Detroit Tigers Prospect Report - July 8, 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. This week's team by team summary follows.

The first order of business is to point you towards D-Town Baseball where Eric Jackson updates the status of Tigers picked in the First-Year Player Draft. Eric notes that 7 of the top 12 Tigers picks have signed so far. First Round pick pitcher Rick Porcello is not among them and he will likely go down to the wire. Other unsigned players include pitchers Luke Pukonen (3rd round) and Casey Crosby (5th round), infielder Cale Iorg (6th round) and outfielder Dominic de la Osa (10th round). The signing deadline is August 15.

A team by team look at the prospects throughout the system follows.

Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) 52-38

With 54 walks and 92 strikeouts, 39% of Chris Shelton's 370 plate appearances have resulted in the ball not being put in play. His stat line is .278/.395/.440.

Ryan Raburn was batting .292/.394/.540 before his call-up.

Infielder Jack Hannahan has always been a good defender and has improved offensively this year. He is batting .308/.426/.489 with a 51/60 BB/K ratio in 237 at bats. He is a 27 year old left-handed batter who can play second base and third base.

Shortstop Tony Giarratano may miss the entire season with a torn ACL.

Virgil Vasquez now has a 4.26 ERA and 92/25 K/BB ratio in 99 1/3 innings. He had not been doing well since his brief stint with the Tigers but has bounced back with 2 good performances in his last 2 starts - 3 runs in 14 1/3 innings combined.

Brent Clevlen went 3 for 5 with a homer yesterday in his second day back from a broken finger and rehabilitation. Hopefully, he'll improve on his .218/.311/.331 line in the second half.

After missing the first part of the season with a sore shoulder, Jordan Tata has a 3.56 ERA in 8 starts.


Erie Sea Wolves (AA) 47-39

Jeff Larish is showing power and patience but not making consistent contact. He is batting .230/.338/.457 with a 46/74 BB/K ratio.

Shorstop Brent Dlugach (.292/.346/.472 in 22 games) is out for the season with a shoulder injury.

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 .338 with a .419 OBP in 130 bats since June 1. He is batting .281/.371/.404 for the season.

21 year old Jair Jurrjens, who missed a couple of starts in early june with a groin injury, is healthy now and has a 3.63 ERA and 58/26 K/BB ratio in 79 1/3 innings.

Dallas Trahern has slowed down after a sizzling start but is still having a solid season. he has a 3.46 ERA in 106 2/3 innings including one start for Toledo. He has only 59 strikeouts but a very high 2.47 GO/AO.

Lakeland (A+) 1st half: 29-41 2nd half: 6-7

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 .303/.396/.466 with 23 stolen bases. One negative is his high strikeout rate - 76 K in 264 at bats. Also, his OPS has dropped as the season has moved along -1.033 in April, .820 in May and .764.

21 year old outfielder Wilken Ramirez is batting .356 since June 1 and is now up to .280/.323/.444 for the season.

25 year old infielder/outfielder Ovandy Suero is batting .284 with a .350 OBP and leads the league with 54 stolen bases in 66 games. Suero is not considered a top prospect but that stolen base total is fun to follow.

23 year old outfielder Michael Hernandez is batting .282/.346/.526 with 15 homers in 77 games.

23 year old first baseman Ryan Roberson is batting .300/.348/.555 with 14 homers in 263 at bats but is currently on the disabled list.

Burke Badenhop has a 3.23 ERA along with just 26 walks and a 1.80 GO/AO ratio in 92 innings pitched.

Lucas French has a 3.68 ERA and a 60/22 K/BB ratio in 93 innings.

24 year old Angel Castro has a 3.35 ERA with 23 walks and a 1.58 GO/AO ratio in 88 2/3 innings for West Michigan and Lakeland combined.

West Michigan (A) 1st half: 38-32 2nd half: 12-5

20 year old Gorkys Hernandez has slowed a bit after a strong start but is batting .294/.347/.378 with 33 stolen bases. He also is reportedly a strong defensive center fielder.

Speedy 23 year old outfielder Deik Scram is batting an impressive .336/.423/.452 with 14 stolen bases.

21 year old left-handed batting catcher James Skelton is hitting .337/.406/.486 in 208 at bats.

Scott Sizemore was off to a slow start but is batting .382 in his last 16 games. For the season, he is hitting .249/.376/.374 with an impressive 49/38 BB/K ratio which suggests that better numbers will come eventually.

21 year old lefty Duane Below has a 3.89 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings.

Oneonta Tigers (A-) 9-10

Ron Bourquin, who batted just .192 in 78 at bats for Lakeland, is hitting .333 in 33 at bats for the GCL Tigers.

15th round draft pick Kody Kaiser is only 5-8 but has five tools and is off to a hot start - .325/.379/.550 in 80 at bats. He is 22 years old and plays second base.

21 year old third baseman Cory Middleton is batting .324/.395/.382 in 68 at bats.

22 year outfielder Casper Wells is batting .305/.344/.593 in 59 at bats.

GCL Tigers (Rookie) 8-8

19 year old second baseman Heyden Parrott is batting .341/.400/.463 in 41 at bats.

22 year old outfielder Luis Arlet is batting .357/.390/.625 in 56 at bats.

21 year old third baseman Carlos Ramirez is hitting .333/.364/.667 in 42 at bats.