For many prospects, the cancelled 2020 minor league season was a lost year of development that could have major negative career implications. Minor league contraction may force some aggressive promotions, while the levels of access to quality training have varied wildly from player to player with MLB’s developmental pipeline shut down for much of the
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — What to do about Baddoo? That’s more than just cheesy wordplay. It’s actually one of the serious questions facing the Tigers this spring. What exactly are they going to do with Rule 5 draftee Akil Baddoo? “He’s a real good-looking prospect,” general manager Al Avila said. “We got
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press Show Caption Hide Caption Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera: ‘I can’t wait to be at first (base) again’ Detroit Tigers veteran Miguel Cabrera talks Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, about his spring training with a new coaching staff. Detroit Tigers TAMPA, Fla. — Detroit Tigers top prospect Spencer Torkelson is gearing
Welcome to March, and welcome to the next step in the trudge toward opening day. We have baseball to watch. It’s starting pitchers going one inning and hitters getting a couple at bats before dudes whose names we don’t know get subbed in, but it’s baseball. In the first of such games, the Tigers swapped
Preseason evaluations of the Detroit Tigers’ farm system recently have focused on two points; the strength at the top of the system, and the weakness in the middle. A key part of the second issue is the lack of interesting starting pitching prospects at the A-ball levels. Keider Montero may have something to say about
Jeff Seidel | Detroit Free Press LAKELAND, Fla. — There were no more creepy cardboard cutouts in the stands, and no more fake crowd noise. Thank goodness. Jim McGuire, an actual real human being, watched the Detroit Tigers in person on Sunday afternoon on a beautiful, sun-splashed, 88-degree afternoon. “This is bizarre,” McGuire said before the Tigers
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press LAKELAND, Fla. — Manager AJ Hinch penciled in his lineup for the Detroit Tigers‘ spring training opener, but he wouldn’t make it public until Sunday morning — just hours before Grapefruit League competition started at 1:05 p.m. against the Philadelphia Phillies at Joker Marchant Stadium. Let the games begin. Sunday’s opener only lasted seven
Willi Castro started the Tigers off with a bang, as the shortstop picked up where he left off during his breakout 2020 season. Castro’s leadoff homerun paved the way to a 10-run explosion in the 7-inning game, with more fireworks from his teammates later on.
LAKELAND, FL – FEBRUARY 28: Fans sit in socially distant squares painted in center field during a spring training game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Detroit Tigers on February 28, 2021 at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
One of the best things about baseball is that it’s always just one chapter in a larger story. One season is a smaller bit of a whole career, with ebbs and flows and highs and lows. And if you’re a fan of a particular team, that story is ongoing and endless. The players, the managers,
The Tigers announced the signing of right-hander Drew Hutchison to a minor-league contract. MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery (Twitter link) first reported the news yesterday. Hutchison will not report to Major League Spring Training, but he’ll give the Tigers an experienced arm to stash in Triple-A Toledo. Hutchison spent the 2020 season in independent ball, after pitching for
We hear from Tyler Alexander after he throws the first two innings of the Tigers’ preseason opener, giving up two runs on three hits and striking out one. #TigersST
We hear from manager A.J. Hinch after his Tigers open the preseason with a 10-2 win over the Phillies. #TigersST
We hear from Christian Stewart after he goes 1-for-3 and scores a run in the Tigers’ preseason opener. #TigersST
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Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — AJ Hinch already knows what’s coming Monday when he brings the Tigers into Tampa to play the Yankees. The Yankees, as much as any team, are still embittered by the sign-stealing scandal that took place under Hinch’s watch in Houston in 2017 and 2018, the scandal
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press LAKELAND, Fla. — Derek Holland‘s fastball read 95 mph on the scoreboard Sunday at Joker Marchant Stadium. “That baby was cooking today,” Holland said after the Detroit Tigers’ 10-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. “It was feeling good.” His fastball? Or the radar gun? Either way, the 34-year-old — who signed a minor-league
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Derek Holland, for one, was fired up to pitch in front of actual, human beings Sunday. “I wish I could say the exact words to describe how it felt,” said the veteran lefty trying to win a spot in the Tigers bullpen as a non-roster invitee. “It’s everything
LAKELAND, Fla. — A.J. Hinch took the Tigers’ managerial job looking for better at-bats from Detroit’s offense. He didn’t have to wait long to find them, starting with his potential leadoff hitter. Not only did Willi Castro hit the first pitch of the Tigers’ Grapefruit League campaign out to center field at Joker Marchant Stadium
LAKELAND, Fla. — Willi Castro wants to put his stamp on the everyday shortstop job the Detroit Tigers are entrusting him with this season. He hopes to stick around, but it’s imperative for him to show last season wasn’t a fluke. The 23-year-old started the year strong, launching a 458-foot home run on the first