LAKELAND, Fla. — The can-opening incident was a light-hearted introduction to Spring Training for Spencer Torkelson. It was never expected to be the most healthy cut he took in camp. This is not the way Torkelson envisioned his first camp unfolding. This is also not the way the Tigers want their top prospect to head
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — The Tigers’ first cuts of the spring came on Friday. Four pitchers were assigned to Triple-A Toledo: Joey Wentz, Alex Faedo, Beau Burrows and Kyle Funkhouser. Wentz and Faedo, both coming back from Tommy John surgeries, are rehabbing and will eventually end up on the injured list. Seven
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — If Tigers center fielder Derek Hill looks different at the plate this spring, it’s because, well he is. Like, completely different. “I’ve just tried to keep it as simple as possible,” said Hill, the Tigers’ first-round pick in 2014 who finally made his big-league debut last season. “I
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Tigers manager AJ Hinch mentioned it earlier in camp, that he suspected that one day Major League Baseball might step in and legislate shifts out of the game. Well, his suspicions are now a little closer to reality. The league announced Thursday several rules experiments that will take
It’s Prospects Week here at Motor City Bengals, where we’re giving you everything you need to know about the state of the Detroit Tigers farm system. If you haven’t already, you can check out our list of the Top 20 Detroit Tigers prospects, and a few more players who just missed the cut.
Phil Jones, a prolific Detroit area Chef who’s opened multiple restaurants, has been integral in helping the community during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why he’s our 2021 Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Chef of the Year. READ MORE: https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/dining/mark-kurlyandchik/2021/03/12/chef-year-phil-jones-farmacy-foods/4448595001/ For more Detroit and Michigan news, sports and entertainment, follow the Detroit
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press LAKELAND, Fla. — Let the roster trimming begin. The Detroit Tigers made their first round of spring training cuts Friday, sending four pitchers to Triple-A Toledo: right-handers Alex Faedo, Beau Burrows and Kyle Funkhouser and left-hander Joey Wentz. “The group is now going to go to mini camp,” manager AJ
The Detroit Tigers sent Michael Fulmer to the hill on Thursday afternoon to face the Toronto Blue Jays. Certainly, the Tigers’ brain trust was hoping to see some positives as they build a rotation. However, Fulmer flashed a lot of the form from 2020 where he was plumbing the depths of baseball with an ugly…
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press DUNEDIN, Fla. — The expected role for Renato Nunez was made clear by the Detroit Tigers from the moment they signed him to a minor-league contract this offseason. The 26-year-old doesn’t need to be the everyday first baseman. But for Nunez to make the 26-man roster for Opening Day and cash in on his $1.3
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Dunedin, Fla. — If you were hellbent to do so, you could come up with logical and reasonable arguments against Tarik Skubal starting the season in the Tigers’ rotation. He’s still young (24). He went from Double-A to the big leagues last year and only threw 32 innings over seven
Pitching isn’t only about how hard you throw. But it sure doesn’t hurt to be able to crank it up when needed, right? Evaluating a fastball isn’t only about the radar-gun reading, though that’s the thing most people see and talk about. Those triple-digit readings on the scoreboard are sure to cause a buzz to
Núñez was 12 when the Tigers became Venezuela’s team three years later, riding the clutch hitting of Magglio Ordonez and the two-way play of Carlos Guillen to the World Series. He was a 26-year-old slugger with 43 home runs over his last two seasons when the Orioles designated him for assignment last November. His difficult
DUNEDIN, Fla. — The highly rated young talent on the field at TD Ballpark on Thursday didn’t disappoint. For the first three innings of the Tigers’ 10-6 loss, it was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays’ impressive lineup swinging for the fences. If Skubal is going to join Guerrero, Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press DUNEDIN, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers lost 10-6 against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday at TD Ballpark. The game only lasted seven innings. The Tigers dropped to 6-4 in Grapefruit League play. What happened Right-hander Michael Fulmer started for the Tigers and went two-plus innings, but he gave up three
The Detroit Tigers farm system is vastly improved from the state it was in back in 2017 when the teardown started. However, at the premium positions they still have precious little to offer in terms of hopes for the future. There really isn’t a player in the system who looks like a likely starting centerfielder,
After hitting .349 with a .932 OPS in 2020, Willi Castro continues to be locked in at the plate during the 2021 Spring Training season. The Tigers 23-year-old shortstop launched a 458-foot home run in his first swing of the spring schedule, and hasn’t slowed down since. He’s caught the eye of AJ Hinch, who
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — You kind of expected Renato Nunez to be at least a little embittered. A guy hits 43 home runs, knocks in 121 runs, has a combined 106 OPS-plus, ranks in the top 20 percentile in barrels (exit velocity of 95 mph or better) and hard-hit rate in
Now, it’s time for us to explore the remainder of the Detroit Tigers farm system and highlight some of the interesting names from beyond the top 20 (see what I did there). The “Beyond the Top 20” series will breakdown some of the prospects who missed our list but deserve some further discussion.
The team at MCB has created a ton of Detroit Tigers prospect content over the past month. As part of that process, we have all spent a significant amount of time thinking about the Tiger’s farm system and the players in it. For me personally, one thought kept entering my mind, geez, 2020 really created a…
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Detroit Tigers second baseman Jonathan Schoop, following a lengthy delay, has been fully cleared to join spring training camp. The organization re-signed the 29-year-old to a one-year, $4.5 million contract this offseason. He faced trouble getting his work visa to enter the U.S. from Curacao, his home country. Upon his arrival, he needed to