In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR. Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams. You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.
So far, we’ve done the Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Orioles. The Tigers are next.
We’ll start by removing free agents Jordan Zimmermann, Cameron Maybin, Ivan Nova, Austin Romine, Jonathan Schoop, and C.J. Cron from consideration.
Miguel Cabrera goes on the protected list by virtue of his no-trade clause. We’ll also add the Tigers’ vaunted trio of pitching prospects, who have a 2020 ETA: Casey Mize, Matt Manning, and Tarik Skubal. I’ll put Matthew Boyd on the list as well. So we’ll lock these five down:
Casey Mize
Matt Manning
Tarik Skubal
Matthew Boyd
Miguel Cabrera
With a lot of flexibility on their protected list, the Tigers would be in a good position to make some trades with other clubs with tighter lists. We’re left with 10 spots for these 23 players:
Tyler Alexander
Jeimer Candelario
Harold Castro
Willi Castro
Jose Cisnero
Travis Demeritte
Buck Farmer
Michael Fulmer
Bryan Garcia
Niko Goodrum
Grayson Greiner
Eric Haase
Joe Jimenez
JaCoby Jones
Dawel Lugo
David McKay
Daniel Norris
Victor Reyes
Jake Rogers
John Schreiber
Gregory Soto
Christin Stewart
Spencer Turnbull
With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below, select exactly ten players you think the Tigers should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft. Click here to view the results.
Would Riley Greene need to be protected?
I do not believe so
He’s a must protect. He’s potentially our best hitting prospect.
I don’t care for the Survey Monkey format. Like the prior interface much better.
I agree.
The results are mostly unviewable.
just zoom out
PollDaddy doesn’t accommodate a poll of this nature, so we’re using SurveyMonkey for it. When this is all done we’ll share the collective results.
Keep with value
Trumbull
Jimenez
Farmer
Norris
Fulmer
Willie Castro
Goodrum
Rogers
Fence guys
Stewart
Candelario
None of these guys really cost a ton so money isn’t part of the equation. Farmer, Jimenez, Norris, Turnbull, Goodrum all provide controllable trade chips. Castro and Rogers are really too early to give up on. Fulmer still has controllable time left and if he comes back strong from TJS he could be another possible trade chip. Candy and Stewart are just guys. If they can’t improve on them through trades then protect them.
Soho, Jones and Reyes also provide something of value and may be flip guys with Stewart or candy.
How hard is it to include these rules instead of a link?
Players Eligible to be Drafted:
All Players in an organization are eligible to be drafted, except those with no prior major league experience who have less than three years service if signed at age 19 or older or have less than four years of service if signed at age 18 or younger..
Second, would this not expose Daz Cameron to the draft? As he would surely be protected, Drafted in 2015 at age 18, completed short season in 2015 and 2016-2019 in the minors.
I reprinted the same four explanatory paragraphs in each of the first three posts of the series, and after that I’ve assumed that our readers can click one link if they’re still not up to speed.
I feel that this is simpler and more enjoyable without trying to include a slew of minor leaguers – the best of whom generally reside outside a team’s top 20 prospects. It is true that in 1997 about a quarter of the players picked were minor leaguers. With the best ones being ineligible, the minor leaguers picked were not top prospects.
Gotcha, thanks.
Cabrera would probably waive his NTC
To go to a expansion team? Lol
to not get selected because i cant imagine anyone is picking up that contact
I’ve seen this idea a couple of times, that players on bad contracts would just waive their no-trade clauses to do their teams a favor, I have my doubts about that theory, and I don’t think it makes sense to try to get into individual veteran players’ heads about how willing they are to waive a negotiated right and expose themselves to an expansion draft.
Everyone would rather be on a mediocre team in Vegas than Detroit
Ok no expansion team is lining up to select Cabrera at this point. His contract is his protection. No team would want a replacement level player who is paid like a top five guy.
The only way he’s not a tiger is if he retires or is released.
An expansion team will surepy be taking on a bad contract or two to get a few prospects
that’s when Miggy plays the NTC. He’s only waiving it with the guarantee that the Tigers dont pull a trade of him.
@DarkSide830 the TIgers don’t have to do that. The other 29 teams will do that for them.
An expansion team would have to actually select him for that to happen.
So assuming it’s 9 with Cameron, and that you can’t convince Miggy to waive his protection (which he could and no one will pick up that contract, so there you are with that)…
My 9 are
Fulmer
Turnbull
Goodrum
Jimenez
Rogers
Reyes
W Castro
Stewart
and the last spot is Candy, though I would try and trade Norris for a ham sandwich with fancy mustard..
Also, I’m assuming Franklin Perez is not eligible to be drafted because he was in the same class as Cameron, but he hasn’t pitched but 9 games the last 2 years due to injury.
