With the Minor League season opening this week, here’s where the Tigers’ Top 30 prospects are projected to start:
1. Jackson Jobe (MLB No. 62), RHP — Injured (lumbar spine inflammation)
2. Jace Jung (MLB No. 82), 2B — West Michigan (High-A)
3. Wilmer Flores (MLB No. 94), RHP — Erie (Double-A)
4. Colt Keith, 3B/2B — Erie (Double-A)
5. Ty Madden, RHP — Erie (Double-A)
6. Peyton Graham, SS — Lakeland (Single-A)
7. Justyn-Henry Malloy, OF/3B — Toledo (Triple-A)
8. Joey Wentz, LHP — Detroit (MLB)
9. Wenceel Pérez, 2B — Injured (back)
10. Cristian Santana, SS/2B — Lakeland (Single-A)
11. Ryan Kreidler, SS — Detroit (MLB)
12. Parker Meadows, OF — Toledo (Triple-A)
13. Reese Olson, RHP — Toledo (Triple-A)
14. Izaac Pacheco, 3B — West Michigan (High-A)
15. Roberto Campos, OF — West Michigan (High-A)
16. Dillon Dingler, C — Injured (knee)
17. Dylan Smith, RHP — Erie (Double-A)
18. Manuel Sequera, INF — Lakeland (Single-A)
19. Troy Melton, RHP — Lakeland (Single-A)
20. Luke Gold, 2B/3B — Lakeland (Single-A)
21. Abel Bastidas, SS — Extended spring training
22. Andre Lipcius, 3B — Toledo (Triple-A)
23. Brant Hurter, LHP — Erie (Double-A)
24. Freddy Pacheco, RHP — Injured (right elbow sprain)
25. Elvis Alvarado, RHP — Erie (Double-A) injured list (undisclosed)
26. Josh Crouch, C — Erie (Double-A)
27. Mason Englert, RHP — Detroit (MLB)
28. Tyler Mattison, RHP — West Michigan (High-A)
29. Austin Bergner, RHP — Erie (Double-A)
30. Brendan White, RHP — Toledo (Triple-A)
Team to watch
Seven of the club’s Top 30 prospects start the year with Double-A Erie, including No. 94 overall Wilmer Flores and near-Top-100 name Colt Keith. Ty Madden will join Flores in the SeaWolves rotation, and both could come flying out of the gate after combining to make 26 Eastern League starts a year ago. Detroit is also high on left-hander Brant Hurter as he heads to Double-A for the first time, and catcher Josh Crouch will work with that pitching staff to begin his second full season.
Players we could see in MLB in 2023
Joey Wentz, Ryan Kreidler and Rule 5 pick Mason Englert all broke with the big league club out of spring already. Flores and fellow right-hander Reese Olson could certainly be starting options in Detroit at various points throughout the summer as well. Justyn-Henry Malloy (more on him below) has the bat and plate discipline to push the envelope with his career .408 OBP.
New faces
Malloy begins his first season with Detroit as the club’s No. 7 prospect after being picked up from the Braves in the offseason Joe Jimenez swap. Though he primarily played left field last season in the Atlanta system, all of his starts in Spring Training and the early days with Triple-A Toledo have been at third base — an indication of where he might most easily crack the Major League roster in ’23.
On the shelf
The news that Jackson Jobe will miss much of the season with a back issue was one of the toughest Spring Training injury updates to swallow. Further down the list, Wenceel Pérez continues to recover from a back injury that cut short his breakout 2022 season. He’ll join Triple-A Toledo when ready. Dillon Dingler underwent a right knee meniscectomy in mid-March and is expected to resume baseball activities this month.