Around the Minors

Over the past couple of years, coverage of Tigers minor league teams has expanded quite a bit. Today, I'm going to give a brief tour of some of the more informative sites:

I'll start with the excellent minor league forum at MotownSports.com. One recent example of the kind of detailed information you can find there is Tony's recent look at some of the top prospects in the Tigers system. Tony humbly claims that he is unqualified to rank prospects but it looks like a good list to me and it's a very interesting read.

Matt Wallace at Take 75 North writes something (usually a lot) about the Tigers minor league system daily. This includes detailed recaps of each game, transactions, feature stories on prospects and some other things. Matt is very informative and also a good writer.

Mike Cassidy also does recaps at Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog. One great feature which was added to that blog this year was Andrew Hess's minor league diary. Andrew is a pitcher for the West Michigan White Caps and he frequently blogs about his experiences.

Chuckles and Potthole cover the White Caps in detail at The Surge. They do recaps, write player profiles, conduct player interviews and more.

Deran and Kyle write about the Lakeland Flying Tigers at Lakeland Flying Tigers Blog. Among other things, they provide photos and videos of important prospects and rehabbing Tigers.

Speaking of photos of Tigers prospects, expert photographer Hueytaxi has hundreds of them at his Flickr site.

Eddie's Detroit Tigers Thoughts is not exclusively a Tigers minor league site but some of his best work involve analysis of the the Tigers system. In one recent post, he started to scan the pitchers in the Tigers system. He has made it through Detroit, Toledo and Erie so far.

Prospect Update

I haven't had much time to discuss prospects lately but today I'll evaluate the progress so far this season of the consensus pre-season Top 20 prospects. The following consensus list is based on prospect ranking by Baseball America, John Sickels, Tigs Town, Tigers Corner and Eddie B's fan poll.

Rick Porcello - Pitching in Lakeland at the age of 19, Porcello has a 2.79 ERA and a 47/23 strikeout/walk ratio in 84 innings. That's not an impressive strikeout rate for a youngster touted as a power pitcher but a report in the Detroit News indicated that there might be a misconception about what kind of pitcher he is. While he can reach the high 90s if he needs to, he considers himself more of a sinker ball pitcher who pitches best in the low 90s. Even a sinker baller should get more strikeouts in A ball but he's too young for it to be a big concern yet.

Jeff Larish - The 25 year old power hitting first baseman has a .263/.363/.557 line with Toledo. Earlier, he had a brief call-up to the Tigers where he batted .200 in 40 at bats. He is has a left-handed bat which the Tigers need but he is blocked at first base by Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers want him to become more versatile and he has played some third base for the Mud Hens recently.

Michael Hollimon - Hollimon missed the first part of the season with a dislocated shoulder but came back to hit for an OPS of .863 with 12 homers in 184 at bats for Toledo. He became the Tigers utility infielder when Ramon Santiago went on the disabled list and is batting .280 with 4 extra base hits in 23 at bats. He might be good enough to be a regular second baseman in the majors but he could also end up as a utility player.

Danny Worth - The 22 year old Worth has a reputation as a slick fielding shortstop. However, his offense needs work as he is batting just .245/.321/.381 for AA Erie. I wouldn't expect to see him in Detroit before 2010.

Scott Sizemore - The 25 year old second baseman is batting .286/.365/.409 for Lakeland. His 24/44 BB/K ratio is not as impressive as it has been in the past (73/60 last year). He is currently out with a wrist injury.

Yorman Bazardo - It was hoped that Bazardo could help the Tigers as a reliever/spot starter this year but he has had a disappointing season. After getting hit hard in a brief stint with the Tigers, he has compiled a 6.47 ERA and allowed 12 home runs in 65 innings for Toledo.

Casey Crosby - The 5th round pick in in the 2007 amateur draft is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Brandon Hamilton - The 19 year old first round supplemental pick from last year's draft walked 28 batters in 32 1/3 innings at West Michigan and is now pitching for the Gulf Coast League Tigers. He pitched well in his first GCL start today (three hits, one walk , one run in 6 1/3 innings) but is a very raw talent who has a long way to go.

Matt Joyce - The left-handed hitting corner outfielder has made good progress so far this season. He batted .270 with 13 homers and 28 extra base hits in 200 at bats for Toledo earning him a call-up to the Tigers. He is batting just .239 for the Tigers but has shown good power with 5 homers in 67 at bats. He has also showed off his fine defensive skills including a rocket arm.

James Skelton - The 5-11 165 pound left-handed hitting catcher has been an on base machine for Lakeland but has shown virtually no power. He has an OBP of .425 but has only 6 extra base hits in 141 at bats. It will be hard for him to maintain a high OBP at higher levels with so little power but I still think he's an interesting prospect. He has a reputation as a solid defensive catcher.

