Detroit Tigers: 3 prospects who should be on the Opening Day roster in 2024

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The Detroit Tigers need to upgrade the roster from the outside this offseason. That much is for sure. However, they also have some players in the organization that deserve a chance to be on the team next season.

Scott Harris said he doesn't want to block prospects from getting their shot, so we should see these guys with the Tigers sooner rather than later.

Two of the players that we will talk about today will be pretty obvious. Fans have been clamoring for these players to come up for a while now. Hopefully, they will finally get their shot to start 2024.

Here's 3 Tigers prospects that deserve to be on the 2024 Opening Day roster.

Colt Keith

I mean, duh. Keith has been big league ready for a long time now. He probably could have started 2023 on the big league roster and done okay. He's that good.

The bat is more than ready. He got into a bit of a slump in both Double-A and Triple-A this year, but bounced back from both. He's shown the ability to make necessary adjustments, which is a very promising sign for his career.

The only major question mark for him is his defense. Where is he going to play? Third base? Second base? The outfield? That's nowhere near set in stone. He hasn't been very good no matter where he's played.

That being said, the bat is too good to ignore. The Tigers need offense in the worst way, and he should be able to provide that. The only reason he shouldn't be on the roster next year is if he's hurt.

Justyn-Henry Malloy

Another one that's kind of a "duh," but slightly less so. Malloy got off to a hot start in Triple-A this year before hitting a snap in May. From June onward, he was pretty steady.

Offensively, the plate discipline is going to play no matter what. He had a .417 OBP in Toledo this year. The power really came on as well. The biggest question mark with the bat was his ability to hit lefties. He really struggled against southpaws to begin the year.

Thankfully, he figured it out a bit, and while he only hit .232 against LHP this season, his OPS was .873. It was kind of strange to see reverse splits as extreme as the ones he had, but they definitely evened out a bit.

Much like Keith, defense is a major question mark as well — possibly even more so. He's struggled mightily wherever he's played. Right field has been his best position, and even that wasn't pretty. The Tigers are going to have to figure something out with him, or he may just have to be a DH.

Malloy's ability to get on base will serve him well in the big leagues. If he can keep up the power we saw this year, he could be a very nice addition to the Tigers lineup. There's really no reason he shouldn't be on the Opening Day roster next season.

Wenceel Perez

The Tigers have way, way too many utility players on their roster at the moment. Zach McKinstry, Andy Ibanez, Matt Vierling, and Zack Short are just a few examples. Perez is also likely a utility player at the next level, but at least we don't know what he is yet.

Perez struggled to get going in the power department in Double-A this year, hitting just six homers, putting up a .375 slugging percentage and a .104 ISO. That could have been due to a lingering back injury, but it was a little deflating considering how good he was in 2022.

But he was promoted to Triple-A in August, and found the power stroke again. He hit just three home runs in 35 games, but he had a .496 SLG and a .233 ISO. Much more like it.

He still walks at a good clip, runs well, and doesn't strike out a lot, so there were still some redeeming qualities without the power. It was just nice to see the power come back toward the end of the year after displaying consistent power in 2022.

Perez will be 24 next year and is a switch-hitter, which is something the Tigers could use. He's shown the ability to play both the infield and the outfield, so he has the positional versatility the Tigers covet so much. He's not amazing, but I think we'd all take him over another year of Zack Short.

Detroit Tigers: Andy Ibañez was exceptional in utility role in 2023. Detroit Tigers: Andy Ibañez was exceptional in utility role in 2023. dark. Next

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Colt Keith

Justyn-Henry Malloy

Wenceel Perez

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