Category Archives: Minors

2008 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap 4-6-08

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Durham 5 Toledo 4
Matt Joyce had a big game coming up a triple short of the cycle. Chris Lambert allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks in 5 innings. Aaron Fultz pitched 2.1 innings and took the loss allowing 4 hits and walking 3.

Erie 5 Bowie 0
Wil Rhymes had two doubles and a triple. Wilkin Ramirez hit his second homer to go along with a single. Jeff Frazier doubled and walked. Andrew Kown pitched 6 innings of shut out ball allowing only 3 hits. Casey Fien and Danny Zell combined to finish off the shut out.

Clearwater and Lakeland were suspended in the first inning with Clearwater ahead 2-0

West Michigan 11 South Bend 5
Chris Carlson had a 4 hit day including a homer and a double. Audy Ciriaco had 2 singles to go along with a home run. Ronnie Bourquin had 3 hits as well. Lauren Gagnier went 3.2 innings and allowed just 2 hits while fanning 7.

2008 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap 4-4-08

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Durham 2 Toledo 9
Jeff Larish went deep and added a single. Brent Clevlen was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 RBI. Armando Galarraga pitched 5 shut out innings allowing only 3 hits and a walk while fanning 6. Aaron Fultz pitched a scoreless inning but allowed 2 hits.

Erie 8 Bowie 3 (11 innings)
Big game for Jeff Frazier who had 4 hits including a homer and 5 RBI. Wilkin Ramirez is playing again after his shoulder injury and he had 2 hits. Deik Scram had 2 doubles and Freddy Guzman added 2 hits and 2 stolen bases. Jon Connolly allowed 3 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings with no K’s. Matt Rusch had a blown save, but allowed only 1 hit and no walks while fanning 4 in 3 innings of work.

Lakeland 4 Tampa 5
Scott Sizemore homered to go along with 2 singles and a walk. Duane Below allowed 3 runs, only one of which was earned, on 3 hits and a walk while fanning 4 over 4 innings.

West Michigan 2 South Bend 1
Jordan Newton had catching duties tonight and had the only multi hit game, including a triple. Casper Wells struggled striking out 4 times. Alfredo Figaro allowed a single unearned run on 2 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings of work.

Minors

Doing my part as a cog in the Rick Porcello hype machine

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Rick Porcello’s Debut
It’s only one start, but the reviews couldn’t get much better of Rick Porcello’s debut. I hit the details in the minor league wrap last night, but those in attendance have since had time to post their reports.

Porcello threw 71 pitches over the 5 innings, which was right in line with a pitch count/inning limit of 75 and 5.

A newer blog called Saber-Scouting took in the effort and filed a full scouting report, complete with scores on the 20-80 scale. The change-up Porcello featured was his out pitch on this night. The summary is incredibly encouraging (emphasis mine)

You can see why teams loved him in the draft—he has all the elements you look for in a young pitcher. Tonight he showed a great projectable body, sound mechanics, great command for his age, great feel for a plus fastball, ability to spin a plus breaking ball, a knockout changeup, potential plus command, and the intelligence to know when and how to use these tools. Not sure what else you could want, really. I am confident he could pitch in the big leagues right now as a back-end starter, but allowing him to improve in the minors for a bit is the more savvy move. There’s been tons of hype tossed on this guy by about any writer that can spell his name, but it doesn’t look like it’s gone to his head and he’s everything that was advertised.

It also sounds like he’s got some pretty impressive awareness and an ability to make adjustments. When he got into trouble in the 5th inning, a quick conversation with pitching coach Joe Coleman got him back on track.

“I wasn’t tired in the fifth inning,” said Porcello, who was also charged with an error on a pick-off throw after hitting Battle. “My arm slot just dropped a little bit. I started to lose control a little. I just have to go back out there and get after it.

Finally, Deran and LFT Blog posted their thoughts on the game as well as some great pictures from the night (including the one seen above).

2008 Season, Minors

Tigers Minor League Wrap 4-3-08

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At least everyone else in the organization won their opening days. Some great starting pitching efforts including the debut of Rick Porcello.

Durham 2 Toledo 3
Dane Sardinha homered and singled. Mike Hessman had a 2 hit day as well. Jeff Larish struggled in his AAA debut going 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts. Virgil Vasquez went 5 2/3 innings allowing only 1 run on 3 hits and a walk while fanning 8.

OPENING DAY POSTPONED – Erie SeaWolves
They’ll make it up with a doubleheader Saturday.

