and improve, and teams like the Dodgers, Giants, and Phillies have hired Driveline trainers. That’s an impressive “coaching tree” for a baseball outsider who isn’t yet 40. Boddy was initially reluctant to join a pro team, but he took the plunge in 2019. Perhaps he’s ready for a bigger role?