Tigers follow Trey Sweeney promotion with another haymaker to set up youth movement

On Thursday night, Kiley McDaniel reported the Tigers would be calling up Trey Sweeney, now their No. 20 prospect, who was acquired along with Thayron Liranzo in the deal that sent Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers. Sweeney had looked like a monster at the plate in Triple-A, and now is the time for the Tigers to get experimental, so a couple of their top prospects making their debuts when stakes are low felt like the right move.

However, reports followed not long after that Sweeney wouldn't be the only one getting a promotion. Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press wrote that the Tigers would also be calling up No. 5 prospect Jace Jung, a first-round pick for the Tigers in 2022 who's been anxiously awaiting his first shot at the majors.

Jung was a standout during Tigers spring training earlier this year, even though AJ Hinch made it clear that he would not be making the Opening Day roster out of camp, as he hadn't even officially been promoted to Triple-A by then. The Tigers wouldn't be expediting him when they already had a roster full of young players they wanted to give runway to.

But now that we're in the last few weeks of the season and the Tigers have nothing to lose, why not give Jung the tap?

Tigers reportedly calling up No. 5 prospect Jace Jung along with Trey Sweeney

Jung maybe could've gotten the call earlier this season if he hadn't missed a couple of weeks from late June into early July with wrist soreness, but now also just feels like the right time. Corresponding roster moves have yet to be announced, but our money is on Bligh Madris and Zach McKinstry getting pushed. Madris had a great end of July after being called up for his Tigers debut, but has since cooled off in August.

McKinstry doesn't have minor league options left, so the Tigers would have to DFA him and expose him to waivers, but he's batting .191 with a .565 OPS this season. It's more likely than not that he would return safely to the Tigers organization and go down to Triple-A.

Looking forward to next season, if Jung and Sweeney can impress through the rest of the season, Jung is a clear replacement for Gio Urshela, who will become a free agent at the end of the year. Sweeney's future is bit murkier; as a shortstop, the Tigers could repurpose him at another infield spot or do what we've all been waiting for and part ways with Javy Báez in the offseason.

Whatever happens, it'll be fun to watch a couple more young guns come up and show fans what they can do. If the Tigers still aren't going to spend money in the offseason, these are the guys we'll have to depend on to get the Tigers in the win column next season.