Tag Archives: Detroit Tigers

2015 MLB Prospect Rankings

Detroit Tigers 2015 Top 20 Prospect Rankings

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By: JP Schwartz
Twitter: @Jaypers413

Every year around this time I like to rank each team’s top overall prospects. My criteria are based on A: Past Performance and B: Future Potential (50% of each per prospect)

Disclaimer: I am not a professional scout, nor did I attend any minor league games this year. These lists are the product of my own research of online scouting reports and scouting videos, as well as statistics, and are compiled purely for entertainment purposes.

Send your questions or feedback to me on twitter @Jaypers413

To qualify for these lists, a prospect must have no more than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues.

DETROIT TIGERS

1: Derek Hill OF
2: Robbie Ray LHP
3: Steven Moya OF
4: Domingo Leyba SS
5: Buck Farmer RHP
6: Devon Travis 2B
7: Jonathon Crawford RHP
8: Kevin Ziomek LHP
9: Joe Jimenez RHP
10: Javier Betancourt IF
11: Austin Kubitza RHP
12: Hernan Perez SS/2B
13: Spencer Turnbull RHP
14: Joey Pankake 3B
15: Ross Kivett OF
16: James McCann C
17: Grayson Greiner C
18: Endrys Briceno RHP
19: Connor Harrell OF
20: Ben Verlander OF

Prospect Rankings

Detroit Tigers 2014 Top 20 Prospect Rankings

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By: J.P. Schwartz
Twitter: @Jaypers413

Every year around this time I like to rank each team’s top overall prospects. My criteria are based on A: Past Performance and B: Future Potential (50% of each per prospect)

Disclaimer: I am not a professional scout, nor did I attend any minor league games this year. These lists are the product of my own research of online scouting reports and statistics, and are compiled purely for entertainment purposes.

Send your questions or feedback to me on twitter @Jaypers413

To qualify for these lists, a prospect must have no more than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues.

DETROIT TIGERS

1. Nick Castellanos OF


2. Jonathon Crawford RHP


3. Bruce Rondon RHP


4. Devon Travis 2B


5. Robbie Ray LHP


6. Jake Thompson RHP


7. Corey Knebel RHP


8. Kevin Ziomek LHP


9. Javier Betancourt IF


10. Austin Schotts OF


11. Buck Farmer RHP


12. Jeff Thompson RHP


13. Steven Fuentes SS


14. James McCann C


15. Tyler Collins OF


16. Kyle Lobstein LHP


17. Austin Kubitzka RHP


18. Zac Reininger RHP


19. Steven Moya OF


20. Eugenio Suarez SS

2012 Baseball Prospect Rankings

Detroit Tigers 2012 Mid-Season Top 5 Prospect Rankings

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By: J.P. Schwartz
@Jaypers413

As we are now halfway into the season and the signing deadline for 2012 draft picks has passed, here is my revised list of top 5 prospects in the Detroit Tigers organization.

Remember, a prospect must have fewer than 130 ABs or 50 IP in the Major Leagues to qualify.
(Stats through 7/28/2012)

1) Nick Castellanos – 3B
Highest Level: AA Erie Seawolves
2012 Stats:
MILB: .360, 27(2B), 4(3B), 9HR, 51RBI

2) Avisail Garcia – OF
Highest Level: AA Erie Seawolves
2012 Stats:
MILB: .289, 11(2B), 7(3B), 11HR, 44RBI, 18SB

3) Casey Crosby – P
Highest Level: MLB Detroit Tigers
2012 Stats:
MLB: 1-1, 9.49ERA, 12.1IP, 11BB, 9K, .313BAA
MILB: 6-3, 3.99ERA, 85.1IP, 50BB, 83K, .233BAA

4) Jake Thompson – P
Highest Level: Rookie League GCL Tigers
2012 Stats:
MILB: 1-1, 1.75ERA, 25.2IP, 10BB, 29K, .133BAA

5) Steven Moya – OF
Highest Level: Low-A West Michigan Whitecaps
2012 Stats:
MILB: .288, 14(2B), 3(3B), 9HR, 47RBI

Send your questions or feedback to J.P. on twitter @Jaypers413

Major League Baseball News

VIDEO: Doug Flynn Autographs His 1986 Topps Card For The First Time In 25 Years

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Former big leaguer Doug Flynn played for five teams in his big league career. His final season came in 1985 in which he played 9 games with the Montreal Expos and 32 games with the Detroit Tigers. His time with the Tigers produced this 1986 Topps Baseball Card In His Detroit Tigers Uniform. For nearly 25 years, Flynn refused to autograph the card. In the video below, Flynn talks about why he decided not to sign the card, how Johnny Bench talked him into signing five of them during a charity event, and whether or not he will ever sign the card again. It’s a pretty cool interview and story. Since the video was made, Flynn has agreed to sign the card for a $400 donation to the Childrens Charity Fund of the Blue Grass.

