Now that we’ve worked our way down the list of the Tigers’ top 20 prospects, we’re going to dive a little deeper with a series that ranks the organization’s top 10 prospects by position.
To get things started, we’re highlighting pitchers, splitting the list by starters and relievers.
If you’ve followed Detroit’s farm in recent years, you know about the organization’s depth at the position. Tommy John surgery has sidelined more than one name on this list, but we’re looking at each profile overall with trust that each player will be at full health once rehab is complete.
Advertisement
This list could continue to morph over the next few years if the Tigers transition current starters to the bullpen, as recent chatter has indicated as a possibility.
With four of the 10 pitchers younger than 22, there’s every reason for Detroit to have high expectations over the next few years as the rebuild rolls on.
Starters
1. Casey Mize
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 21
Height/Weight: 6-3/220 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 60 | Splitter: 70 | Slider: 60
Mize is a nearly unanimous choice among scouts as the top arm in the Tigers’ system, even though he’s thrown only a handful of innings as a pro.
Mize more than sold himself at Auburn with his precision and advanced feel. And although the Tigers are monitoring him closely, he hasn’t missed a beat, making quick work of his two-inning debut with the GCL Tigers and following it up with a strong three innings for High-A Lakeland.
His vicious mid-80s splitter is already a ready-made major league offering, missing bats on both sides. With feel in place for his plus slider and a fastball that tips at 97 mph, the next challenge for Mize is learning how to mix against more advanced hitters as he progresses.
2. Franklin Perez
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 20
Height/Weight: 6-3/197 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50
A string of health issues has prevented Perez from showing what he’s capable of since joining the Tigers via the Justin Verlander trade in 2017. Monday, the team confirmed he had returned to the DL and was being shut down for the season due to capsular inflammation in his right shoulder.
So why the confidence in Perez? He has a high degree of self-awareness and an ability to work an advanced arsenal that matches his maturity. Perez doesn’t have a lights-out offering, but the shape of his plus curveball coupled with a plus mid-to-high 90s fastball keeps hitters off balance and creates plenty of swing-and-miss.
Advertisement
The Tigers need him, however, at 100 percent.
3. Matt Manning
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 20
Height/Weight: 6-6/190 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 60 | Changeup: 55
Despite some bumps this season learning how to pitch on the road, Manning continues to be held in high regard by scouts and coaches alike. Running his fastball at full strength, his off-speed offerings show life, although his command has suffered recently.
Manning generally likes to work through hang-ups on his own, and his recent struggle to locate isn’t a huge concern, as he’s still only 20.
His curveball has shown good shape this year, with his fastball running to 97 mph. His changeup sits comfortably above average and projects as plus as his feel improves.
4. Beau Burrows
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 21
Height/Weight: 6-2/200 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Slider: 50
Of the Tigers’ top arms, Burrows seemingly has had to elbow his way the hardest to stay among the elite. His situational awareness has improved as he has matured, and he depends on instinct to work through most situations.
With command an early concern, Burrows has worked to drop his walk rate, albeit slightly. His 98 mph fastball continues to overwhelm opposing hitters. And while he still occasionally struggles to locate his secondary, it’s steadily taking shape, keeping hitters off balance when at its strongest.
5. Alex Faedo
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 22
Height/Weight: 6-5/230 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Slider: 65
Faedo’s arsenal may not be at the level expected of him coming out of the University of Florida, but he’s still managing to challenge Eastern League hitters in his first year of minor league competition.
Faedo’s slider continues to lead the pack, as it did in college and more so now with the decrease in his generally plus fastball, which has struggled to top 93 mph this season.
He struck out a season-best nine on July 28, proving his ability to maneuver the ball hasn’t suffered. The first year in a new league requires adjustments, but we should get a better idea of Faedo’s development pace by season’s end.
Bullpen
1. Zac Houston
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 23
Height/Weight: 6-5/250 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 65 | Curveball: 55 | Splitter: 50
Houston could prove to be an ace up the Tigers’ sleeve by September, considering his continued success in Triple-A this season. He has yet to post a FIP above 2.92, and has 16.1 strikeouts per nine innings over 22.1 innings in Toledo.
Advertisement
His daunting frame backs his well-established pitch mix, which boasts a lively fastball known to run upwards of 97 mph. His splitter, which he began developing this spring, is already an average offering.
Houston is producing to a degree that demands to be acknowledged and should interest the Tigers sooner vs. later.
2. John Schreiber
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 24
Height/Weight: 6-3/215 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Slider: 55
Schreiber is as eager as anyone to forget his shaky introduction to Double-A Erie this season. After a nearly flawless season with West Michigan in 2017, he got a rude awakening from Eastern League hitters upon his arrival.
Despite his low-3/4 slot delivery, Schreiber will reach as high as 93 mph on his fastball, ducking and diving away low in the zone. Already flirting near plus, Schreiber’s slider is the most deceptive, dropping out of the zone at an unpredictable rate.
Schreiber isn’t afraid to toy with hitters, but deception will be more challenging the higher he goes in the system.
3. Bryan Garcia
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 23
Height/Weight: 6-1/203 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 60 | Changeup: 60 | Slider: 55
Garcia, who jumped through four affiliates in 52 games, was one of the quickest risers in the Tigers’ minor league pitching reserves in 2017. Tommy John surgery, though, has sidelined him for the entire 2018 season.
A natural strikeout arm at full health, Garcia works his fastball up to 96 mph, mixing a developing slider and changeup that work well behind his heater. He has proven he can handle the pressure of a promotion and is expected to return to the bullpen once he has healed.
4. Gerson Moreno
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 22
Height/Weight: 6-0/175 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45
Although his command remains a work in progress, Moreno’s arm continues to be a “but what if …” story. And after releasing the 22-year-old in May, only to re-sign him shortly thereafter, Detroit is willing to continue the work it started.
Advertisement
Moreno learned in May he needed Tommy John surgery. The high-octane right-hander got 14 appearances in with Double-A Erie before being sent to the sidelines, working his near triple-digit arm with a spotty off-speed mix. If he can develop more feel for mixing his secondary and locating that sizzling fastball, there’s still plenty of value in his arm.
5. Jason Foley
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 22
Height/Weight: 6-4/215 pounds
Pitches/Grades: Fastball: 60 | Changeup: 50 | Slider: 45
No reliever in the Tigers farm system was a bigger surprise than Foley, who joined the organization in 2016 after going undrafted. The former starter then began to light up the radar gun with a mid-effort 100 mph heater.
Relying the heaviest on his overwhelming fastball, Foley’s slider/changeup combination tends to lag a bit and both are below average. Foley’s control improved as the 2017 season played out, but the work on his secondary is still in discussion.
Foley, like Moreno and Garcia, is working to return from Tommy John surgery he had last July. The Tigers won’t rush him, but his return to the mound will be highly anticipated.
(Top photo: Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via AP Images)