Charles Furbush - After an impressive professional debut for the GCL Tigers and West Michigan last year, the 22 year old left-hander has undergone Tommy John surgery and is out for the season.

Deik Scram - After emerging as a serious prospect last year with a solid season at West Michigan/Lakeland, Scram has had a tough time at AA Erie this year. The 24 year old left-handed hitter is batting .231/.322/.338 with 76 strikeouts in 295 at bats.

Francisco Cruceta - The much ballyhooed Cruceta has shown flashes of talent this year but has also been very wild. He walked 10 batters in 11 2/3 innings for the Tigers and is now back at Toledo. The 27 year old right-hander has posted a 4.34 ERA and a 28/9 K/BB ratio for the Mud Hens.

Virgil Vasquez - It was hoped that The 26 year old right-hander could be an injury replacement starter for the Tigers this year but so far he has struggled for Toledo. Vasquez has displayed his usual good control (71/19 K/BB ratio) but has a 4.56 ERA and has allowed 15 homers in 94 2/3 innings.

Cale Iorg - In his first year of professional ball after two years of missionary work in Portugal, Iorg has had a pretty good year as a shortstop for Lakeland. The 22 year old son of former major leaguer Garth Iorg is batting .259/.336/.406. He is still likely a couple of years from the big leagues.

Jordan Tata - It was hoped that the 26 year old right-hander could provide bullpen depth to the Tigers this year but he started the season on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder and a fractured right hand (caused by punching a door). He has had a very difficult time with his control since returning walking 22 batters in 15 innings for the GCL Tigers and Lakeland.

Duane Below - The 22 year old left-hander had a very good season for West Michigan last year but will be tested at each level because he does not have dominating stuff. He has had another solid season for Lakeland this year posting a 3.54 ERA and 77/34 K/BB ratio in 83 innings.

Brent Clevlen - The slow developing 24 year old outfielder seems to have taken a step forward this year. After struggling mightily for Erie and Toledo the last two years, Clevlen has batted .298/.385/.551 for the Mud Hens this year. He still strikes out a lot though - 88 K in 272 at bats. He appeared briefly for the Tigers batting .208 in 11 games.

Clete Thomas - The 24 year old left-handed hitting outfielder has been a pleasant surprise this year batting .313/.383/.414 in 99 at bats for the Tigers. The speedy Thomas has also shown the ability to play all three outfield positions very well. His .238/.319/.408 line at Toledo has been puzzling but the fact that he has had success in multiple stints with the Tigers is encouraging.

Wilkin Ramirez - The toolsy 22 year old outfielder had a breakout season for AA Erie this year batting .301 with 12 homers and 30 extra base hits in 276 at bats. He has struggled since his promotion to Toledo batting .083 in 36 at bats. He still needs to cut down his strikeouts - a combined 98 K in 312 at bats for Erie and Toledo.

Back from Lakeland

My father and I returned from Lakeland today after a very enjoyable trip. We saw three good games, although the Flying Tigers lost Saturday's game. They were indeed more entertaining than the Tigers have been this year which is not hard to do. I got a chance to meet several friends from Motownsports.com which is always fun.

Joker Marchant Stadium is a great place to watch a game. The crowds were pretty small which allowed me to go all over the park viewing the game from different locations. I even sat in the "Berm area" (a grass hill behind the outfield fence leading up to a patio with benches and tables) for a few innings watching the outfielders as kids rolled down the hill in front of me. They had a pretty impressive team poster give away on Saturday night - a 2 foot by 1 1/2 foot team photo. That was a pretty good gift for a minor league game where tickets cost $6 max. They also had a spectacular fireworks show after the game on Saturday night. The Flying Tigers definitely put on a great show for their fans.

I talked about Rick Porcello, Jeremy Laster and Guillermo Moscoso in yesterday's post. I'm an analyst rather than a scout but here are some of my observations on some of the other players I saw:

James Skelton - probably the smallest catcher I've ever seen. He has no power but is an on base machine and has pretty good speed. Another way he misfits the catcher prototype is that he bats left-handed. I've never really understood why a catcher needs to be big as their seems to some advantages to a catcher being small and agile. It's been said that big catchers are more durable at a position where a player takes a beating. I'm not convinced that size has a lot to do with durability though.

Scott Sizemore - didn't have a great game on Saturday but generally seems to work the count and have good at bats. He made a couple of good plays Friday night.

Cale Iorg - got two hits in each of the three games and hit the ball hard. He looked pretty solid at shortstop as well.

Ryan Strieby -a power hitting first baseman who got two homers during the series.

