Detroit Tigers: 3 things we want to see from the team under Scott Harris

Better player development at the major league level

The Tigers have gotten better with player development at the minor league level, with guys like Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows and Wenceel Perez reviving their careers in the farm system this year. But further development at the big league level remains a major issue.

Look at Spencer Torkelson. A 1:1 pick, considered by many to be a generational hitting talent, was anything but during the first half of the 2022 season. They couldn’t fix him up here, so they sent him to Toledo. He’s looked better since he was recalled on Sept. 1, but it was really discouraging to seem him struggle so much.

Akil Baddoo is another example. He looked like a budding star last season, but has fallen off a cliff in 2022. As a result, his spot on the roster next season is no guarantee.

Are there any player development wins for the Tigers in recent years? One immediately comes to mind, and that’s Eric Haase. A minor league journeyman, Cleveland gave him to the Tigers for a bag of peanuts, and had a solid rookie season in 2021 where he hit 22 homers. Many projections had him regressing to the mean in 2022, and early on it looked like they were right, but about halfway through the season he found his swing again, and he’s arguably been the Tigers’ most consistent hitter as a result.

They’ve been much better on the pitching side thanks in large part to pitching coach Chris Fetter. I mean, they got quality innings out of Drew Hutchison this season for crying out loud. He also fixed Joe Jimenez. Fetter truly is a wizard.

But the bottom line is, the Detroit Tigers need to be better at developing hitters at the major league level. They can start by firing hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh—something that should’ve been done a long time ago.