2012 Baseball Prospect Rankings

2012 Detroit Tigers Top 15 Prospect Rankings

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By: J.P. Schwartz
@Jaypers413 on Twitter
JP’s FreedomCardboard Blog

2012 Detroit Tigers Top 15 Prospect Rankings

Every year at this time I like to rank each team’s top prospects. My criteria is based upon both past performance and future potential to his parent team. This is my ranking of the 2012 Detroit Tigers Top Prospects. If you have any questions about my rankings, feel free to shoot me a message on twitter @Jaypers413

To qualify, a prospect must have fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings in MLB

#1 Jacob Turner RHP
Born: 5/21/1991
Highest Level Reached: MLB Detroit Tigers
2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: 4-5, 3.44ERA, 131IP, 35BB, 110K, .238BAA
MAJORS: 0-1, 8.53ERA, 12.2IP, 4BB, 8K, .315BAA

#2 Nick Castellanos 3B
Born: 3/4/1992
Highest Level Reached: Low-A West Michigan Whitecaps
2011 Combined Stats: .312, 36(2B), 3(3B), 7HR, 76RBI

#3 Aaron Westlake 1B
Born: 12/27/1988
Highest Level Reached: Short-A Connecticut Tigers
2011 Combined Stats: .250, 5(2B), 1(3B), 3HR, 19RBI

#4 Drew Smyly LHP
Born: 6/13/1989
Highest Level Reached: Double-A Erie Seawolves
2011 Combined Stats: 11-6, 2.07ERA, 126IP, 36BB, 130K, .227BAA

#5 Andy Oliver LHP
Born: 12/3/1987
Highest Level Reached: MLB Detroit Tigers
2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: 8-12, 4.71ERA, 147IP, 80BB, 143K, .272BAA
MAJORS: 0-1, 6.52ERA, 9.2IP, 8BB, 5K, .289BAA

#6 James McCann C
Born: 6/13/1990
Highest Level Reached: Low-A West Michigan Whitecaps
2011 Combined Stats: .146, 2(2B), 1HR, 7RBI (7 hits in 48 at-bats) (2nd Round Pick 2011 MLB Draft)

#7 Casey Crosby LHP
Born: 9/17/1988
Highest Level Reached: Double-A Erie Seawolves
2011 Combined Stats: 9-7, 4.10ERA, 131.2IP, 77BB, 121K, .253BAA

#8 Brenny Paulino RHP
Born: 2/21/1993
Highest Level Reached: High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers
2011 Combined Stats: 4-5, 4.41ERA, 51IP, 27BB, 52K, .222BAA

#9 Tyler Gibson OF
Born: 6/17/1993
Highest Level Reached: Rookie League GCL Tigers
2011 Combined Stats: .143 (2 hits in 14 at-bats) (15th Round Pick 2011 MLB Draft)

#10 Brian Flynn LHP
Born: 4/19/1990
Highest Level Reached: Low-A West Michigan Whitecaps
2011 Combined Stats: 7-2, 3.46ERA, 67.2IP, 23BB, 57K, .235BAA

#11 Brandon Loy SS
Born: 5/3/1990
Highest Level Reached: High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers
2011 Combined Stats: .250, 2(2B), 5RBI (14 hits in 56 at-bats) (5th Round Pick 2011 Draft)

#12 Avisail Garcia OF
Born: 6/12/1991
Highest Level Reached: High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers
2011 Combined Stats: .264, 16(2B), 6(3B), 11HR, 56RBI, 14SB

#13 Danry Vasquez OF
Born: 1/8/1994
Highest Level Reached: Rookie League GCL Tigers
2011 Combined Stats: .272, 8(2B), 1(3B), 2HR, 30RBI

#14 Jose Ortega RHP
Born: 10/12/1988
Highest Level Reached: Triple-A Toledo Mudhens
2011 Combined Stats: 1-3, 6.30ERA, 50IP, 27BB, 44K, .310BAA

#15 Matt Hoffman LHP
Born: 11/18/1988
Highest Level Reached: Triple-A Toledo Mudhens
2011 Combined Stats: 2-5, 3.45ERA, 62.2IP, 25BB, 46K, .252BAA

Disclaimer – I did not attend any minor league games this year, nor do I claim to have any scouting experience. These lists are the product of my own research of statistics and online scouting reports.

