Not much in the way of drama came with Luke Gold’s fifth-round plucking by the Tigers in last year’s MLB Draft.
Decent prospect, as the term would apply: Boston College outfielder, right-handed hitter, 6-foot, 220 pounds. Fairly typical of wishes and hopes reserved for players drafted 147th overall.
The Tigers and their fans were even less awed this spring when Gold began “hitting” at low-A Lakeland as if he needed another season at BC: .188 in April and .208 in May.
But then came June: .354 batting average in 18 games, with a .440 on-base percentage and a 1.025 OPS. July has been even hotter, and not only on those old Florida State League fields where the Flying Tigers play.
Gold hit three home runs in his first 10 games this month and had pushed his OPS to 1.038 heading into Sunday’s game, which the Flying Tigers were hoping to make their — yes — 13th consecutive victory.
“I’m watching him play right now,” said Ryan Garko, who heads Tigers player development and who was speaking Sunday from Tampa, where the Flying Tigers were dueling with the Tarpons.
“I’m really proud of the work we’ve done. It’s a great compliment to our development staff, and to a player buying in.”
The buying-in involved a couple of adjustments, one mechanical, another competitive.
Gold’s swing coming from college was “a little uphill,” in Garko’s words, adding that it involved “getting a little aluminum out of his swing.”
Making his bat a bit more direct to the ball would allow him to barrel-up higher velocity low-A fastballs and not foul them back, as often was the case.
“We knew that when we drafted him,” Garko said. “He’s just adjusted. He’s strong and physical and has gotten better.”
Defensively, Gold is something of a silver medalist: Not great at third base, but he can function there, with his more natural spot at second, which fits more with his arm-strength.
He clearly is bidding for work at high-A West Michigan. How soon that happens depends upon the food-chain above, and, more directly, how regularly Gold continues to maul pitching at Lakeland.
Bigbie’s bat: No surprise
This season’s Kerry Carpenter Award, an unofficial, media-conceived (this instant) plaque handed to a breakthrough batter on the Tigers farm, appears locked up:
Justice Bigbie has all but ended balloting.
Bigbie, 24, and a 19th-round draft gamble from West Carolina by the Tigers, has been ravaging pitchers all season, first at West Michigan, and now at Erie, where Sunday he was 24 games into his Double-A promotion.
He plays corner outfield for the SeaWolves and through Sunday had a .371 batting average, .440 on-base percentage, and .573 slugging average (1.013 OPS). A right-handed batter, he had nine homers on the season, overall.
“I think if you asked a lot of, beginning with Kenny Graham (Tigers director of player development), he would tell you Bigbie was a guy whose underlying metrics (hitting) were really strong,” Garko said.
“He swings at strikes, he uses the whole field, and we’re getting him to put the ball in the air a little more. Just a few adjustments to get in front of the ball a little more.
“Kenny Graham always said he was going to hit.”
Bigbie has struck out only 13 times in 89 at-bats at Erie. He has nine walks.
Nothing simple about Complex (League) hitting
Josue Briceno is 18 years old. He is 6-4, 200 pounds. He bats left-handed.
And he is a Tigers catching prospect.
It should also be noted that after 22 games in the Florida Complex League he is batting .364/.448/.602/1.050, with three home runs. It points to why the Tigers two years ago signed him to an $800,000 deal – hefty by international-signing standards.
“He’s had a really good year,” Garko said. “Another physical kid, a physical player who hits the ball hard.
“Big and strong, with big body control, and he really understands the strike zone (13 walks, 16 strikeouts in 88 at-bats). He has a very advanced approach for a young hitter.”
It also appears, for now, that Briceno, who is from Maracay, Venezuela, will be sticking at catcher, despite size that often doesn’t mesh with a position so demanding.
“He’s got a strong arm, he blocks well, and he moves well behind the plate,” Garko said. “And he’s got really soft (nimble) hands.”
Briceno occasionally moves to first base, but only, Garko said, to give him a helpful break behind the plate.
Short hops
Garko on Izaac Pacheco, the Tigers’ second-round pick in 2021 who, two years out of high school, has had a tough season at high-A West Michigan (.203, with a .269 on-base percentage and .614 OPS): “It’s been a series of struggles and adjustments, good weeks and bad,” Garko said.
“We’re still looking to unlock something that might help him be more consistent. There’s enough good there to allow him to stay in the league (high-A).”
Garko on Cristian Santana, the 19-year-old shortstop and highly paid Tigers international signing ($2.85 million) who has had rugged times at low-A Lakeland (.135/.342/.230/.572): “He’s made some adjustments with his hands, and I think he’s been better the last two weeks (including 6-for-16 in Santana’s last five games).
“We’re getting him in the zone earlier and through the ball longer. He has the ability to keep the ball gap-to-gap. He looks good defending — he’s just been a little inconsistent with his swing path.”
Garko on Colt Keith’s work at third base and second base at Toledo: “He’s doing fine there. His mechanics and fundamentals are good, and he’s such a hard worker. He’s going to be fine.”
Lynn Henning is a freelance writer and retired Detroit News sports reporter.