Jay Sborz - looks to be a lot more in control than when I saw him play for the Oneonta Tigers a couple of years ago. The reliever still throws hard and reached 97 when I saw him but now throws strikes.

Report from Lakeland - Day 2

The Flying Tigers won again last night - 4 to 1 over the Dunedin Blue Jays. I got to see Porcello for the first time and he looked about how I expected him to look. He's very tall and throws hard - mid 90s for most of the game and got as high as 98. As advertised, he is pretty polished for a 20 year old with a good change-up and breaking pitch to go with the fastball. He was not over powering. They hit some balls pretty hard but he held them to one run in 5 2/3 innings. His control was good - just one walk.

Other than Porcello, the highlights of the night were an inside the park homer by Jeremy Laster and five consecutive strikeouts by reliever Guillermo Moscoso. Laster looked impressive - a center fielder with good speed and power. Moscoso looked very tough. the batters looked helpless against him.

Off to Lakeland

I'll be heading out to Lakeland on Thursday morning to watch the Flying Tigers play the Dunedin Blue Jays for three games. When I went down there last year, I saw Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller. This year, I'll get a chance to see 20 year old right-handed pitcher and top prospect Rick Porcello. I'm also curious about catcher James Skelton and infielders Scott Sizemore and Cale Iorg.

Sometimes the most interesting player you see in a minor league game is not who you go to see though. Last year, I was only marginally interested in Wilkin Ramirez (great tools but no results up to that point) but he looked pretty impressive when I saw him. He's having a very good year for AA Erie this year.

If nothing else, the weather will be summery - 90 degrees and mostly sunny for three days. I haven't experienced that in a while. The hotel does have a computer which I'll check every day but I won't be spending much time on it (I'm actually good about staying off computers when I'm on vacation!). If something really interesting happens in a game, I'll write something but other than that, I'll be back on Sunday. Hopefully, the Flying Tigers will be more entertaining than the Tigers have been this year.

Erie Sea Wolves 2008 preview

The Erie Sea Wolves have started off the season with two wins over Bowie - 8-3 on Friday and 3-2 today. In last night's game, Jeff Frazier (back in the organization after spending a year in the Seattle system) went 4 for 6 with a homer, a double and 5 RBI. Frazier had two more hits today and Wilkin Ramirez (making a quick recovery from a spring training shoulder injury) homered. There are a number of good prospects playing for the Sea Wolves:

Danny Worth is a 22 year old shortstop taken in the second round of last year's draft. Between Lakeland and a brief stint at Erie last year, Worth batted .265/.333/.389 which is pretty solid for a player playing at an advanced level coming out of college. He is a good all around defender with above average range and a quick release on throws. He does not have home run power but is capable of gap power. He has the potential be a starting shortstop in the majors some day.

Deik Scram is a 24 year old outfielder who was selected in the 18th round out of Oklahoma state in 2006. He started to emerge as a serious prospect last year at West Michigan where he batted .327/.416/.447. in 71 games and then held his own in Lakeland batting .283/.355/.454 in 41 games. He does not have great home run power (just 5 last year at both stops combined) but has some power potential. The speedy Scram stole 21 bases last year and is improving as a defender. He's an intriguing player but at his age, he'll need to move fast in order to remain a major prospect.

Wilkin Ramirez has been a bit of a disappointment statistically but is still considered a top prospect by scouts at the young age of 22. Playing for Lakeland and Erie last year, he batted a combined .257 with 12 homers and a 124/28 K/BB ratio. He has very good power potential but needs to improve his pitch recognition. He has above average speed and stole 34 bases last year. The converted third baseman is not a strong defender but is improving as an outfielder.

Other players of interest include pitchers Casey Fien, who I profiled earlier, Andrew Kown, Brett Jensen and Matt Rusch. The complete Sea Wolves roster is listed below. For more news and discussion of the Sea Wolves, check out the following sites:

Sea Wolves official site
Motownsports.com
Take 75 North
Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog
Tigs Town

Erie Sea Wolves Opening Day Roster

Pitchers
Lucas French
Jon Connolly
Danny Zell
Andrew Kown
Casey Fien
Brett Jensen
Benjamin Fritz
Juan Cedeno
Daniel Christensen
Josh Rainwater
Matt Rusch
Andrew Tomey

Catchers
Dusty Ryan
Max St. Pierre

Infielders
Ryan Roberson 1B
William Rhymes 2B
Danny Worth SS
Kody Kirkland 3B
Nick McIntyre SS
Max Leon 3B

Outfielders
Wilkin Ramirez
Deik Scram
Freddy Guzman
Jeff Frazier

Toledo Mud Hens 2008 preview

The Toledo Mud Hens have started off the season with two wins over Durham - 3-2 on Thursday and 9-2 tonight. In last night's game, Virgil Vazquez had 8 strikeouts and allowed just one run in 5 2/3 innings and catcher Dane Sardinha had a solo homer to lead the Mud Hens. Tonight, Armando Galarraga pitched 5 scoreless innings and Jeff Larish hit a three run homer.

