Headlines

  • Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez
  • Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff
  • Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Bobby Jenks Passes Away
  • Braves Release Alex Verdugo
  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Latest Tigers News & Notes

By Jeff Todd | April 29, 2020 at 10:56am CDT

Picking first in the upcoming draft won’t be quite as advantageous as usual, as the Tigers will only have between five and ten rounds to utilize their advantage. But it’s still an exciting opportunity to infuse big-time talent into an organization that has patiently awaited a return to competitiveness. The Tigers are sorting through a long list of possibilities; you can familiarize yourself with many of them by checking out Baseball America’s first top 500 draft prospect list.

Here’s the latest from the Detroit organization:

  • Tigers analytics chief Jay Sartori held an interesting chat with Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic (subscription link) about the team’s efforts to construct an analytics department over the past several years. He now oversees a “robust staff,” he says, after an “incremental” building process that started from a mostly blank slate. Sartori came aboard in November of 2015, not long after Al Avila was hired as GM. So what are the Tigers focused on in this realm? Sartori says it’s the question of how to make “complicated concepts and data sets and pieces of information readily accessible to staff and players?”
  • Making analytics work for ballplayers is now a big part of the job for MLB coaches. Tigers hitting coach Joe Vavra acknowledged that, saying that he’s working on “challenging [hitters] to come out of their comfort zone a little bit” when it comes to data and advanced analysis, as Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported recently. Applying analytics requires “baby steps” at the start, says Vavra, and the organization is trying to get its players to take as many as possible during the present hiatus. Otherwise, the team is handling all its players differently. For some, Vavra is helping to oversee “rather major adjustments to your mechanics and your swing;” for others, it’s mostly a matter of maintaining conditioning.
  • Detroit pitching coach Rick Anderson also just chatted with media, as Stavenhagen covers in a Twitter thread. Anderson says it was disappointing to see Spring Training halted because he wanted to see more of the team’s slate of prized upper-level pitching prospects. Even more worrying, perhaps, is the lack of anticipated minor-league competition. The organization doesn’t seem to have a clear idea yet as to how it’ll make up for the lost developmental opportunity, though obviously that’s an industry-wide issue.
  • Though the focus remains largely on the future, the Tigers did go out and make some notable potential improvements to the MLB infield mix. McCosky examines a unit that now includes anticipated regular veterans in most spots. C.J. Cron, Jonathan Schoop, and Austin Romine are slated to earn a combined $16.3MM — at least, in a full 2020 season. The shortstop position was due to feature Niko Goodrum and Jordy Mercer, with third base handled by Jeimer Candelario and/or other unproven players such as Dawel Lugo and Isaac Paredes. While most of the options on the left side of the infield will remain under team control beyond 2020, the new additions were all on one-year pacts. McCosky looks at the potential line of succession in all areas.
Share 0 Retweet 2 Send via email0

Detroit Tigers

Latest On MLB Teams’ Cost-Cutting Efforts
Main
Yadier Molina Intends To Play Beyond 2020, Whether Or Not With Cardinals
View Comments (26)
Post a Comment

26 Comments

  1. Melchez

    5 years ago

    Why do the Tigers even have a scouting department for the draft? They are terrible at picking players. All they need to do is subscribe to one of these Baseball America or other site to decide what to pick, because obviously they are doing it wrong. Heck, I could do a better job than them. I was rooting for them to choose Walker Buehler in 2015… instead they picked Beau Burrows
    This year, will they pick Torkelson? They could pick Austin Martin and no one would bat an eye. The next pick… just have Baseball America open to make that pick.

    Reply
    • ScottCFA

      5 years ago

      Give the Dodgers credit for drafting Buehler despite elbow concerns, which ended up being well founded as he had Tommy John right after the draft. I don’t think passing on a guy with known elbow issues is unreasonable.

      1
      Reply
      • Melchez

        5 years ago

        It was the 22nd pick. Those guys are usually roster fillers down the road. Buehler was talked about as a potential number 1 for a while. Take the chance.

        Reply
        • racosun

          5 years ago

          Ooh, another genius Hindsight GM!

          1
          Reply
        • Melchez

          5 years ago

          Don’t be upset that you couldn’t see it… only select few have the vision. Keep on sniffin butts raco.

          Reply
        • jorge78

          5 years ago

          Sniffing butts!
          Extreme Ouch!

          Reply
    • jorge78

      5 years ago

      They use a dartboard with prospects names on it…..