I would add him back in with Miggy’s waiver if he isn’t. automatically protected. If no waiver, I’d trade Candy and keep Perez..
Norris might be the next amazing opener. He can get guys out once through the lineup. I’d keep him for sure, deploy him as an opener, amp up his perceived value, and then trade him to a foolishly run fringe contending team. We’re looking at you White Sox…
But other than that, I pretty much agree with your choices.
uhhh.. have you been digging through my fantasy notes? I have him mentally tabbed as the next big career resurrection once he’s traded to TB lol
Play the game we are given. Cameron is not involved and Miggy can’t waive his no trade. Other than Willie Castro, I agree with your choices. Willie looks like a future utility with no power. Soto looks like a left handed bullpen stud. Think Hader, A.Miller, and
Soto has 1 season, less than 60 innings and horrific mlb numbers. He has huge promise, but maybe you should hold off on comparing him to Hader and Miller.
Tim you need to include the Rule 5 guys too. they are going to have to debut this year.
The real challenge is to name 15 tigers players…
first 9 were easy picks – Harold Castro, Demeritte, Fulmer, Goodrum, Grenier, Jimenez, Reyes, Stewart, and Turnbull. last spot came down to a few but ultimately I would chose Willi because he has the most trade value. It was him, Lugo, or Rogers but i honestly dont think any will be particularly good players.
dont understand why Candelario is so highly ranked in the results. the guy has not been good for two years straight and only really hit at the tail end of 2017.
Honestly, not sure the Tigers have 15 players valuable enough to protect in an expansion draft if it were held today, depending on how many minor leaguers are eligible for the draft.
It is a fun little exercise given we lack actual games right now. But even before the pandemic, expansion was a long way off. Now, not sure we should even be thinking of expansion within the next decade.
This is a team that could potentially go out and trade for players off a team with a lot of depth that would lose someone with actual value. Their will be teams like the Dodgers and Yankees that have depth and would rather trade some players than lose them for nothing in an expansion draft.
The Tigers aren’t trading young prospects for older players another team doesn’t want to protect. Getting older isn’t a useful approach for a rebuild.
Not everyone that would potentially be available is an older player. Aaron Hicks of the Yankees could potentially be available in this scenario.
The Tigers will not be selecting players from the farm based on “flipping” value. The players kept will be to build with. I see Paredes as the 3B, so Candy gets let go. Norris hasn’t been able to stay healthy and has one year of control left–bye,bye. Buck has a great name but is long ball prone and needs to move aside for the new arms.
Pitching Keepers: Fulmer, Garcia, Soto, Turnbull, Jimenez
Offensive Keepers: Goodrum, Reyes, Jones, Rogers, Stewart
Added after first pick: W. Castro, H. Castro, G. Greiner. All are valuable to the Tigers, but have back up written on them and are likely to survive the first round.
@weaselpuppy
Play the game we are given. Cameron is not involved and Miggy can’t waive his no trade. Other than Willie Castro, I agree with your choices. Willie looks like a future utility with no power. Soto looks like a left handed bullpen stud. Think Hader, A.Miller, and Chapman. He just needs a bit better control and he’ll be there.
Soto is nowhere near those guys. too inconsistent and hasnt preformed particularly well even in the upper levels yet, let alone the bigs.
You obviously never saw Andrew Miller his first couple of years in the bigs. Looked lost half the time and was surprised when his 5th FB in a row left the park. But he still had some nasty pitches. Young guys with talent can improve if/when they figure out how to use it. Chapman was hot out of the gate but Miller is a reasonable comp.
Andrew Miller was a horribly mismanaged and rushed prospect. Though he was much more successful in his minor league attempt than Soto. For every 1 Miller success story there’s 5 failures. Not to mention it took Miller 6 years and 3 teams to find success. I’m guessing Stymeedone and the rest of the Tigers faithful don’t want that to be the outcome.
So say Miller if you really want. But the fact that he comped him to Miller, Chapman, Hader makes the whole statement ridiculously bullish. Soto has had exactly 0 major league success and marginal success as a minor league starter.
Soto is a little more than a bit of control away from being a dominant big league lefty. Let’s settle that down. He has an interesting arm but his only problem hasn’t been walks. He’s been hit hard too. We’ll see what he brings with a full time transition to a bullpen role but that’s highly optimistic.
The tigers have a horrendous and I mean horrendous group of position player “prospects”
If a high % of those pitching prospects don’t become home runs this could be a real long rebuild.
Goodrum & Farmer are zeroes. Alex Faedo doesn’t need protection at this point?
What about Alex Feado?
Yeah, Cameron, Perez, Faedo….clearly top 10 system prospects
Protect Reyes. He’s going to be an All Star in a year or two. Everyone talks about Willi Castro…but Harold is going to hang around. He’s better than most expect. Lugo and Candelario are not worth protecting.