Jeff Larish is one of the interesting prospects to watch at Toledo this year. Larish finished strong at AA Erie last year and batted .267/.390/.515 overall. The 25 year old left-handed batter has tremendous power leading the Eastern League with 28 homers last year. He has a lot of patience accumulating 168 walks over the last two years. His defense at first base is solid. He is blocked from the majors by Carlos Guillen but should get a September call-up if he continues to slug.

Outfielder Matt Joyce had a horrible start last year batting under .200 in the first two months. However, the 23 year old left-handed batter hit .293 with 13 homers over the last three months. An excellent defender, he was voted the best defensive outfielder in the Eastern League by Baseball America. He has pretty good gap power (53 extra base hits last year) but needs to cut down his strikeouts (127 in 456 at bats last year) and improve his batting average (.257 over the last two years).

Other players to follow are pitchers Virgil Vasquez and currently disabled Jordan Tata (broken hand). Position players of interest include outfielder Brent Clevlen and infielder Michael Hollimon who is on the disabled list with a dislocated shoulder. The complete roster is listed below. For more news and discussion of the Mud Hens, check out the following sites:

Mud Hens official site
Motownsports.com
Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog
Take 75 North


Toledo Mud Hens Opening Day Roster

Pitchers
Virgil Vasquez
Armando Galarraga
Chris Lambert
Eddie Bonine
Macay McBride
Preston Larrison
Francis Beltran
Anastacio Martinez
Clay Rapada
Blaine Neal
Aaron Fultz
Preston Larrison
Ian Ostlund (DL)

Catchers
Dane Sardinha
Nick Trzesniak

Infielders
Caonabe Cosme
Mike Hessman
Derek Watham
Erick Almonte
Henry Mateo
Jeff Larish
Michael Hollimon (DL)

Outfielders
Matt Joyce
Brent Clevlen
Timo Perez
Jackson Melian

Lakeland Flying Tigers 2008 preview

Deran has posted the Flying Tigers opening day roster at Lakeland Flying Tigers Blog. I was particularly interested in seeing who would be on the Lakeland roster as I will be going there to watch a series in May. It will be a very strong team to open the season and here are some of the most interesting prospects:

Rick Porcello is the top prospect in the Tigers system and one of the best in baseball. Drafted in the first round last year out of Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey in 2007, he fell to the Tigers at pick 27 because of signability issues. The 19 year old right-hander has been compared to Justin Verlander but still has a ways to go before he will pitch in the majors. He throws his fastball in the mid 90s and touches 97 and also has a curve ball, slider and change-up. For a pitcher his age, he has good command of all his pitchers. He is going to be a very exciting pitcher to follow over the next couple of years.

Scott Sizemore had a streaky year at West Michigan in 2007 and ended up batting only .265 but with a solid 73/60 BB/K ratio. He later bounced back finishing among the leading hitters in the Arizona Fall League batting .356 with a .994 OPS in 21 games. The 23 year old Sizemore is an adequate defender with average range and arm at second base. He could move up to AA fairly quickly if he hits well for the Flying Tigers.

Cale Iorg, the son of former major leaguer Garth Iorg, was taken by the Tigers in the 6th round last year and given a $1.5 million signing bonus. He hasn't played ball the last couple of years as he had been doing Mormon missionary work in Portugal. He last played as a freshman at Alabama in 2005. The scouting report on him is that he is a good defensive shortstop with a smooth swing and some power potential. The Tigers think the 22 year old Iorg can develop into a regular big league shortstop but it might take a while to shake off the rust.

James Skelton is one of my favorite Tiger prospects. At 5-11, 165 pounds Skelton is not your typical catcher. The 22 year old backstop Skelton has a good arm and solid all around catching skills. Offensively, the left-haded batter hit .309 with a very good 55/53 BB/K ratio at West Michigan in 2007. He also has good speed for a catcher. He is not expected to develop a lot of home run power but did have 33 extra base hits in 2007.