Lakeland 4, Tampa 1
Let the Rick Porcello hype begin. Five innings of one hit ball in his professional debut is a nice beginning. He fanned 3 and walked 2. Freddy Dolsi struck out the side, but also walked two and allowed a run before doing so. Cale Iorg tripled and James Skelton picked up 2 hits. Check in with LFT Blog who was attending the game and taking pictures (they’re just not posted at “press” time)

West Michigan 15 South Bend 2
Found the Tigers missing offense. It’s in Grand Rapids where the Whitecaps scored 10 times in the first inning. The whole offense did good needless to say. Ramon Garcia went six shut out innings allowing only 4 hits while fanning 5. The Surge was on hand and has filed a report.v

2008 Season, Minors, Pitching

Junkballing: Payroll, Minors, and more

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Good thing there’s no game today, because there is a lot to link to!

Tigers have second highest payroll

The Tigers official Opening Day payroll is $138.7 million which places Detroit in 2nd place – far behind the Yankees. My unofficial total of $134 million, which didn’t include some of the players making near the league minimum, isn’t too far off. Certainly within $2-3 million.

The Mets are not even a half mil behind the Tigers at $138.3 and the Red Sox are next at $133.4.

So yeah, there’s some pressure on the Tigers to win.

Minor League Rosters

The bevy of Tigers blogs covering the minors have been working on putting the rosters together. The Surge has the Whitecaps roster. Among the 2008 ‘Caps I’m most interested in are shortstop Audy Ciriaco and reliever Noah Krol.

LFT Blog has the Lakeland roster which I find quite interesting. The rotation features Rick Porcello along with Jonah Nickerson, Duane Below, and Luis Marte. The up the middle players feature top catching prospect James Skelton and the double play combo will be Scott Sizemore and Cale Iorg. Take 75 North points out that the team at the end of the season might not resemble this roster at all with a number of players who could be moved up if they produce.

The Seawolves roster features Wilkin Ramirez who was having a standout spring before injuring his shoulder. If his performance catches up with his tools he could become a top 10 prospect in the system (he already has been).

The Toledo roster is most interesting in the outfield. It’s Brent Clevlen’s make or break year, and we’ll see if Matt Joyce can build on his late season success at Toledo. Clete Thomas will likely join the team when Curtis Granderson returns to Detroit.

But overall, the system has been depleted. Baseball America’s organizational rankings place the Tigers 27th.

UPDATE: Right after hitting publish I see that Tigerblog announced that Tigers 2007 draft pick Andrew Hess will be blogging for Tigers Minors.

Interviews

Ian is determined to make a name for himself in Kansas City and interviews his second KC writer in a week. This time it is uber columnist and blogger Joe Posnanski.

Empty the Bench takes a turn interviewing Curtis Granderson.

Other stuff

I thought about labeling this last section garbage time, but didn’t want to offend anyone.

  • Tigers and Tim Byrdak are talking. The team is looking to sign him to a minor league deal. He’d join the recently acquired Aaron Fultz as lefties in the Mud Hens bullpen.
  • Wikio Rankings – DTW is 71!. This very site ranks 71st amongst sports blogs. It’s hard to believe how many quality, well regarded, sports blogs are out there. Being on the list is an honor.
  • Bad Bullpens. From the Copa notes that everyone is having pen problems.
2008 Season, Minors, Roster Management, Statistics

Junkballing: Cuts like a knife

With spring training winding down, things are getting ironed out throughout the organization. For some players their dreams may be coming true, while others receive a sobering wake-up call.

Minor issues

My blogging brethren has done the heavy lifting on this, but there are a number of cuts and roster machinations taking place. (As an aside it’s amazing to me the number of sources to turn to for information on the Tigers minor leagues. And all of these blogs are well informed and authored by logical, thoughtful folks. Tremendous resources one and all) The Lakeland Flying Tigers blog I believe was the first to report that Jeff Frazier, the player the Tigers sent to Seattle for Yorman Bazardo, is now back in the organization. Detroit Tigers Thoughts and Take 75 North both examine the Erie and Toledo roster implications of the signing, as well as the additional cuts that came down today (Jason Perry, Colin Mahoney, Eleazar Aponte, Chris Homer, Chris Maples among others).

DTT also notes that Randor Bierd, the reliever the Tigers lost in the Rule 5 Draft, has made the Orioles roster.

Also of note, Mike Hessman was outrighted to Toledo today. By my count, the Tigers only have 35 players on their 40 man roster meaning they have quite a bit of flexibility going into the season – and few high level prospects ready to contribute.

What a Fien

LFT Blog is also hearing that Casey Fien has made the roster. While Fien has made an impression on Leyland, this one would really surprise me. I’m not saying LFT is wrong, but it’s just surprising news. If he has made it, I’d assume it is at the expense of Aquilino Lopez. Lopez is only a minor league contract, so there are no implications for him not making the team. The other strong bullpen candidate is Yorman Bazardo who stands a high likelihood of being claimed when the club would have to place him through waivers to remove him from the 40 man roster.

In case Fien makes the team, Detroit Tiger Tales has a profile already put together.

