Detroit Tigers Top 30 Prospects for 2023: 25-21

22. Manuel Sequera - INF/RHH

The Detroit Tigers signed shortstop Manuel Sequera in 2019 as an international signee with a $750,000 signing bonus. He was one of the team's valuable international signees that could end up panning out well as a value-move from the Tigers' old front-office regime.

Sequera signed out of Venezuela and has spent the last two seasons getting acclimated to the organization, staying in Florida each of the last two seasons. In 2021 Sequera's bat caught fire in the Florida Complex League, earning him the MVP award for the FCL.

He was promoted to the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2022, playing in 116 games. Sequera slashed .232/.279/.422 with 28 doubles, 19 home runs, and 64 RBI to his credit for the Flying Tigers. He's shown the power and the strength being there in his 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame. He's built with some strength that's developed nicely. The big thing is going to be getting that average up a bit.

I'll gladly join the "AVG doesn't matter" club, but it holds some merit. I'd like to see Sequera improve his bat-to-ball and find ways to end up on base as well. Getting that slash line up (AVG & OBP specifically) is important.

Beyond the stats, let's talk through Sequera's presence in the batters' box. Sequera starts with the weight on his back leg and a back leg bent. The hands and back elbow are up. There's a slight barrel wrap as he loads with the hands. He has a big leg lift timing mechanism as he loads. He has a slightly inward stride and opens his hips quickly. The hands start even with his ear, dipping to shoulder level as the leg lifts, getting back up high for a split second as the stride begins.

Sequera maintains his posture well. When things are synced up, he's able to avoid losing the barrel, getting into the zone, and staying in it for quite some time. This allows him to get on plane with pitches and drive balls for extra-base hits and home runs. That's where the strength comes in, being able to show some juice in his bat. Overall it's a smooth stroke through the zone with a good path once he gets started. He just needs to clean up that hand movement.

Even though Sequera did not creep up into the Top 20, the 20-year old shortstop could very much so end up being a future middle infielder for the Tigers down the line. He could continue his projection, moving in the right direction, if his bat continues to play well. He comes in at 22nd on the Motor City Bengals Top 30 prospects list.