Detroit Tigers: 3 prospects on the verge of becoming irrelevant

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It's do-or-die time for these Detroit Tigers prospects

The Detroit Tigers saw a lot of positive development from a few key prospects last year. Parker Meadows, Wenceel Perez, Wilmer Flores, and others put themselves back on the prospect map. Now here in 2023, they will hope for more development from other prospects.

There are several propects in the Detroit Tigers organization that need to have big years in 2023. These are guys that have been in the system for a few years now, and have either stalled in their development after a good start or just haven't worked out so far.

With the new development team the Tigers have, there's reason to believe a few more prospects can rise out of the woodwork. Here are three that we'd like to see turn their careers around.

C Dillon Dingler

Dingler was a second-round pick in 2020 out of Ohio State. He got off to a sizzling start in 2021 at High-A West Michigan, hitting eight home runs and putting up a 149 wRC+ in 141 plate appearances. He was quickly promoted to Double-A along with Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson. Unlike the latter two, he struggled mightily. He hit just .202 with a 59 wRC+. He also missed time with an injury.

He was pretty pedestrian in 2022. He slashed .238/.333/.419 with 14 home runs and a 107 wRC+. He had a very solid 10% walk rate, but struck out 32% of the time. He has really stalled out following a strong start.

Now at 24 years old, this is a big year for Dingler. He probably profiles as a backup as this point barring a breakout season. He was a part of the first round of spring training cuts earlier this week, and apparently A.J. Hinch gave him some tough love.

Chirs McCosky of The Detroit News was part of the radio broadcast of the game on Tuesday, and he revealed that A.J. Hinch told Dingler that he had a lot to work on and needed to see more from him. He was real with Dingler. That's part of what makes Hinch a good manager. He's honest with his players.

Dingler needs to show us something in 2023. It sounds like he may start back at Double-A. If he doesn't figure it out this year, he likely won't factor into the Tigers plans going forward.

INF Gage Workman

Man, I love Gage Workman. The second article I ever wrote for this site was a prospect profile on him. The guy crushes baseballs...when he actually makes contact. When you strike out at a 40% clip, it's hard to be an effective hitter at any level of baseball.

Workman was a fourth-round pick in 2020 out of Arizona State, where he was teammates with Spencer Torkelson. He was a high-strikeout guy in college as well, so the Tigers knew this going in.

He's also very athletic, stealing 30 bases a year ago. He plays solid defense at shortstop. But it's very clear that he needs to do something at the plate, because he can't keep striking out that much.

He's 23 years old, so there's still time, but this is the year he needs to show something. Getting that K-rate under 30% would be a good start. It would be nice to see him get to Triple-A this year.

RHP Reese Olson

I've been on the record saying how much I like Reese Olson as well. I love his stuff, particularly his offspeed stuff. He has a plus changeup and a really good slider. The fastball on the other hand, well, that's a different story.

Not only does he not throw very hard, but he has trouble commanding his heater as well. The lack of velocity wouldn't be a huge issue if he could locate it, but he can't do it consistently. He really needs to improve his command this season.

It's a shame, because he really knows how to miss bats. He struck over 12.5 batters per nine last year in Double-A Erie. But he really struggled to locate his fastball in some starts.

Because of that, I've also written about the potential of him being a reliever long term. It could allow his fastball to play up, thus making his secondary pitches more effective. I still think that is very much in the cards, but the Tigers still seem keen on having him start, which is totally fine. They should let him be a starter until he 100% proves he can't do it.

Sadly for Olson, he's battled a nagging injury this spring, and just today the Tigers sent him down to Triple-A. It hasn't been the luckiest of camps for him.

I still believe in Olson. Here's hoping he has a big year, but first things first. He needs to get healthy.

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Home / Detroit Tigers Prospects

It's do-or-die time for these Detroit Tigers prospects

C Dillon Dingler

INF Gage Workman

RHP Reese Olson

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