There’s a new No. 1 prospect in the Detroit Tigers‘ farm system.
Outfielder Riley Greene, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft, has passed first baseman Spencer Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft, according to Baseball America‘s preseason Tigers top 10 prospects list. Greene is ranked No. 1, with Torkelson No. 2.
Greene hit .301 with 24 home runs and 84 RBIs last season for Double-A Erie (84 games) and Triple-A Toledo (40 games), drawing 63 walks and striking out 153 times. Promoted to the Mud Hens in August, the 21-year-old hit .308 and mashed eight homers.
The preseason rankings feature six new players compared to last year’s preseason list. After Greene and Torkelson, right-hander Jackson Jobe is ranked No. 3, followed by catcher Dillon Dingler and shortstop Gage Workman.
The rest of the Tigers’ top prospects: right-hander Ty Madden (No. 6), shortstop Ryan Kreidler (No. 7), outfielder Roberto Campos (No. 8), left-hander Joey Wentz (No. 9) and shortstop Izaac Pacheco (No. 10).
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Torkelson, 22, hit .267 in 121 games, with 30 home runs, 91 RBIs, 77 walks and 114 strikeouts for High-A West Michigan (31 games), Erie (50 games) and Toledo (40 games). He hit .312 with five homers for West Michigan, .263 with 14 homers for Erie and .238 with 11 homers for Toledo.
Greene and Torkelson will enter spring training in February with opportunities to make the 2022 Opening Day roster. Although Torkelson might require an extra month or so in Toledo, he could slug his way onto the major-league team. For now, Greene seems on track to begin the season as the Tigers’ starting center fielder.
Of the 10 players, three were selected in the 2021 draft.
The Tigers added Jobe with the No. 3 overall pick, Madden with the No. 32 pick and Pacheco with the No. 39 pick. Jobe and Madden did not pitch professionally last season, but Pacheco played 30 games in the Florida Complex League. He hit .226 with one homer, seven RBIs, 18 walks and 43 strikeouts.
Dingler, 23, hit .239 with 12 homers, 46 walks, 22 walks and 101 strikeouts for Low-A Lakeland (three games), West Michigan (32 games) and Erie (50 games). The Tigers drafted him No. 38 overall in 2020. He needs to improve defensively and show consistency at the plate before he gets closer to his MLB debut.
Workman, 22, posted a .246 batting average with 12 homers, 58 RBIs, 53 walks and 157 strikeouts in 118 games for Lakeland (51 games) and West Michigan (67 games). For the Whitecaps, he hit .237 with a .302 on-base percentage. He is known for his arm strength and accuracy as a shortstop and third baseman.
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Kreidler made the biggest jump of any prospect in the Tigers’ system. The 24-year-old, a 2019 fourth-round pick from UCLA, began last season in Erie but got called up to Toledo with Torkelson and Greene. He hit .270 with 22 home runs, 58 RBIs, 56 walks and 158 RBIs for Erie (88 games) and Toledo (41 games). For the Mud Hens, Kreidler registered a .304 batting average. He could make his MLB debut in 2022 if his offensive success continues, considering he is already an above-average defender in the infield.
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Campos, 18, signed with the Tigers for $2.85 million bonus in July 2019 and finally made his professional debut in 2021. Serving as a center fielder and right fielder, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-handed hitter delivered a .228 batting average with eight home runs, 19 RBIs, 17 walks and 41 strikeouts. He played all 39 games in the Florida Complex League.
Wentz returned from Tommy John surgery and made five starts for Lakeland and 13 starts for Erie. Upon reaching the SeaWolves, the 24-year-old left-hander bounced back with a 3.71 ERA, 33 walks and 58 strikeouts in 53⅓ innings. The Tigers acquired Wentz from the Atlanta Braves in the 2019 Shane Greene trade.
Here is last year’s preseason top 10 prospect rankings, in order: Spencer Torkelson, Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Riley Greene, Isaac Paredes, Dillon Dingler, Daz Cameron, Daniel Cabrera, Gage Workman.
Newest arms
The Tigers recently signed right-handers Jacob Barnes and Markus Solbach to minor-league contracts.
Barnes received an invitation to spring training and could contribute. He has pitched 229 games (one start) in parts of six MLB seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers (2016-19), Kansas City Royals (2019), Los Angeles Angels (2020), New York Mets (2021) and Toronto Blue Jays (2021).
The 31-year-old has a 4.61 ERA with 99 walks and 242 strikeouts across 226⅔ innings.
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In 2021, Barnes posted a 6.28 ERA with 11 walks and 33 strikeouts in 28⅔ innings across 29 relief appearances for the Mets (19 games) and Blue Jays (10 games).
Expect Barnes to throw a fastball, cutter and slider when he shows up to spring training. He recently ditched the split-changeup and his fastball averages 95-96 mph. Based on the analytics, the Tigers believe they can unlock a better version of Barnes by adding more depth to his slider. Once he perfects the slider, Barnes will consider a fourth pitch to take the place of his split-change.
Solbach, a German-born and former Australian Baseball League pitcher, is a 30-year-old who remains in search of his MLB debut.
He has pitched eight seasons in the minor leagues for the Minnesota Twins (2011-13), Arizona Diamondbacks (2014-16) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2019-21). He has a career 3.96 ERA with 103 walks and 327 strikeouts over 468⅔ innings in 117 games (70 starts).
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Solbach has a close relationship with Gabe Ribas, the Tigers’ director of pitching. The organization wants to get Solbach back to his 2019 form, when he logged a 2.57 ERA with eight walks and 39 strikeouts across 42 innings in eight games (seven starts) for Double-A Tulsa.
He tossed in 17 games (nine starts) for Triple-A Oklahoma City last season and registered an 8.12 ERA with 18 walks and 40 strikeouts in 47⅔ innings.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.