Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Manager AJ Hinch didn’t exactly pull punches when he was asked about where right-hander Kyle Funkhouser stood in the Tigers’ pitching plans. “He is in that gray area right now in between Triple A and the big leagues,” Hinch said last week. “He got a little taste
TAMPA, Fla. — Sacred Heart University, a school in Fairfield, Conn., with an enrollment of around 8,500 students, has produced one Major League player: Troy Scribner, who pitched in 11 games for the Angels and Diamondbacks in 2017 and ’18 after going undrafted. As the Tigers took the field for the bottom of the sixth
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press TAMPA, Fla. — Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler was getting heckled by fans when he entered the game in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter. And then, they started cheering for him. That’s because the 22-year-old — without a professional game under his belt — dropped in a double. Yet
Manager A.J. Hinch wasted no time in seeing what type of arms he has in the Detroit Tigers bullpen in today’s 5-4 loss to the Yankees down in Tampa. Let’s take a look at how they did. Funkhouser started the game for the Detroit Tigers and pitched just one inning, allowing a pair of walks…
TAMPA, Fla. — Riley Greene swung through Gerrit Cole’s first-pitch 98 mph fastball so hard that his helmet fell off. It wasn’t a surprise for a 20-year-old top prospect facing a perennial Cy Young Award contender. What followed also wasn’t a surprise for Greene, who has consistently played with a maturity beyond his age since
TAMPA, Fla. — It’s a long shot. Detroit Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo, at the center of the dilemma, knows it. Manager AJ Hinch knows, too. General manager Al Avila understands the track records of Rule 5 draft picks aren’t strong, but he wanted to take a chance on someone with big upside this winter. So, Avila selected Baddoo
Lynn Henning | The Detroit News Editor’s note: This is the first in a weekly series of stories in which Detroit News freelance writer Lynn Henning will rank the top prospects in July’s MLB Draft. Not that the Tigers are being overly picky, but if the kind of hitter who can bash good pitching happens
Tyler J. Davis | Detroit Free Press Show Caption Hide Caption Detroit Tigers’ Tyler Alexander ‘felt good’ in spring training debut Detroit Tigers left-hander Tyler Alexander talks Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, about his first Grapefruit League game. Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press Grapefruit League: Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees When: 1:05 p.m. Where: George
It’s the last day of February, but the first day of spring training games. Caught in this crossroads, JaCoby Jones is at no loss for words. Whether it’s calling out a teammate for his Call of Duty boasts, or recapping a successful infield hit with his first base coach, Jones has a spring in his
And for a subset of particularly nerdy Detroit Tigers fans, yesterday was fun for another reason: Pitch-tracking nerds, note that we now have tracking data for NINE spring training venues, up from two (Jupiter & Salt River Fields) last year. New additions: DET, MIN, NYM, NYY, PHI, PIT & TOR. Enjoy! (cc: @MLBPitchClass) https://t.co/B4gh0i2mp8
Time: 1:05 p.m.Place: George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, Fla.Media: MLB.TV (Yankees’ feed), Tigers Radio NetworkPitching Matchup: RHP Kyle Funkhouser vs. LHP Gerrit Cole Pitching lineup today in Tampa:Kyle FunkhouserGreg SotoBeau BurrowsZack Hess–Also available, Ethan DeCaster, Jason Foley, Andrew Moore, Wladimir Pinto, Logan Shore — Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) March 1, 2021 Yankees lineup today vs. the
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)