Baseball Cards

Topps Didn’t Think Maury Wills Was Worth Signing To A $5 Baseball Card Contract Back In 1959

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Now a days, the Topps baseball card company signs pretty much every minor league baseball player to a contract allowing them the opportunity to make a baseball card of that player should they see fit. Back in the 1950’s, it was an entirely different process. Thus was the case that Los Angeles Dodgers great Maury Wills was passed over as then Topps employee Turk Karam didn’t think enough of Wills, who was then participating in a spring training tryout with the Detroit Tigers, to offer him a contract. The story link below looks at the Wills oversight and how he eventually came to sign with Topps competitor Fleer who produced baseball cards for a short time in the 1960’s before finally resurfacing again in 1981. It’s a great historical read for any baseball card collector.

Did Topps turn down a deal on Maury Wills because he was such a bad prospect? — LATimes.com

Uncategorized

1980’s Detroit Tigers Pitcher Howie Bailey Once Shot Off Fireworks In An Apartment With Mark The Bird Fidrych

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Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Howard Bailey had an eventful three seasons in the majors and has had quite the post baseball life. Bailey pitched for the Tigers from 1981 to 1983 going 6-9 with 5.23ERA in his 118.2 inning big league career. After baseball, Bailey excelled in another sport, skeet shooting. He was inducted into the Michigan Skeet Association Hall of Fame earlier this year. He also runs Buy Right Tape a packing supply company and owns a 10 acre blueberry farm. In the story link below, Bailey shares memories of setting off fireworks inside an apartment with Mark The Bird Fidrych, his life growing up in baseball, his Hall of Fame skeet shooting career, and life as a blueberry farmer. It’s a very good read.

How former Detroit Tigers pitcher Howie Bailey made switch from baseball to blueberries — MLive.com

Baseball Cards

Did Ty Cobb Really Wear A Uniform Patch That Looks Like This Back In The Early 1900’s

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There is quite the discussion going on at FreedomCardboard.com about a controversial Ty Cobb 2011 Topps Marquee Gametime Mementos Quad Patch card that has surfaced on Ebay. The card is numbered 4/5 and features a red jersey and two pieces of a black and white patch. The issue with the card is that the patch looks nothing like something that would have come from 1905-1928, the years in which Cobb played for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics. To further cloud the mystery is this card same card which features four bat pieces instead of the patches, and is very real and what was expected to be pulled from the Marquee product. There are a number of theories being batted around as to the origin of the card and whether or not the card is a product of a quality control issue at Topps. We will update the continued saga of the card as it evolves.

UPDATED: The patch card has been pulled from Ebay and apparently Topps has admitted to a production error with the card. You can read about that and see the image of the card in question via This thread at FreedomCardBoard.com

Prospect Rankings

2011 Detroit Tigers Top 15 Prospects Post Season Report Card

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With the 2011 minor league season complete we check in on the progress of each of the Detroit Tigers preseason Top 15 prospects as ranked by our prospect ranker J.P. Schwartz. The post season grading report was done by the publisher of Top Prospect Alert, not Mr. Schwartz, and reflects only the 2011 season and not future upside or downside of the individual prospect. Our 2012 preseason rankings will be published in the coming months.

#1 Jacob Turner GRADE: A-
Turner went a combined 4-5 with a 3.44ERA between the Double-A Erie Seawolves and Triple-A Toledo Mudhens. He walked 35 and struck out 110 in 131 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .238 off of Turner on the season. Through September 20th, Turner logged two starts at the big league level with the Tigers going 0-1 with a 7.45ERA in 9.2 innings.

#2 Nick Castellanos GRADE: A
Castellanos batted .312 with 36 Doubles, 3 Triples, 7 Home Runs and 76 RBI’s for the Low-A West Michigan Whitecaps. He walked 45 times and struck out 130 times in 135 games. The Tigers recently named Castellanos their organization’s Minor League Player Of The Year

#3 Andy Oliver GRADE: C+
Oliver went 8-12 with a 4.71ERA for Triple-A Toledo. He walked 80 and struck out 143 in 147 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .272 off of Oliver on the season. Through September 20th, Oliver was 0-1 with a 6.52ERA in two big league starts with the Tigers.

