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Three reasons to check out the free Detroit Tigers mini-camp

By Roger Castillo |
Detroit Tigers pitching prospects run during the first day of minicamp workouts Wednesday, Feb.16, 2022 in Lakeland, Florida.Tigers1
Detroit Tigers pitching prospects run during the first day of minicamp workouts Wednesday, Feb.16, 2022 in Lakeland, Florida.Tigers1
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With the recent blast of snow across the state of Michigan, Detroit Tigers fans got some news that may warm them up a bit.

The lockout continues to eat into Major League Baseball’s 2022 timeline as news came out that spring training games would be canceled until March 5. The labor discussions between the MLBPA and the owners will resume on Monday with the goal of hopefully starting the season on time. For Detroit Tigers fans and baseball fans around the league, the news was frustrating to hear.

Recently, there have been posts by fans on social media who are canceling their MLB.TV subscriptions because of the disappointment by the owners to come with a solution that would be a fair compromise to the players.

So far, the spring training games that would be missed would go as follows:

  • Friday, February 25th versus Southeastern University
  • Saturday, February 26th versus Washington
  • Monday, February 28th versus Atlanta
  • Wednesday, March 2nd versus Pittsburgh

How the Tigers are taking care of spring training season ticket holders can be found here. 

All is not lost as the Detroit Tigers announced last night that fans can attend minor-league minicamp starting on Monday. For fans, it is great news as you can see the biggest stars in the Detroit Tigers farm system in action early outside of highlight clips can be found on YouTube or at the four affiliate teams.

But what else can you can you check out beyond the top prospects in the system like Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Jackson Jobe, just to name a few.

Tigers pitching prospect Tanner Kohlhepp goes through drills during the first day of minicamp on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Lakeland, Florida.
Tigers pitching prospect Tanner Kohlhepp goes through drills during the first day of minicamp on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Lakeland, Florida. /

Detroit Tigers’ arms depth

In all of our Tigers’ Radio podcasts that we have done since November, one name kept coming up consistently from the 2021 draft,  and that was right-hander Tanner Kohlhepp. The 5th round draft pick out of the University of Norte Dame was mentioned by JJ Cooper, Emily Waldon and Geoff Pontes of Baseball America as a prospect to look out. The voice of the West Michigan Whitecaps Dan Hasty, also spoke highly of the reliever, who posses a high spin rate and good movement on his pitches.

Gerson Moreno, who the Tigers resigned in the winter after being in the Tigers system since the age of 17 starting in 2013, is also a pitcher to look out for.  He struck out 19 in 13 innings pitched for the Estrellas Orientas in the Dominican Winter League.  If he can continue to improve his walk rate, this a bullpen arm that could get some consideration later in the season.

6’5 right-hander Markus Solbach, who the Tigers signed as a minor-league free agent from the Dodgers organization, is trying to become the first German-born pitcher to pitch in a Major League game. He will continue to work Gabe Ribas, the Tigers new pitching director for the minor leagues, who was a pitching coordinator for the Dodgers while Solbach was there.  He throws three different fastballs, a cutter, two-seamer and a four-seamer to go with a curve and changeup.

Right-hander Wilmer Flores, who appeared in the Arizona Fall League in 2021, is a pitcher that came out of nowhere last season.  His performance at Lakeland last season raised eyebrows across the system. Once again, credit should be given to the Tigers scouting department on finding a potentially undrafted gem.

Brendan White, the Tigers 26th round draft pick out of Siena College in 2019, posted better numbers as a reliever than as a starter at his time at West Michigan last season. Another strong number to consider is his K per 9 against lefties, which was 12.1 against 155 batters faced.

RJ Petit, another 2021 draft pick out of 14th round out of Charleston Southern University, has a fastball that was touching 97 at Lakeland, has plenty of upsides to watch out for. He quickly made it three levels in 2021 after being drafted so it is possible we could see him start in High-A West Michigan.

Tigers catching prospect Mike Rothenderg waits to bat during spring training minor league minicamp on Friday, Feb.18, 2022 at Tiger Town in Lakeland, Florida.Tigers3
Tigers catching prospect Mike Rothenderg waits to bat during spring training minor league minicamp on Friday, Feb.18, 2022 at Tiger Town in Lakeland, Florida.Tigers3 /

The Detroit Tigers minor league depth chart has grown

If there is one thing the Tigers have done, this off season is kept busy with minor league signings to fill the various needs the team will need at all four levels, especially at the infield level.

With Kody Clemens now on the 40-man roster, the Tigers signed a few infielders in Luis Carpio and Jack Lopez. Carpio is primarily a glove first utility infielder that can play second, short, and third. Lopez had a cup of coffee with the Boston Red Sox last season and provides insurance at second base down in Toledo.

Another name that the Tigers brought back and is a favorite among Tigers minor league fans is Josh Lester, who hit 32 home runs last season at Erie and Toledo. 25 of them came with the SeaWolves.

International signing Cristian Santana has had a recent feature done in the Freep.com about spending time with Nationals outfielder Juan Soto and from the same panel of guests I spoke about earlier on the podcast, this a bat that fans should pay more attention to with his advance approach at the plate.

There is, of course, Roberto Campos, the Cuban outfielder who is in the Top 10 of many prospects list and one name that also to look out for and that is Manuel Sequera. He just turned 19 in September and the reason he stands out is the 11 home runs he hit in Florida Complex League action last season to go along with his 12 doubles.

Another one I am interested in seeing is outfielder Parker Meadows. Could he make the leap up to Erie this season? It would be good to see from a development standpoint. His journey up to advancement this season could be kicked off with a good mini-camp.

Tigers director of pitching Gabe Ribas watches pitching prospect Tanner Kohlhepp throwing weighted balls against a wall during practice at the spring training minor league minicamp Thursday, Feb.17, 2022 at Tiger Town in Lakeland, Florida.
Tigers director of pitching Gabe Ribas watches pitching prospect Tanner Kohlhepp throwing weighted balls against a wall during practice at the spring training minor league minicamp Thursday, Feb.17, 2022 at Tiger Town in Lakeland, Florida. /

Detroit Tigers tech

Do you remember back in grade school or even in high school seeing a wall that had a “X” on it that stood for the strike zone? Around my neighborhood, that was at least the purpose we used it for with a tennis ball, whiffle ball (mainly whiffle ball) or a raquet ball. In this case, a blue wall was constructed as minor leaguers were throwing weighted balls at it. The purpose?

According to the study published in the National Library of Medicine called “Effects of Throwing Overweight and Underweight Baseballs on Throwing Velocity and Accurary” that Driveline linked in their pitching research article, studies have shown that ten of the eleven studies shown an increase in velocity using both over and underweight balls.

As mentioned by Evan Petzold, there is the core velocity belt that the pitchers will be using.

One item I recall seeing at West Michigan games back in 2019 was a swingtracker. This device is placed at the knob of the bat and transits data about the various data points in a players’s swing that include angles, planes and velocity.

One piece of technology that may be in use already is KinaTrax. The system is a multi-camera one that captures every movement of a pitcher and hitter. From there, with the help of AI and machine learning, it puts out a 3D projection that has rotational and positional data for every single movement in their bodies.

The reason why I mentioned this is because the science behind it is purely fascinating. With the way the Tigers are embracing the newer technolgies in baseball, we could see even more equipment in the future.

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