Top hitting prospect cut as Tigers trim roster down to 31

The Detroit Tigers made another series of spring training roster cuts on Thursday following their 10-5 loss to the Mets down in Lakeland on Thursday as it appears after these rounds of cuts, the Tigers are set with their positional players.

Catcher: Rogers/Kelly 1B: Torkelson 2B: Keith SS: Baez 3B: Urshela OF/DH Carpenter, Canha, Greene and Meadows. Utility: Ibanez, Vierling and McKinstry.

Kreidler was healthy and it showed at the plate in the spring. He hit .355/.500/.548 (11-for-31) and showed his usual solid glove. Of the three who were cut today, Kreider did everything he could to make the decision tough on the Tigers at shortstop but now that he heads to Triple-A Toledo, all eyes turn towards Javier Báez and his spring numbers.

Báez is now hitting .105 on the spring and while granted, spring training stats dont matter, its the quality of the at-bats that continue to be the same, still swinging widely out of the zone. Similar to Eddys Leonard, Kreidler can play all over the field and even in the end, that versatility did not get him a spot on the 26-man roster.

For Akil Baddoo, the numbers this spring were not good, going 3-for-25 at the plate with 13 strikeouts to two walks. With the emergence of Parker Meadows and the pick up of Mark Canha, Baddoo needed to have a strong spring to even get some consideration but it wasnt the case.

There is a lot of intrigue behind Justyn-Henry Malloy and his bat, which is why he had such a long and extended look in camp. As Scott Harris has indicated before, he will more than likely need more time in the outfield but with Justice Bigbie, Eddys Leonard and potentially Malloy in Toledo's outfield, the lack of offense in Triple-A should not be a concern.

Now Hinch has to decide on the final spots in the bullpen, which is a close race between Joey Wentz, Alex Faedo and Beau Brieske.