#4 Casey Crosby GRADE: B-
Crosby went 9-7 with a 4.10ERA for the Double-A Erie Seawolves. He walked 77 and struck out 121 batters in 131.2 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .253 off of Crosby on the season.

#5 Chance Ruffin TRADED TO SEATTLE
Ruffin went a combined 3-3 with a 2.03ERA and 19 saves between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo. He was the player to be named later in the Doug Fister trade. Through September 20th, Ruffin was 1-0 with a 3.21ERA in 14 big league innings covering two appearances with the Tigers and ten with the Mariners following the trade.

#6 Daniel Schlereth GRADE: A-
Through September 20th, Schlereth was 2-1 with a 3.40ERA in 47 big league appearances out of the Tigers bullpen. He has walked 30 and struck out 42 in 47.2 innings. Opposing major league hitters are batting just .204 off Schlereth this season. In 8 Triple-A appearances, Schlereth was 1-0 with a 0.77ERA in 11.2 innings of work.

#7 Francisco Martinez TRADED TO SEATTLE
Martinez batted a combined .289 with 21 Doubles, 7 Triples, 10 Home Runs and 69 RBI’s for Double-A Erie and the Mariners Double-A club the Jackson Generals. He was traded to Seattle in the Doug Fister deal.

#8 Drew Smyly GRADE: A
Smyly went a combined 11-6 with a 2.07ERA for the High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers and Double-A Erie. He walked 36 and struck out 130 in 126 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .227 off Smyly on the season. He was named by the Tigers as the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

#9 Charlie Furbush TRADED TO SEATTLE
Through September 20th, Furbush was a combined 4-9 with a 5.22ERA between Detroit and Seattle in 81 big league innings. At Triple-A Toledo, Furbush went 5-3 with a 3.17ERA.

#10 Avisail Garcia GRADE: B
Garcia batted .264 with 16 Doubles, 6 Triples, 11 Home Runs and 56 RBI’s for High-A Lakeland. He also added 14 stolen bases. Garcia walked 18 times and struck out 132 times in 129 games.

#11 Rob Brantly GRADE: B-
Brantly batted a combined .274 with 22 Doubles, 1 Triple, 10 Home Runs, and 62 RBI’s between Low-A West Michigan and High-A Lakeland. He walked 29 times and struck out 56 times in 114 games.

#12 Daniel Fields GRADE: C-
Fields batted .220 with 14 Doubles, 4 Triples, 8 Home Runs, and 46 RBI’s for High-A Lakeland. He walked 49 times and struck out 133 times in 124 games.

#13 Adam Wilk GRADE: B
Wilk went 8-6 with a 3.24ERA for Triple-A Toledo. He walked 14 and struck out 76 in 102.2 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .262 off Wilk on the season. Through September 20th, Wilk was 0-0 with a 5.40ERA in 13.1 big league innings for the Tigers.

#14 Bruce Rondon GRADE: A-
Rondon went 2-2 with a 2.03ERA and 19 saves for Low-A West Michigan. He walked 34 and struck out 61 in 40 innings of work before being shut down in August. Opposing batters hit just .164 against Rondon on the season.

#15 Josue Carreno GRADE: C+
Carreno went 7-10 with a 4.55ERA at Low-A West Michigan. He walked 41 and struck out 115 in 124.2 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .270 off of Carreno on the season.

Minor League Baseball News

Remembering Tigers Farmhand Marty Boryczewski Who Died In The World Trade Center Attack On 9/11

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One of the thousands of people to perish in the World Trade Center attacks was 1990’s Detroit Tigers farmhand Marty Boryczewski. The New Jersey native was a catcher who played 61 games over three seasons in the minors spread between the Rookie League Lethbridge Mounties, Short-A Erie SeaWolves, and High-A Lakeland Tigers, batting a career .183. Following his baseball career Boryczewski went to work for the brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. In his honor, the Friends Of Marty a foundation to focus on the advancement of education and to promote social welfare was established. In the story link below, family and friends of Boryczewski pay tribute to him and his legacy on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Former SeaWolves catcher Marty Boryczewski not forgotten — GoErie.com