Ranking the Detroit Tigers' Top 5 Major League-Ready Prospects for 2015

The Detroit Tigers boast one of the most complete and formidable rosters in Major League Baseball. The clinching of their fourth consecutive postseason berth is testament to their high volume of talent. While the organisation frequently acquires veterans with big-league experience (e.g. David Price), much of Detroit’s roster has been filled by youngsters who have emerged through the system.

Over the past decade, the talent unearthed in Motown includes the likes of Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, Alex Avila and Nick Castellanos. Next season there will be another cluster of youngsters getting the call to produce for the club.

There were 15 new debutants for the Tigers this season. Ten of these rookies were either drafted by the organisation or signed as free agents in their teens. Several of them have already performed admirably in the game’s elite tier: Eugenio Suarez, Blaine Hardy and Kyle Lobstein have all looked the part since first donning the home blue-and-whites.  Steven Moya and Robbie Ray, among others, also promise a lot for the future.

The organisation has numerous good-looking prospects in Class-A (e.g. Kevin Ziomek and Austin Kubitza) who are still a few years away from arriving in the Motor City. Others who have impressed higher up the minor league chain look set to be blooded in the next 12 months. The Tigers have had a habit of acquiring young bullpen arms in recent times, several of whom appear to be on the cusp of a call-up.

The following slides will rank the top five who are most likely to next get the call.

The criteria for the rankings include: their performance this season, the level(s) they played at and the potential for vacancies at their position in Detroit.

All stats in this article are courtesy of milb.com

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Honorable Mentions

SS Dixon Machado (AA)

Machado had a breakout season for the Erie Seawolves in 2014. The 22-year-old had a .305/.391/.442 slash line in 90 games with the double-A club. His 23 doubles in 292 at-bats demonstrate his power to the gaps.

Also standing out was his 36-40 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Machado clearly possesses a good eye at the plate and the discipline to choose which pitches to swing at.

Unfortunately for the Venezuelan, Detroit is currently blessed with an abundance of strong middle infielders. Hernan Perez, Eugenio Suarez and Jose Iglesias all sit above him in the pecking order. However, an elevation to Triple-A certainly lies ahead for the promising Venezuelan.

SP Warwick Saupold (AA)

The Australian just completed his third full season in the Tigers organisation. Although his ERA was high (5.01), he led the Seawolves in both innings pitched (140) and K’s (125). His strikeout total was also good for second in the Eastern League.

Encouragingly, Saupold got stronger as the 2014 season progressed. The 24-year-old notched seven quality starts in his final 10 outings.

The 6’1” right-hander possesses a heater in the low-90s and a curveball with an 11-5 break. Continued development at Triple-A Toledo could see him hit the Motor City at some point in 2015.

1B Jordan Lennerton (AAA)

Selected in the 33rd round of the 2008 draft, Lennerton is a veteran of the Tigers’ minor league system. The 28-year-old has now played at every level of the organisation except the big-league club.

Lennerton had decent numbers this season with Toledo. A strong second half of the season (.324 average) lifted his slash line to.249/.362/.395, which was slightly down compared with 2013. In addition to his bat, Lennerton also contributes with the glove. He was flawless in the field this season, committing zero errors in 120 games.

The lefty does not appear to be destined for stardom, but a call up to the highest level soon is definitely in the cards.

5. Joe Mantiply

Michael Shroyer/Associated Press

Mantiply in his days pitching for Virginia Tech

If you are a lefty who can throw strikes, you always have a chance to be a major league player.

Mantiply looks like one such player who is working his way rapidly through the Tigers’ system. This season, the 23-year-old bypassed High-A ball to go from West Michigan straight to Double-A Erie. He pitched a total of 82 relief innings and struck out 86 batters. 

The 27th-round pick in 2013 will be watched closely by the organisation, which has struggled to find lefty-killers out of the bullpen.

Phil Coke is no guarantee of returning next year, plus none of the other lefties, including Blaine Hardy, Pat McCoy and Kenny Faulk have cemented their places on Detroit’s roster. If Mantiply has a good preseason, he could emerge quickly.