UPDATE: Moments after publishing this post, the Tigers announced that the last two bullpen spots would go to Lopez and Bazardo.

More links

  • View from the other side: Ian was interviewed by Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star. It’s a great read and actually part of a 2-way interview as Ian interviewed Sam as well. Check out both interviews.
  • Changes coming to MLB Gameday: I love the Gameday app and it appears to be getting even better. The one piece missing from the pitch f/x element was pitch identification. The new version has it. Tonight’s Tigers game was played in Houston, and it used the new system. It looks like they’ve done a nice job, and there are still more changes to come.
  • Consolo passes: Long time Sparky Anderson assistant coach Billy Consolo passed away due to an apparent heart attack.
Minors

Minor Notes

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Tigers fans who dig minor league baseball are especially fortunate. The resources covering the Tigers are remarkable and go beyond the work that you’ll find at Baseball America or Minor League Ball. Both of these sites are great, but they have to cover 30 teams’ minor league systems. The Tigers have multiple blogs focused on just their system.

Take 75 North debuted last year and has done a tremendous job all year. A recent case in point is Matt’s in depth analysis of the Mike Hernandez/Armando Galarraga trade.

The Surge, dedicated to all things West Michigan Whitecaps, just posted their third interview. This time with top Detroit prospect Scott Sizemore.

Now a couple of Lakeland-ites launched a blog covering the High A Flying Tigers. Both of the authors are active members at Motown Sports and I look forward to the analysis and coverage that they’ll bring this season.

If you want to go the pay route there is also TigsTown. The Scouts.com site has the connections and talent to provide a level of minor league analysis that is unsurpassed. Want a full length articles about the top 50 prospects in the system? Tigstown is your place. Want to know who is coming stateside from this year from the DSL and VSL? You’ll find it at Tigstown.

2008 Season, AL Central, Injuries, Minors

A day of catch-up

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There was quite a bit of news that trickled out today so let’s roll through it.

Prospecting

It was a day of top 100 lists as both Kevin Goldstein (BP) and Keith Law released their lists. It used to be that looking at these lists was really depressing for Tigers fans. And then for a couple years it was really fun. And now, well let’s hope the big club keeps us from thinking about the minors too much.

Rick Porcello rated #11 on the Baseball Prospectus list. Keith Law isn’t as big of a fan, putting him at 22nd. Porcello was the lone Tigers farm hand on each list.

But at least it wasn’t because of the Tigers ineptitude. Former Tigers Cameron Maybin and Gorkys Hernandez appeared on both lists and Goldstein included Jair Jurrjens at number 86.

The injury bug

Injuries have plagued former prospect Tony Giarratano. At one time he was the Tigers top shortstop hope. A knee surgery and labrum surgery likely had sapped his defense – which was his strongest trait. A set back this spring ended his run as a Tiger. Detroit released him today.

It won’t effect the team too much, except for freeing up another roster spot (that’s 3 open spots now). Tony G had been passed by Cale Iorg, Danny Worth, and Mike Hollimon. I feel bad for Giarratano, but the truth is he probably shouldn’t have retained a spot on the roster this long.

D-Town baseball notes that keeping Giarratano cost the team Randor Bierd. T75 North tries to figure out how the middle infield situation might shake out.

Some leg soreness has kept Miguel Cabrera at DH on his Venezuelan team. Although a 10 for 22 playoff series seems to indicate it wasn’t effecting him too adversely. He won’t play in the championship round at the request of the Tigers.

Jones says Twins will be okay

I haven’t commented on the Santana deal yet, mostly because I’m waiting for it to be finalized (which I expect). But that didn’t stop Todd Jones. In his Sporting News column he’s confident that the Twins will be okay. And now he just wants C. C. Sabathia out of the division.

2008 Season, Minors

Tigers announce 2008 NRI’s

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The Tigers today announced 21 non-roster invites. These are players in the organization who aren’t on the 40 man roster, but will be in the big league camp during Spring Training. They are:

  • Francis Beltran
  • Joe Bowen
  • Michael Hollimon
  • Matt Joyce
  • Freddy Dolsi
  • Dusty Ryan
  • Jeff Larish
  • Timo Perez
  • Jeff Gerbe
  • Dane Sardinha
  • Scott Sizemore
  • Wilkin Ramirez
  • Chris Lambert
  • James Skelton
  • Danny Worth
  • Clete Thomas
  • Preston Larrison
  • Max St. Pierre
  • Aquilino Lopez
  • Nick Trzesniak
  • Matt Mantei

Per usual, there are quite a few catchers and I’m happy to see Skelton in that group. The Tigers will also be taking a look at 3 of their middle infield prospects in Scott Sizemore, Michael Hollimon, and Danny Worth. If it weren’t for the Inge situation I’d think that Hollimon would have a decent shot to beat out Ramon Santiago for the utility infielder role with a strong spring. But with the Tigers bench pretty full, I don’t expect Hollimon or anyone else to surprise.

