Detroit Tigers Farm System Overview – 2010
Overview
If there are two things we know about the Detroit Tigers organization, it’s that they like their power arms and they like their athletic center fielders. They’ve been particularly successful in developing premium power arms and they have not been shy to dish out money in the draft to sign them.
The names include Jeremy Bonderman, Jair Jurrjens (signed, not drafted), Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya, Andrew Miller, Rick Porcello, Casey Crosby, Ryan Perry, and most recently Jacob Turner and Andy Oliver.
On the center field side, the team has drafted Curtis Granderson and Cameron Maybin. They signed Gorkys Hernandez, and most recently they traded for Austin Jackson. The first three names have all been traded away to different teams.
The trades are a sign that the Tigers are not afraid to deal their prospects when they want something. Maybin was traded along with Miller for Miguel Cabrera and Hernandez was traded along with Jurrjens for Edgar Renteria.
This past offseason, the team traded another power arm (Edwin Jackson) to the Diamondbacks for a high velocity right hander (Max Scherzer) and a high velocity left hander (Daniel Schlereth) in a three-team deal that included the New York Yankees. Granderson ended up being sent to New York, while the Tigers also received Aust Jackson and left handed reliever Phil Coke to round out the trade. As a whole, I liked the trade a lot for the Tigers, especially if Scherzer can hold up as a starter.
If you look at the pitchers traded by the Tigers in the past, they’ve done a good job of deciding which pitchers to offer up in deals. Jurrjens is the big exception here. But if you look at Miller, and Humberto Sanchez, whom the Tigers traded to the Yankees for Gary Sheffield a couple years back, they’ve done a pretty good job. And most expect Jackson to fall off his 2009 level next year (though I do think he’ll still be a good pitcher for Arizona).
Because of all the wheeling and dealing, the Tigers don’t have a great deal of depth in their system. They are strong at the top, but it thins out quickly. When you get to that seven spot and lower, you see guys with either limited upside or high risk/high upside players that are very far off from contributing. Part of the problem is the team hasn’t had a great foreign presence in recent years and that’s something the organization can do a better job of creating value from.
Tigers Top-15 Prospects
Key Links1. Jacob Turner | RHP | Age – 18 | Grade – B+
2. Casey Crosby | LHP | Age – 21 | Grade – B+
3. Alex Avila | C | Age – 23 | Grade – B
4. Austin Jackson | CF | Age – 23 | Grade – B/B-
5. Andy Oliver | LHP | Age – 22 | Grade – B/B-
6. Scott Sizemore | 2b | Age – 25 | Grade – B-/B
7. Daniel Fields | SS | Age – 19 | Grade – B-/C+
8. Ryan Strieby | 1b | Age – 24 | Grade – B-/C+
9. Gustavo Nunez | SS | Age – 22 | Grade – C+
10. Wilkin Ramirez | OF | Age – 24 | Grade – C+
11. Casper Wells | OF | Age – 25 | Grade – C+
12. Robbie Weinhardt | RHP | Age – 24 | Grade – C+
13. Cody Satterwhite | RHP | Age – 23 | Grade – C+
14. Brayan Villareal | RHP | Age – 22 | Grade – C+
15. Melvin Mercedes | RHP | Age – 19 | Grade – C
› Prospect Primer (Grading Criteria Explained)
› Team Page Listings
› Index of 2010 Top-15 Prospect Lists
› Index of 2009 Top-15 Prospect Lists
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