      Reply
  2. agentp

    5 years ago

    YES!!! Report: MLB Baseball WILL BE BACK no later than July 2nd featuring NO LESS than 100 games. This is great!!

    Reply
    • Eatdust666

      5 years ago

      That is great because I really miss baseball.

      Reply
  3. Steve Lawrence

    5 years ago

    So picking Tarik Skubal in the 9th round is terrible? Casey Mize was an easy choice. Drafting Riley Greene was an easy pick. Matt Manning was not.

    Really, you would have picked Manning and Skubal?

    2
    Reply
    • ScottCFA

      5 years ago

      Melchez thinks its better to draft a guy with elbow issues in the first round rather than in the 9th round. I think Skubal was a shrewd, low-risk pick; the early read is impressive, and we’ll see how he holds up.

      Reply
    • Melchez

      5 years ago

      Manning was a top choice who was thinking of going to college (Loyola). His father was in the NBA… many people knew of him. He was ranked higher, but fell to the Tigers because of signing concern. It was a no brainer.

      Skubal was pure luck. For every Skubal, there are hundreds of Jeremiah Burks (the guy they drafted in the 8th round ahead of Skubal).

      Reply
      • Steve Lawrence

        5 years ago

        He was not ranked higher. Some analysts ripped the pick. And he was committed to Loyola Marymount, not a top program in hoops. And he signed for slot. High school pitcher, very raw. Imho you’re pretty arrogant to think you would have drafted better than a major league team.

        1
        Reply
        • Melchez

          5 years ago

          A blind monkey could pick better than the Tigers.

          Reply
        • Melchez

          5 years ago

          draftsite.com/mlb/draft-history/2016/
          Manning was expected to go higher according to Draft site. They predicted the Tigers would get Blake Rutherford.

          Who ripped it? I found nothing on anyone ripping the pick. Looks like Steve is talking out his 6 again.

          Reply
        • jorge78

          5 years ago

          But they have
          the dartboard!

          Reply
        • jorge78

          5 years ago

          “His 6!”
          Military
          reference!

          Reply
    • jorge78

      5 years ago

      Steve hows Edie?

      Reply
  4. DarkSide830

    5 years ago

    Torkelson is the next AJ Reed. Martin is a stud and comes from a school with a history of producing SS talent.

    1
    Reply
    • Melchez

      5 years ago

      Personally I would take Martin. Torkelson has power and walks a lot. Other than that, not much. How will he handle a tighter strike zone? Can he hit tougher pitchers? He kills 19 year olds… can he do that against good pitching?

      Reply
  5. DarkSide830

    5 years ago

    i think Detroit has done a good job amassing a strong reserve of SPs. now they should get some sort of bat, whether it be Martin or otherwise. as i said i prefer the aforementioned, but they have options. i like Hancock but i think its time to slow down on 1st round pitchers with the depth they have.

    Reply
  6. Steve Lawrence

    5 years ago

    Many who have watched Tork call him a generational talent. As a Tigers fan I prefer Martin but am fine with Tork.

    Reply
  7. JoeBrady

    5 years ago

    Picking first in the upcoming draft won’t be quite as advantageous as usual,
    ————————————————
    If they pick ten rounds, it will make literally no difference whatsoever. The total WAR of the 1st pick of the 11th round, for the past 15 years, is -0-.

    Even it it ends after 5 rounds, it will be unlikely to make any difference. But if it goes ten rounds, any slight advantage is likely almost completely random.

    Reply
    • Melchez

      5 years ago

      Anything beyond the first round is just luck.

      Reply
  8. jsxanatos

    5 years ago

    can they lower ticket prices at comerica, i dont even give a damn what team they put on the field. just stop asking for the same prices as when you were good. idiots

    Reply
  9. Luke Strong

    5 years ago

    I think anyone other than Torkelson would be a mistake… he will be a huge star

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Recent

    Rhys Hoskins Suffers Grade 2 Thumb Sprain, Headed To IL

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Rays Sign Peter Strzelecki To Minor League Contract

    MLB Announces 2025 All-Star Rosters

    Pirates Re-Sign Yohan Ramírez, Release Peter Strzelecki

    Diamondbacks Place Pavin Smith On IL, Select Tristin English

    Details On Bryan Reynolds’ Limited No-Trade Protection

    Tigers Select PJ Poulin

    Blue Jays Place Andres Gimenez On 10-Day Injured List

    Yankees Sign Geoff Hartlieb To Major League Deal

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version