2008 Season, Minors

A treat for all the non Baseball America subscribers

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If you don’t subscribe to Baseball America, but want to find out what they said about the Tigers prospects, head over to the Freep. Beat writer Jon Paul Morosi compiled the list and today the Freep is running a chunk of the stuff that was premium content. This includes: mini scouting reports as well as a significant portion of the chat hosted by Morosi (part 1 and part 2).

As Take 75 North has advocated, this is really the meat of prospect lists. Finding out why the list was made the way it was. It’s also a chance for the average fan to learn the specifics on certain players much more than they can by looking at a stat line.

2008 Season, Minors

Baseball America’s 2008 Tigers Prospect List

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There isn’t an official top prospect list, but BA’s is kind of the standard. Today they announced the Tigers 2008 top 10

  1. Rick Porcello, rhp
  2. Cale Iorg, ss
  3. Scott Sizemore, 2b
  4. Michael Hollimon, 2b/ss
  5. Yorman Bazardo, rhp
  6. Jeff Larish, 1b
  7. Matt Joyce, of
  8. Danny Worth, ss
  9. Francisco Cruceta, rhp
  10. Brandon Hamilton, rhp

Rick Porcello is the clear cut stud, but after that things get cloudy. I’m surprised to see Cale Iorg rated so highly. While he may have all the tools, those tools haven’t really even been on display for several years. Plus a hamstring injury in the Hawaiian Winter League added to the lack of exposure to competitive baseball.I have a hard time rating him that highly, at least this year.

I’m also surprised to see Scott Sizemore rated number 3. While I like what Sizemore has done, the AFL is his only exposre to players in his age range.

The rest of the list is pretty much in line with who’d you would expect to see. As for the order, I don’t think there is a lot of separation so the composition is probably more important than the ranking.

There are write-ups on the top 10, but they are premium content. I will point out a couple of items though:

Bazardo

It would come as no surprise if he opened the season as Detroit’s fifth starter.

I’d be quite surprised given the rotation is set barring injury. I do like him as the 6th starter though and do expect him to make the team. (edit: in his chat, Morosi indicated that was written before the Willis trade)

Hollimon:

Second base would be his best position, but the Tigers have Placido Polanco under contract through 2009. Hollimon is athletic enough to play in the outfield, but Detroit has no plans to move him there this year in Triple-A.

Hadn’t heard him listed as a potential outfielder before.

Joyce:

Joyce has moved swiftly since signing in 2005, and he’ll move up to Triple-A this season. If all goes well, he’ll challenge for a big league job in 2009.

I’d like to see him at AAA, but with Timo Perez, Freddy Guzman, and Brent Clevlen the outfield appears full.
Worth:

Worth will return to Lakeland or Erie to begin 2008 and could move quickly in a system that lacks depth at shortstop in the upper minors.

Brent Dlugach, Tony Giarratano, and Hollimon figure to provide depth. Not that Dlugach should block anybody, but he’s still depth. Plus Tony G is still on the 40 man.

2008 Season, Interviews, Minors

Talking Tigers prospects with Jonathan Mayo

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Jonathan Mayo covers the minor leagues and the draft as a senior writer for MLB.com. Mayo also has a book coming out that has some remarkable timing. It is a look at what it is like to face Roger Clemens and is appropriately titled Facing Clemens. The book was written and put to bed prior to the release of the Mitchell Report and will be available on March 1st, though you can pre-order it now.

Regardless of your feelings about Clemens, steroid users, and their place in history, the book looks to be a fascinating read. Mayo interviewed many of the great hitters about what it was like to dig in with Clemens on the mound. Whether or not Clemens did it naturally doesn’t change what the batters experienced when squaring off against the Rocket.

Mayo was kind enough to answer some questions about the now-depleted Tigers farm system as well as a look forward to the 2008 draft.

Detroit Tigers Weblog: After the trades this off-season, the Tigers seem to be deepest in the middle infield. Of Scott Sizemore, Mike Hollimon, Danny Worth, Cale Iorg, Tony Giarratano, and Audy Ciriaco who do you see having the highest ceiling, and who is most likely to make it to the majors?
Jonathan Mayo: From a pure upside standpoint, I think Ciriaco is still the guy. I know he only hit .224 in his full-season debut, but he’ll still be just 20 when the season starts. I think he has to start taking the raw tools and turn it into performance this year. As for “most likely to succeed,” I’d probably go with Worth or Hollimon at this point. I’ve seen Hollimon play several times and he just looks like a big leaguer to me. He also has the best bat of this group as of right now. Those kinds of offensive skills will play at 2B in the bigs. Worth, even though he hit when he got pushed up to Erie, will be a big leaguer more because of his glove. How much he can hit will determine whether he’s an every-day shortstop or a utility guy.

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