Some other players to watch at Lakeland are pitchers Duane Below, Jonah Nickerson and Freddy Dolsi, first baseman Ryan Streiby and outfielder Jeramy Laster. The complete roster is listed below. For more news and discussion of the Flying Tigers, check out the following sites:

Lakeland Flying Tigers Blog
Flying Tigers official website
Motownsports.com
Take 75 North
Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

Starting Pitchers
Rick Porcello
Duane Below
Jonah Nickerson
Matt O’Brien
Luis Marte
Guillermo Moscoso (DL)
Jeff Gerbe (DL)

Bullpen
Freddy Dolsi
Gabe Benitez
Brendan Wise
Derek Witt
Angel Castro
Ed Clelland
Nick Martin

Catchers
James Skelton
Jeff Kunkel

Infielders
Ryan Streiby 1B
Scott Sizemore 2B
Cale Iorg SS
Shawn Roof util
Louis Ott util
Santo De Leon SS
Michael Bertram 3B-1B

Outfielders
Brandon Timm
Justin Justice
Jeremy Laster
Brennan Boesch

West Michigan Whitecaps 2008 preview

The Surge is reporting that the West Michigan Whitecaps roster is set for opening day. The complete roster is included below. There are not a lot of high profile prospects at West Michigan this year but there are a number of players worth following:

Brandon Hamilton, a supplemental first round pick in the 2007 draft, is probably the most promising prospect playing for the Whitecaps this year. The right-handed Hamilton is just 19 years old and was playing high school ball at this time last year so he is very raw. However he has a great arm with a fast ball touching the mid 90s and a wicked slider. In 20 1/3 innings for the GCL Tigers last year, he had a 3.10 ERA and struck out 23 but walked 12. He has a lot of potential but still has a long way to go in terms of polish and mechanics.

Noah Krol, an 11th round pick last June, is a pretty strong relief prospect. He is not a hard thrower but has good command of a sinking fastball and slider. After pitching for Wichita State in the spring, he had a 2.20 ERA and 39 strikeouuts in 28 2/3 innings for Oneonta last year. The fact that he pitched in the Arizona Fall League after pitching in short season ball says that he is highly regarded by the Tigers. He is 23 years old and will likely move up quickly if he has early success for the Whitecaps.

Justin Henry is a 22 year old second baseman who was drafted in the 9th round out of Mississippi University last year. His lack of power will make it difficult for him to become a major league starter but he batted an impressive .340 with a .421 OBP for Oneonta last year.

Other prospects of interest are pitcher Mark Brackman and infielder Audi Ciriaco and a special mention goes to Andrew Hess. Hess, a 19th round draft pick out of the University of Michigan last year is now a blogger at Tigers Minor League Baseball, a blog started by Brian Borawski and authored by Mike Cassidy last year. Hess will be writing about his minor league experiences throughout the course of the season and already has one post up about spring training. It will be great to read the perspective of a Tigers minor leaguer.

For more news and discussion of the Whitecaps, check out

The Surge
West Michigan Whitecaps official site
Motownsports.com
Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog
Take 75 North

Opening Day Roster

Catchers
Joe Bowen
Jordan Newton

Infielders
Ron Bourquin 1B
Chris Carlson 1B
Justin Henry 2B
kody Kaiser 2B
roger Tomas 2B
Joe Tucker 3B
Audi Ciriaco SS

Outfielders
Kyle Peter
mark McBratney
Casper Wells
Cory Middleton

Pitchers
Ramon Garcia
Wilton Garcia
Jonathan Kibler
Alfredo Figaro
Santo Mieses
Andrew Hess
Lauren Gagnier
Noah Krol
Kelvin Cedano
Rudy Darrow
Paul Nardozzi
Emmanuel Miguelez

Who is Casey Fien?

Photo credit: Roger Dewitt

Over the past week, there has been talk about Jim Leyland looking closely at a minor league pitcher. On Tuesday, Leyland revealed that it was Casey Fien (pronounced FEEN). He had this to say about him:

That was the guy I was talking about when I said I'd gone over to the minor-league field to watch someone," Leyland said. "I'd seen someone over there I liked. I liked what I saw the other day, and wanted to see it again....He's not going to be on the team, right now but I want that memory of what I saw on my mind, so if he's doing well, and I don't care where he pitches, I can say, 'Send me that guy.' He could be a candidate at some point.

What makes the statements interesting is that Fien has never pitched above A ball and has rarely been ranked by any of the major publications or prospect web sites as even a top 30 prospect. Who is this guy?

Fien is a 24 year old right-hander who was chosen by the Tigers in the 20th round of the amateur draft in 2006. The Santa Rosa, California native attended William Penn for one year and Golden West for one year before spending two years at Cal Poly. He was mostly a reliever at Cal Poly with just 9 starts among 40 appearances. He is 6-2 and 195 pounds.

All his appearances as a pro have been in relief. In 2006, he pitched 42 2/3 inning for Oneonta posting a 2.74 ERA and a 37/8 strikeout to walk ratio. For West Michigan in 2007 he pitched 61 innings and had a 3.10 ERA with an amazing 77/10 K/BB ratio. His 11.36 K/9 innings led the Midwest League.

