Detroit Tigers: 3 prospects fans should be paying attention to

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The Detroit Tigers are well on their way to yet another losing season. The big league team is subpar once again. However, while the farm system is top-heavy at best, there have been a few pleasant surprises this season.

There is more than meets the eye in this farm system, and that has only gotten more true under VP of player development Ryan Garko. More and more guys are coming out of nowhere and making a name for themselves. It's a really promising sign.

Here are three prospects that Tigers fans should be paying attention to

OF Justice Bigbie

Bigbie has been by far the system's biggest surprise this season. He's come out of nowhere and just raked.

A 19th-round pick in 2021, Bigbie had was pretty pedestrian last season, putting up a 103 wRC+ in 372 plate appearances in Low-A Lakeland. He started this season in High-A, and just took off. He hit .333 with a 163 wRC+ before being promoted to Double-A, where he's been even better, hitting .361 with eight home runs and a 178 wRC+. He's just been tattooing the baseball.

He has roughly a 15% strikeout rate on the year. He doesn't walk a ton, but when you have a .243 ISO and a .604 slugging percentage, you can tolerate the lack of walks. He showed a ton of power to the opposite field. If he unlocks the pull-side power, look out. He may be legit.

Bigbie has essentially become this year's Kerry Carpenter — a late-round pick that has come out of nowhere and just started mashing. Don't be surprised if he ends up in Toledo before the year is out.

SP Keider Montero

It has not been a great year for Tigers pitching prospects. Wilmer Flores and Ty Madden have both stagnated in Double-A. and Jackson Jobe missed the first half of the year with a back injury, though he has pitched very well since he returned. However, the last two prospects on this list are pitchers who have started to make a name for themselves, starting with Keider Montero.

Montero has some of the best stuff in the system. Some say the only pitcher in the system who has better stuff than him is Jobe. He has struck out roughly 12 batters per nine this season between High-A and Double-A. His surface numbers aren't amazing, with a 4.93 ERA in 85.1 IP, and he does have a rather high BB/9, but his FIP is 3.32 and his xFIP is 3.57, which suggests he is pitching better than his numbers would indicate. He's allowed a .373 BABIP as well, which suggests some bad luck.

He doesn't allow a ton of hard contact and gets a bunch of swings and misses. He can really spin it. His slider and curveball are both plus pitches.

Montero was recently promoted to Triple-A Toledo, where he will likely stay the rest of the year. He also seems like a good candidate for the Arizona Fall League in October.

SP Troy Melton

Melton was a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft. He started this season in Low-A Lakeland and had a 3.38 ERA in seven starts before being promoted to High-A West Michigan, where he has started 10 games and pitched to a 1.91 ERA. While he is outpitching his 3.04 FIP, it's not like he's outdoing himself by three or four runs. He's still pitching very well.

He's got great stuff. His fastball is his best pitch, and his breaking pitches play well off of it. He will walk a batter or two, but he also gets plenty of whiffs.

Melton is very projectable at 6'4, 210 lbs. It's easy to why they were drawn to him last year. San Diego State has a history of producing MLB arms, and it would be surprising if he ends up being the next one.

Melton could be in Double-A by the end of the year. If not, he'll almost certainly start the 2024 season in Erie.

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Home / Detroit Tigers Prospects

Here are three prospects that Tigers fans should be paying attention to

OF Justice Bigbie

SP Keider Montero

SP Troy Melton

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