The Tigers announced that shortstop Bryce Rainer, the club’s first-round pick in the 2024 draft, will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his dislocated right shoulder. Rainer is expected to be ready for Spring Training, but his first pro season will be cut short after just 35 games with A-level Lakeland.
The injury occurred last Tuesday, when Rainer dove back to first base on a pickoff attempt. Immediately removed from the game in the aftermath of the play, Rainer has spent the last few days getting multiple opinions from doctors before ultimately deciding on surgery for his throwing shoulder. It’s a tough outcome for the 19-year-old, who has hit .288/.383/.448 with five home runs in 149 plate appearances for Lakeland.
Rainer’s impressive performance has only continued to elevate his already-high stock. Selected 11th overall in last July’s draft, Rainer is ranked 29th in Baseball America’s latest update to its top-100 prospects list, and 44th in MLB Pipeline’s current ranking. Considered to have more power potential than pure hitting potential, Rainer’s early results in Lakeland have indicated an improved overall approach at the plate.
Fellow Detroit prospects Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle sit ahead of Rainer in both rankings — a testament to the strength of the Tigers’ farm system, and in particular a promising glimpse into the club’s future infield. Both McGonigle and Rainer are shortstops, though Rainer has the more powerful throwing arm and is generally considered the better fielder, so McGonigle may be the likelier of the two to eventually move to second base. Rainer’s arm might also make him a candidate for third base, though such considerations may be on hold until we see how well Rainer’s right arm recovers from surgery.
That’s too bad. He was off to a good start.
That sucks. Hopefully the damage to his arm doesn’t limit him like Colt Keith’s did. I still think he ends up at 3B with McGonigle at SS.
The difference is that Keith never had surgery but rehabbed it. Of course, Keith’s injury wasn’t as severe. Still, would hope a surgically repaired shoulder would be as good as before the injury but no guarantee of that. As far as who ends up at SS, who knows. Many scouts feel McGonigle will end up at 2B because his arm isn’t that strong. Many also predict Rainer will end up at 3B because of his size. Montilla probably the only SS we have.in the system that ins predicted to stick at SS but his bat is nothing compared to McGonigle and Rainer.
I wish it wasn’t his throwing shoulder but of course it was
Unfortunate to be sure. Hope his arm heals well and he can come back strong next year..
Rainer is having surgery. Keith didn’t. He just rehabbed it. My take is the Tigers and Rainer felt that surgery was more likely to return his shoulder to its former self…at the cost of his missing this season.
I’d rather have Rainer 100% at the cost of a 1/2 season of Low A ball vs. a throwing arm that isn’t.
It appears Rainer is going to rise through the system pretty fast. He has the look of a Riley Greene sort of path. Basically, 2 1/2 years in the minors…however Greene missed a whole year because of covid.
I could see Rainer in Motown in 2027 if he keeps developing as he has.
McGonigal and Clark could see the bigs by some time next year. Don’t forget about Max Anderson either. Anderson is already at AA and is raking. .330 BA and 8 HRs.
If he recovers by November, he could play winter ball.
We’ll see how he recovers. The best defensive player will get SS.
I don’t think the link to Max Clark is the correct link.
Yeah, that is definitely NOT the Tiger’s Max Clark.
I liked Javier Baez at SS game 1 against the Cubs. If he can keep that up, we won’t be talking about who’s going to play SS.
Tigers have Baez through 2027. You’re right. Tigers may not NEED a new SS before then.
Baez made a couple neat plays at SS last night. The Tiger’s defense is decidedly better all over the field this year.
I still hold my breath on these short fly balls into the outfield. It seems every 3rd one results in a near collision.
Tiger fans for a change aren’t looking at the guys on the farm this year. So with such stellar play by the S;S position this year he can take his time getting healthy.
Big hit last night from J.J and the home run show looks real good replacing Ibanez.
GO TIGERS !!!
Sad.
That’s a bummer. Hopefully, he has a full recovery. He is an immense talent.
From what I’ve read, the Tigers think Rainer will stick at SS and be similar to Corey Seager. Besides his great hitting skills, Rainer has a great arm.
McGonigle is said to be CAPABLE of playing 2B-SS-3B, but is best suited for 2B. Jace Jung and Max Anderson are also best suited for 2B. Hao-Yu Lee is in the mix also. Seems best at 2B, but should be tested at 3B. He does have the same build as Tiger-killer Jose Ramirez. Don’t forget, Izaac Pacheco is back on the radar as a future 3B.
If Javy can keep playing close to what he’s doing this year, the Tigers should be okay bridging the gap until the next wave of young’uns arrive.
Too bad
AA next year for Rainer. Hope to see McGonigle & Max later this year, maybe get a better idea of a more consistent starting lineup. Can’t complain to this point! Need Casey & Reese to be healthy.
So many injuries on the base paths could be avoided by using soft cloth bases as in the old days instead of today’s hard plastic. Hope Bryce has a full recovery.
This SUCKS! He was rising pretty quickly due to his offensive production. They knew he had power but he was showing good discipline and had a great BA so far this season. I knew when I saw the play that he was done for the year. He was rolling around on the ground in pain. And it was such a freak play! Hopefully rehab goes good and he is 100% by 2026.
Jason Benetti is really annoying sometimes.