4. Devon Travis

Rated as Detroit’s No. 4 prospect by MLB.com, Travis has quickly established himself as one of the organisation’s most promising youngsters.

The 23-year-old has plied his trade as an infielder so far in three minor league seasons, but his future may lie elsewhere. Austin Jackson’s exit via trade this season has left a question mark hanging over the future at center field in Detroit. Rajai Davis should hold the job through next season, but Travis might be their man after that.

An experimental stint there in the Arizona Fall League was all set to happen, but core surgery recently ended Travis’ season.

The former 13th-round pick has been a very solid hitter as a professional. His .298 batting average with Erie this season was the lowest output of his four minor league stops. A lifetime slash line of .323/.388/.487 shows that he has a good mix of pop and patience at the plate.

While his bat is not a concern, making the transition to the outfield could take time. Expect Travis to be trawling center next opening day in Toledo, and if he thrives, he won’t be left hanging in triple-A for too long.

3. Angel Nesbitt

The Tigers’ bullpen quagmire needs no introduction. General manager Dave Dombrowski has tried almost everything to make it work. However, it consistently ranks near the bottom of the league in ERA every season. Nesbitt will be one of the next young arms to get his chance.

In 2014, the 23-year-old made the jump from Lakeland to Erie at midseason and continued to dominate opposing hitters. At both levels he struck out over one batter per inning and kept opponents batting under .200.

Former Tiger Mike Maroth—his pitching coach at Lakeland—spoke highly of the Venezuelan’s range of pitches and excellent control to Michigan News.

"

Probably the best thing about him I’ve seen is his consistency and command — with all pitches. And not just his fastball. He has a slider he can throw for strikes and a change-up he can throw for strikes and command. And he has an occasional cutter. He’s just consistent every time out.

"

With several players under-performing and others off contract (e.g. Coke and Joba Chamberlain), Detroit has bullpen voids to fill. Nesbitt should get the call early if not late in 2015.

2. Jose Valdez

USA TODAY Sports

The 6’1” righty is another hard-thrower knocking on the major league door. Valdez’s six seasons in the minors have yielded an impressive 90 saves.

The Dominican possesses a wicked pitching repertoire. His fastball occasionally touches 100 mph, and his slider is also deadly. Valdez’s ability to overwhelm hitters consistently enables him to have more punch-outs than innings pitched.

Finding control will be the key to his rise to Detroit. This season at Erie, he walked 26 batters in 57 innings. Last season it was 34 in 49.1 innings between two single-A stops. An adjustment to his upright finish will hopefully remedy these high free-pass totals.

Bruce Rondon had been tabbed as the Tigers’ closer of the future. However, he is still a while off returning from Tommy John surgery. Joe Nathan will be around next season and so could Joakim Soria. But nobody is totally convinced that either will be the go-to guy in the years to come. Valdez’s audition for the role in Detroit will begin sometime in 2015.

1. Kenny Faulk

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Faulk appears to be the next cab off the rank for a major league debut. An unheralded 16th-round selection five years ago, the lefty reliever is inexorably progressing toward his final promotion.

Pitching for Erie and Toledo this season, the Georgia native put up some excellent numbers. His 1.62 ERA in 11 games for the Mudhens was more indicative of his quality than the 5.24 ERA in Double-A. In 61.1 combined innings, Faulk recorded 77 strikeouts and yielded only a .196 batting average.

Speaking to the Motor City Bengals, the 27-year-old spoke of how important getting strike one has been to his success:

“I tried to really work on throwing first pitch strikes to every batter I faced. It does make a huge difference in the batting average if you’re regularly ahead in the count. Plus most of the time hitters will take the first pitch,” he says.

Faulk does not possess the mid-high 90s heat of the aforementioned Nesbitt and Valdez. The development of his off-speed pitches has helped to make him an effective pitcher: “Here’s the thing, not a lot of pitchers throw change-ups late in relief. It’s effective though because everyone is expecting a breaking ball. When I throw it, I get a weak contact and pop flies because I sell the change up and make it look like a fastball,” he explained.

Soon he could be selling his quality goods inside the biggest ballparks in America.