From what I gather at Motown Sports, he has a fastball which he throws in the low 90s and touches 95 MPH. He also has a good slider but lacks a consistent change-up. His minor league splits indicate that he eats up right-handed batters (.184 BA in 2007) but struggles against left-handers (.291 BA in 2007).

He was expected to begin the season at high A Lakeland but now AA Erie seems more likely and he could be in Detroit sooner rather than later.

Who is Clete Thomas?

Photo Credit: Michael Scott

You may have heard by now that Clete Thomas has a chance to make the Tigers 25 man roster at the start of the regular season. You mean "Thames"? No, I mean Thomas. There is really a guy named Cleat? No, it's Clete. If you don't follow the minors closely, you may not know too much about him so I thought I'd give you a brief overview.

Thomas is a 24 year old outfielder who was drafted out of Auburn by the Tigers in the sixth round in 2005. He is 5-11 195, bats left-handed and throws right-handed. Since the summer of 2005, he has moved through the Tigers system making all the stops between short season Oneonta and AA Erie.

He split the 2005 season between Oneonta and West Michigan batting .311 with a .393 OBP in 264 at bats. He then struggled at high A Lakeland in 2006 hitting .255 with 127 strikeouts in 132 games. He rebounded nicely last year at AA Erie batting .280/.359/.404 with a 110/59 K/BB ratio.

According to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, The althletic Thomas uses the whole field but struggles with breaking pitches resulting in the high strikeout rate. He doesn't have much home run power but has pretty good gap power (30 doubles and 6 triples in 2007). He struggles against left-handed pitchers - a .718 OPS versus southpaws and .795 against right-handers. He is very fast but still needs to refine his running game.

Defensively, Thomas can play all three outfield positions, has good range and an above average throwing arm. According to a study by Dan Fox published in the Baseball Prospectus Annual, Clete had one of the best outfield arms in the minors last year finishing second in Equivalent Throwing Runs (theoretical runs saved by his arm).

Chances are Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski will take Freddy Guzman over Thomas but they are intrigued by Thomas. If Clete does make the team, he will likely back up Brandon Inge while Granderson heals. Since Inge is also going to be the second catcher, they will need another center fielder when he spells Rodriguez.

The name is Clete Thomas. If nothing else, he's got a great baseball name.

Giarratano, Total Zone and other links

Here is a roundup of some interesting items on the net today:

The Tigers have released once promising infield prospect Tony Giarratano. This happened after the oft injured shortstop had a setback with his surgically repaired shoulder earlier in the week. this is what Dave Dombrowski had to say about the move:

“Unfortunately, Tony has not be able to recover from his previous surgery and it does not appear feasible for him to continue his career at this time,” Tigers President, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager David Dombrowski said.

Sean Smith at The Hardball Times has come up with a new defensive statistic called Total Zone. There are already a bunch of new defensive stats which I've already covered this month so why do we need another one? Well, those stats were derived using detailed play by play data which has only been available the past few years. What do we do when we want to evaluate players from earlier eras? Smith has developed a system using retrosheet play by play data and has applied it to players going back to 1956. He provides rankings of players from 1956-1986.

I will surely have more to say about his system after I've had a chance to look at the data more carefully. For now, I'll point you to Billfer who has listed the best Tigers fielders, according to this system, from 1956-1986.

Potthole has an interview with Pedro Cotto at the Surge. Cotto is not a big time prospect but he has been a popular player among Tigers minor league fans the last couple of years.

Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus lists his top 100 prospects. It's not premium content so check it out. Rick Porcello is ranked #11. Keith Law at ESPN also has his top 100 list up. Porcello is number #22 on his list.

Mike McClary continues his series on obscure former Tigers by saying happy birthday to Dave Stegman.

SG (Replacement Level Yankee Blog) has done Diamond Mind Simulations of the 2008 season using his own CAIRO projections and has the Tigers winning 91 games (the average of many simulations) and winning the AL Central.

Tigers Get Clay Rapada for Monroe

It's PTBNL day. Earlier, I wrote about the acquisition of Chris Lambert for Mike Maroth. They also completed the Craig Monroe deal by acquiring Clay Rapada from the Cubs. Rapada is a 26 year old left-handed reliever who may have a future as a lefty specialist. He will join the Toledo MudHens roster initially but might join the Tigers after the AAA playoffs are over. He has been added to the Tigers 40 man roster and Aquilino Lopez has been outrighted to make room.

