For this edition of Old Mr. Illitch Has A Farm, I would like to do something a little bit different. I will give you an update on some/most of all of the Tiger's top minor leaguers, but I would also like to do a sort of stock up/stock down approach. Part 1 will feature West Michigan and Lakeland, with Part 2 focusing on Erie and Toledo.
West Michigan Whitecaps (A)
Stock Up:
Curt Casali/Patrick Leyland (Yes, that Patrick Leyland) C:
The 2-headed catching monster for the Whitecaps is putting up very good offensive numbers thus far. Leyland and Casali are splitting the catching duties pretty evenly, with one or the other occasionally filling in at DH while the other suits up behind the plate. All of a sudden, a position that once featured Alex Avila and Alex Avila alone as its minor league depth is chalked full of solid prospects; including Leyland, Casali, Holoday, McCann, and Brantly.
Casali: 18G, 61AB, 19H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, 10 BB, 10 K. .311/.408/.508/.916
Leyland: 16G, 64AB, 19H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 12 K. .297/.308/.391/.698
Eugenio Suarez 2B/SS:
Never heard of him? Don't feel bad, neither had I, but it's hard to ignore the number's he is putting up thus far. Saurez won't turn 21 until July, so he's about right on in terms of age for the Midwest League, and is more than holding his own both with the bat and with the glove. He has been splitting time between SS and 2B, rotating with Brandon Loy between those two spots. He is striking out in more than a quarter of his at bats, but walking at better than a 10% clip as well, so his strike zone discipline, while needing refinement, is slightly more advanced at this stage than you would traditionally see from a prospect in A ball for the first time.
31G, 121AB, 37H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 19 R, 13 BB, 33 K, 4 SB. .306/.381/.438/.819
Stock Down
Danry Vasquez OF:
Calm down people. This is Vasquez's first season in A ball, and he still only 18 years old. He has all the tools and still has all the potential in the world, but the bottom line is that he is struggling right now. But he could literally repeat A ball 2 more times and still be young for the league, so if you're panicking, you're about 4 years too soon.
27G, 93AB, 16H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R, 7 BB, 19 K. .172/.231/.237/.468
Aaron Westlake 1B/DH:
The 2011 3rd Round selection was billed as having huge raw power to go with capable defense at 1B, and as a college senior, was someone who would have to hit, and hit quickly, to hold any sort of esteem with the Tigers' brass. At 23, Westlake is indeed old for A ball, and has done very little in the way of trying to outplay his advanced age title. Westlake has hit for very little power, and while his 8 doubles would usually lead to the "wait until he gets older and stronger, those will turn into homers (a la Castellanos)" sentiment; Westlake is 23 years old and is about as big and as strong as he is going to get.
31G, 116AB, 25H, 8 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 12 R, 12 BB, 26 K. .216/.292/.310/.603
Lakeland Flying Tigers (A+)
Stock Up
Nick Castellanos 3B:
That's right, everyone's seemingly favorite Tiger prospect is absolutely raking at High-A Lakeland. Before anyone asks, NO, HE CAN'T BE MOVED TO 2ND BASE AND BROUGHT UP NOW! Ok, moving on, Castellanos is still only 20 years old, which is about 2 years young for High-A, and the Florida State League is widely considered a pitcher's league. All of these factors should lead to Castellanos struggling right now, but the fact of the matter is that he is leading all of the minor leagues in hitting, along with showing much more advanced plate discipline and pitch recognition than he did last year at West Michigan. He is still more doubles-power than home run-power at this point, but as I hinted at above, let the kid's body develop. His frame projects to that of an above-average to plus power hitter (15-25 HR), and his swing is already quick, smooth, and powerful; generating very good backspin on the baseball, which, as he gets stronger, will lead to more balls carrying over the fence as opposed to landing in the gaps. It's now officially OK to get excited about this kid, but again, he's not moving to 2nd base, and he's not ready to come up now.
29G, 114AB, 48H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 17 R, 11 BB, 20 K. .421/.469/.596/1.065
Avisail Garcia RF:
Garcia is finally starting to put it together at the plate here in 2012, and is just barely scratching the surface of his offensive potential. As we have established here at Ab(r)andon Inge, Garcia is the type of prospect that makes scouts drool and hand over blank checks. He's a massive human being (6'4", 240), with plus raw power, plus defense, and a plus-plus arm from right field. He also has above-average speed, which, for a man his size, is quite impressive indeed. His biggest issue thus far in the minor leagues has been strike zone recognition/discipline, which lead to atrociously high strikeout rates and incredibly low walk rates; which diminished his offensive impact substantially. Remember, he is still only 20 years old (turns 21 in June), and is repeating A+ ball. He is still striking out too much and walking too little, but he has definitely made significant gains just in the past year. Last season his strikeout rate was at a staggering 27%, while he was only walking around 3% of the time. Thus far in 2012 he has improved both numbers, striking out at just under 21%, and walking at a nearly 5% clip. He still needs to improve, obviously, but the numbers show a better approach at the plate indeed.
28G, 115AB, 37H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 18 R, 5 BB, 24 K, 5 SB. .322/.366/.452/.818
Stock Down
Dixon Machado SS:
Probably the best shortstop in the Tigers system (although I have some sort of fascination with Brandon Loy), Machado has struggled both with the bat and with the glove so far in 2012. He has made 9 errors through only 26 games, and is hitting only .196. There are a few silver linings; however. For 1, he is still only 20 years old. As we have established, 20 is quite young for the FSL. Furthermore, the FSL is still a pitchers league, and this is Machado's first go-round in Lakeland. Aside from the terrible batting average, Machado has shown easily the most advanced plate discipline and strike zone recognition on the team, as he has walked 16 times compared with only 13 strikeouts. This leads me to believe that Machado's BA has been hampered by some bad luck, as he is obviously putting the ball in play. His OBP is sitting at .312, which isn't very good, but when compared with a .196 BA, it's pretty remarkable. He has also stolen 7 bases, good for 2nd on the team behind only Daniel Fields. He will improve, just give him time.
26G, 92AB, 18H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 14 R, 16 BB, 13 K, 7 SB. .196/.312/.261/.573
Alex Burgos LHP:
After bursting onto the scene last year in West Michigan as a somewhat diminutive left hander who struck out nearly a batter an inning at 20 years old, Burgos has struggled so far in 2012. His command, which was very solid at only about 3BB/9IP last season, has seemingly eluded him, as his BB/9 ratio has doubled in 2012. His strikeout rate has also gone down, furthering his issues. Burgos is only 5'11', and while I am partial to shorter pitchers (my school's ace is only 5'10"), his numbers are not going to be overlooked because of a projectable frame, a la Casey Crosby (sometimes). This is Burgos' first time in the FSL, and he is still only 21, so he has plenty of time on his "prospect clock" left to figure it out.
7GS, 1-4, 5.67 ERA, 33 1/3 IP, 32H, 21BB, 1.59WHIP, 23K.
Erie and Toledo to come tomorrow evening
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