12 minor league free agents the Detroit Tigers should consider

Baseball America released the 2021-2022 minor league free agent list and there are a few names out there that could help out the Detroit Tigers.

Last season, I got the opportunity to go to a lot of Detroit Tigers minor league games. In addition, MiLB TV is a great app that allows you to check out the other talents in various systems. The Tigers took great advantage of the minor league free agents last season as they were able to fill the Toledo Mud Hens and Erie SeaWolves rosters with a few names that we will get to shortly.

Because of COVID and with a handful of picks only to work within the 2020 MLB Draft, the main focus of last year’s signings were pitchers.  Here are the signings from last season and where they pitched.

• RHP Mark Leiter Jr-Erie, Toledo
• RHP Drew Hutchison-Toledo, Detroit
• RHP Pedro Payno-Erie, Toledo
• RHP Cale Coshow- Erie
• RHP Henry Martinez-Erie, Toledo
• RHP Ricardo Pinto-Erie, Toledo
• LHP Locke St. John-Toledo

With prospects like Beau Brieske, Brendan White, and later, Reese Olson, the Tigers were able to see what they had at West Michigan and Lakeland. Several late-round draft picks like Chavez Fernander out of the bullpen and starters like Brieske and Garrett Hill would be contributors at Erie.

With the Detroit Tigers having a new VP of player personal in Ryan Garko and the new faces in the minor league organization he is bringing, there will be a different vibe on who they will sign to fill the needs.

Names that Tigers fans got to know like Yariel Gonzalez and Aderlin Rodriguez, who also signed last season, are now free agents. The rest of the list you can find at Baseball America($) but includes the pitchers I mentioned above and two players who Tigers fans know in Cristian Stewart and Josh Lester.

So let’s address the outfield and see a few names that could make sense for the Detroit Tigers to pursue.

Detroit Tigers minor league free agent outfield ideas

1. Nick Plummer (St.Louis Cardinals)

David Laurlia of FanGraphs did a piece on Plummer earlier this summer because Plummer was starting to become a prospect again.  The former first-round draft pick in 2015 out of Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills is a left-handed bat that can play centerfield and showed some pop in between his time at Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis with an. ISO of over .200 at Double-A and hitting 15 home runs.

While his strikeout rate this season is in the high twenties, keep in mind as Laurlia mentioned, that it has dropped down from the 30% range and he walked last season at around 14.1% at Springfield and 19.1% at Memphis. He looked healthy after struggling with wrist issues.

Trevor Hooth over at Bless You Boys and Prospects Live, came away impressed with Plummer’s improvement this season.

This was his swing before. It appears from my amateur point of view that his bat is much quieter and the way he rotates his hips on the swing has improved.

If there is one player the Tigers should seek right now is Plummer. He could be another local find that could help out the depth in the Tigers system, similar to Eric Hasse.

2.  Forrest Wall (Toronto Blue Jays)

Chris Brown said he is an interesting speedy outfielder with minimal pop. He is a lefty bat that can play all three outfield positions and before coming to Toronto, he was drafted in the first round by the Rockies in 2015.  I like his versatility and the ability to play multiple positions.

3. Luis Liberato (Seattle Mariners)

Here’s another lefty bat who was among the Mariners’ top prospects. He is known for his speed and 60 graded arm in the outfield with good range.  He can play all three outfield positions. He isn’t known for his hit or power tool but someone who could be a 4th outfielder type.

4. Garrett Whitley (Tampa Bay)

Whitley is a right-handed bat who was drafted out of high school in the first round 13th overall by Tampa in 2015.  He has been hampered by injuries but has raw power, speed and has shown a good eye at the plate with a double-digit walk percentage but with the way the minors were this season, those numbers may be a bit skewed.

Detroit Tigers minor league free agent infielder/catcher ideas

5. Dalton Kelly 1B (Tampa Bay Rays)

Kelly is a lefty bat that isn’t a prospect anymore but Kelly is interesting for two reasons. One, he was drafted in the 38th round by Seattle in 2015, which is always a cool story to see, and two, his home run total from 2019 to 2021 at Triple-A Durham jumped from 7 to 27.  He could be a good bat to have around at Toledo and before you can say “Spencer Torkelson” if Tork gets a call-up, Kelly would be a good fit.

6. Cristian Santana 3B (Los Angeles Dodgers)

The Tigers already have a Cristian Santana in their system who plays short but Santana had a good year in 2021 in which he hit .311/.331/.444 at Triple-A Oklahoma City and according to FanGraphs, “ridiculously gifted from a bat speed and arm strength standpoint” for his position. The only problem is, he fits the Tigers profile players of the past which is no eye at the plate and strikes out too much. Why suggest Santana? He can show he can hit at every level and until the likes of Gage Workman are ready, he could be a good fit at Toledo.

7. Dennis Ortega C (St.Louis Cardinals)

Standing at 6’2, the right-handed batting Ortega was voted the best defensive catcher in the Cardinals system in 2019. His hit tool is rather light and does not have a lot of power but to have a glove first catcher down in Toledo isn’t going to hurt. The Tigers may go in a different direction but his defense skills intrigued me.

8.  Yolmer Sánchez (Atlanta Braves)

If this name sounds familiar to you, it is the same Yolmer Sánchez who won a Gold Glove with the White Sox. He is a switch hitter, can play third and second, and for a team that is one of the worst fielding teams in the league in 2021, having him as a backup option is not bad of an idea as he is a glove-first player, with little pop.