Rapado had a 3.58 ERA and a 50/25 K/BB ratio in 55 1/3 innings as a reliever for AAA Iowa this year. In 20 2/3 innings against left-handed batters, he had a 1.31 ERA and .159 batting average against. According to John Sickels, he has a funky sidearm delivery so if nothing else he'll be fun to watch. He's a soft tosser who tops out at 87 miles per hour and also has a slider and curve.

Miller Down, Vasquez Up

In yet another move today, Andrew Miller was optioned out and Virgil Vasquez was re-called from Toledo. Vasquez will start Friday's game versus Oakland.

Tigers Get Chris Lambert for Maroth

The Tigers have acquired Chris Lambert from the Cardinals as the player to be named later for Mike Maroth. Lambert, a 24 year old right-handed pitcher, was the Cardinals number one pick in the 2004 first year player draft. However, he has not had an ERA below 5.00 in 3 years above A ball. This year,he has pitched mostly in relief and has a 6.21 ERA and 67/37 K/BB ratio in 84 innings for AA Springfield and AAA Memphis. Baseball America says that he has a low 90s fastball, a good change-up and an improving curve but is very inconsistent and lacks control. He apparently has a decent arm but seems like a long shot to ever help the Tigers.

Detroit Tigers Prospect Report - August 27, 2007

During the course of the year, I have been giving statistical updates and other information on the Tigers organization. I 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. My team by team updates are listed below:

Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) 78-56

Omar Infante has gone 8 for 22 as he tries to work his way back to the majors.

Chris Shelton (.264/.377/.417) never really got going this year. A new start in a different organization may help but at 27 he can not really be considered much of a prospect anymore.

Recently acquired 27 year outfielder Jason Perry is batting .250 in his first 28 at bats for Toledo. For the season, he is batting a combined .264/.373/.518 for Midland, Sacramento and Toledo.

Virgil Vasquez has a 2.06 ERA in his last 10 starts. He has a 3.48 ERA and 127/33 K/BB ratio in 155 innings.

Brent Clevlen was named the biggest disappoint of the system in Baseball America's annual organization report. He is batting .227/.308/.376 with 101 strikeouts in 295 at bats.

Erie Sea Wolves (AA) 77-53

After a sluggish first half, first baseman Jeff Larish is batting .326/.469/.580 with 8 homers since the all-star break. For the season, he is hitting .262/.383/.498 with 24 homers and a 78/105 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 .281/.369/.473 with a 62/121 K/BB ratio.

Outfielder Clete Thomas is batting .280/.357/.402 for the season.

21 year old outfielder Wilken Ramirez is batting just .219 in 29 games since being moved up to Erie. Ramirez is batting a combined .259/.306/.392 for Lakeland and Erie.

23 year old outfielder Michael Hernandez is batting .313 with 3 home runs in 32 at bats for Erie. He hit .260/.326/.478 with 20 homers in 116 games for Lakeland.

Dallas Trahern has slowed down after a sizzling start but is still having a solid season. He has a 3.81 ERA in 158 1/3 innings including one start for Toledo. He has only 85 strikeouts but a very high 2.64 GO/AO.

Burke Badenhop allowed 1 run on 4 hits over 9 2/3 innings in his first 2 starts. He had a 3.13 ERA along with just 34 walks and a 2.09 GO/AO ratio in 135 1/3 innings pitched for Lakeland.


Lakeland (A+) 1st half: 29-41 2nd half: 23-39

Speedy 23 year old outfielder Deik Scram is batting a combined .310/.394/.444 with 20 stolen bases for West Michigan and Lakeland.

25 year old infielder/outfielder Ovandy Suero leads the league with 71 stolen bases in 108 games.

23 year old first baseman Ryan Roberson is batting .274/.334/.497 with 15 homers in 336 at bats..

Second round draft pick Danny Worth was surprisingly placed on the Lakeland roster right out of college. The shortstop is batting .244/.318/.363 with a 17/37 BB/K ratio in 48 games.

21 year old Lucas French has a 3.90 ERA and a 84/40 K/BB ratio in 138 1/3 innings.

24 year old Angel Castro has a 3.32 ERA with 47 walks and a 1.43 GO/AO ratio in 146 1/3 innings for West Michigan and Lakeland combined.


West Michigan (A) 1st half: 38-32 2nd half: 40-21

20 year old Gorkys Hernandez has slowed a bit after a strong start but is batting .291/.343/.387 with 52 stolen bases. He also is reportedly a strong defensive center fielder.

21 year old left-handed batting catcher James Skelton is hitting .311/.399/.440 with 17 stolen bases.

22 year old second baseman Scott Sizemore is hitting .260/.369/.386 with an impressive 66/59 BB/K ratio.

Jeff Gerbe was named by Baseball America as the player who has taken the biggest leap forward this season. After spending last summer at short season Oneonta, he made it all the way to AA at one point this year. He has 2.34 ERA in 73 innings as a starter and reliever for West Michigan. He allowed 2 runs in 6 innings in his one start for Erie.

