Detroit Tigers Prospect Report - July 22, 2007

During the course of the year, I will be giving statistical updates and other information on the Tigers organization. I will cover all the consensus top prospects as well as other noteworthy perfomers. For daily recaps and other news on Tigers prospects, check out Matt Wallace's Take 75 North and Mike Cassidy's Tigers Minor League Blog. In a recent article, Matt discussed some the top infield prospects in the Tigers system.

My team by team updates are listed below:


Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) 57-44

Still trying to regain his stroke, Chris Shelton is hitting .274/.391/.429.

Infielder Jack Hannahan has always been a good defender and has improved offensively this year. He is batting .310/.428/.513 with a 59/70 BB/K ratio in 277 at bats. He is a 27 year old left-handed batter who can play second base and third base.

Virgil Vasquez now has a 1.12 ERA in his last 4 starts including a complete game shutout on Tuesday. He has a 3.82 ERA 99/26 K/BB ratio in 115 1/3 innings.

Long time minor leaguer Mike Hessman has 27 homers and .551 slugging percentage in 97 games. Hessman is 29 years old and can play third base or first base.

Brent Clevlen had a horrible start but has done better since returning from his finger injury. He has hit .288 with 5 homers in his last 13 games. He is batting .230/.304/.390 for the season.

After missing the first part of the season with a sore shoulder, Jordan Tata has a 3.60 ERA in 10 starts.

Erie Sea Wolves (AA) 54-44

Jeff Larish is batting .291 with a .996 OPS this month. For the season , he is hitting .244/.365/.483 with a 56/84 BB/K ratio.

Second baseman Michael Hollimon is hitting for a better average after a slow start and continues to draw walks. He is batting .272/.373/.452 with a 46/79 K/BB ratio.

Outfielder Clete Thomas is batting .328 with a .403 OBP in 174 bats since June 1. He is batting .283/.370/.402 for the season.

21 year old Jair Jurrjens has a 3.81 ERA and 70/30 K/BB ratio in 89 2/3 innings.

Dallas Trahern has slowed down after a sizzling start but is still having a solid season. He has a 3.64 ERA in 118 2/3 innings including one start for Toledo. He has only 66 strikeouts but a very high 2.62 GO/AO.

21 year old outfielder Wilken Ramirez has gone 0 for 8 in 2 games since being moved up to replace Andres Torres who went to Toledo when the Tigers recalled Timo Perez. Ramirez was batting just .271/.314/.413 for Lakeland and will likely be moved back there at some point.

Lakeland (A+) 1st half: 29-41 2nd half: 12-15

Cameron Maybin is out for a couple of weeks with a partially dislocated shoulder but the Tigers don't expect it to be a long term problem. Those who were expecting him to fly through the system may be a little disappointed but he is having a good season for a 20 year old. He is batting .302/.395/.464 with 23 stolen bases. One negative is his high strikeout rate - 77 K in 265 at bats. Also, his OPS has dropped as the season has moved along -1.033 in April, .820 in May and .764 in June/July.

25 year old infielder/outfielder Ovandy Suero leads the league with 63 stolen bases in 78 games.

23 year old outfielder Michael Hernandez is batting .271/.333/.513 with 17 homers in 90 games.

23 year old first baseman Ryan Roberson is batting .299/.347/.553 with 14 homers in 264 at bats but is currently on the disabled list.

Second round draft pitch Danny Worth was surprisingly placed on the Lakeland roster right out of college. The shortstop is batting .213 in 13 games.

Burke Badenhop has a 3.17 ERA along with just 30 walks and a 1.91 GO/AO ratio in 110 2/3 innings pitched. He pitched 7 shutout innings in his last start on Thursday.

21 year old Lucas French has a 3.48 ERA and a 68/26 K/BB ratio in 106 innings.

24 year old Angel Castro has a 3.24 ERA with 30 walks and a 1.58 GO/AO ratio in 102 2/3 innings for West Michigan and Lakeland combined.

West Michigan (A) 1st half: 38-32 2nd half: 20-9

20 year old Gorkys Hernandez has slowed a bit after a strong start but is batting .291/.343/.373 with 36 stolen bases. He also is reportedly a strong defensive center fielder.

Speedy 23 year old outfielder Deik Scram is batting an impressive .327/.416/.447 with 14 stolen bases.

21 year old left-handed batting catcher James Skelton is hitting .324/.396/.461 in 241 at bats.

Scott Sizemore was off to a slow start but is batting .385/.452/.625 in his last 27 games. For the season, he is hitting .271/.387/.411 with an impressive 55/44 BB/K ratio. A promotion to AA could happen before the end of the season.

21 year old lefty Duane Below has a 3.82 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 101 1/3 innings.

Closer Brett Jensen has a 1.94 ERA and 41/6 K/BB ratio in 41 2/3 innings.

21 year old left-hander Charles Furbush allowed 1 run in 5 innings in his first start for West Michigan after being promoted from the GCL Tigers.

Oneonta Tigers (A-) 18-14

Third baseman Ron Bourquin, who batted just .192 in 78 at bats for Lakeland, is hitting .304 in 79 at bats for the GCL Tigers.

22 year old second baseman and recent draft pick Justin Henry is batting .348/.454/.461 in 24 games.

Another recent pick, 22 year old catcher Devin Thomas, is batting .250 with 5 homers in 26 games.

21 year old third baseman Cory Middleton is batting .283/.360/.404 in 99 at bats.

23 year old Venezuelan Guillermo Moscoso has a 1.49 ERA and 33/8 K/BB ratio in 36 1/3 innings.


GCL Tigers (Rookie) 15-13

19 year old second baseman Heyden Parrott is batting .341/.366/.443 in 88 at bats.

22 year old outfielder Luis Arlet is batting .307/.352/.485 in 101 at bats.

21 year old shortstop Roger Tomas is batting .304/.364/.420 in 69 at bats.

19 year old lefty and recent draft pick Aaron Fuhrman has a 4.50 ERA and 32 K in 28 innings.