21 year old lefty Duane Below has a 1.68 ERA and 70 K in 59 innings over his last 10 starts. He has a 3.12 ERA with 152 strikeouts in 138 2/3 innings for the season.

Closer Brett Jensen has a 1.62 ERA and 56/8 K/BB ratio in 55 2/3 innings.

21 year old left-hander Charles Furbush has a 1.30 ERA and 35/5 K/BB ratio in 34 2/3 innings since his promotion from the GCL Tigers.

Oneonta Tigers (A-) 38-26

Third baseman Ron Bourquin, who batted just .192 in 78 at bats for Lakeland, is hitting .335 in 155 at bats for Oneonta.

22 year old second baseman and recent draft pick Justin Henry is batting .353/.439/.430 in 56 games.

23 year old first baseman Chris Carlson is batting .296/.392/.528 with 10 homers in 61 games.

23 year old outfielder Caspar Wells is batting .289/.348/.546 in 56 games.

Small but toolsy 22 year old outfielder Kody Kaiser is batting .270/.340/.408.

23 year old Venezuelan Guillermo Moscoso has a 2.43 ERA and 64/14 K/BB ratio in 74 innings.


GCL Tigers (Rookie) 28-31

19 year old second baseman Heyden Parrott is batting .295/.322/.358 in 193 at bats.

22 year old outfielder Luis Arlet is batting .312/.353/.505 in 109 at bats but is currently on the disabled list.

22 year old outfielder Marc McBratney is batting .316/.418/.421 in 114 at bats.

20 year old right-hander Brandon Johnson has a 2.58 ERA and 45/11 K/BB ratio in 59 1/3 innings

19 year old lefty and recent draft pick Aaron Fuhrman has a 4.47 ERA and 45 K in 59 1/3 innings.

Porcello Signed to $7.3 Million Contract

The Tigers have reached an agreement on a $7.3 million contract with first round draft pick Rick Porcello. It was the biggest contract ever guaranteed to a draft pick coming out of high school. This is the fourth straight year that the Tigers have signed a premier talent out of the draft. In previous years, they inked Justin Verlander, Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller. This is very exciting news.

Jair Jurrjens to Pitch on Wednesady

The Tigers announced today that highly regarded prospect Jair Jurrjens is going to start against the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night. The 21 year old right-hander is 6-1 190 and is probably the the best Tigers pitching prospect yet to pitch in the majors. He has a 3.20 ERA and 94/31 K/BB ratio over 112 2/3 innings in 19 starts for Erie this year. He has been particularly strong in his last 3 starts allowing just 2 earned runs and striking out 24 in 23 innings.

The report on Jurrjens is that he has a fastball in the low 90s with good movement and sometimes reaches the mid 90s. He has good control for such a young pitcher but his curve and change-up are only average and still need work. He is a somewhat raw but exciting prospect and I'm very much looking forward to seeing him pitch this week.

Oneonta Tigers Put on a Good Show

After watching the Detroit Tigers get swept by the White Sox this weekend, I went to watch the Oneonta Tigers play the Lowell Spinners in Lowell, Massachusetts. I was hoping that they would put on a better show than their parent club. I was not disappointed as they routed the Spinners 18-7 in a game which was not as close the final score indicated.

Lelacheur Park is a beautiful park built right along the Merrimac River in 1998. Going to a Spinners game is definitely one of the things to do in the Lowell area. It is very difficult to get tickets as they have sold out every game for the last 8 years! I brought my mother and father to today's twilight game beginning at 5:00. I think they overdo the music in Lowell and the public address announcer does not stop talking but overall it was an enjoyable experience. The weather was very nice - high 70s and clear skies.

The Tigers scored in each of the first 6 innings and built up an 18-0 lead on 21 hits. The inning by inning scoring looked like this: 1 7 3 2 1 4. There is no telling how many more runs they would have scored had they not called off the dogs when the Spinners brought in an infielder to pitch the 7th inning. Caspar Wells led the 21 hit attack with 4 hits in the first 4 innings. Chris Carlson and Ronnie Bourquin had 3 hits apiece and Justin Henry, Ryan Seawell, Corey Middleton, Kyle Peter and Adrian Casanova chipped in with 2 each.

One of the Tigers victims was Eric Beattie who was once a very promising prospect in the Tigers system. Beattie was the the Tigers second pick in the 2004 draft and was considered a fairly polished pitcher who had the potential to move through their system pretty fast. Then he developed Rick Ankiel disease and could no longer find the plate. He still can't find the plate as he walked three and threw 2 wild pitches in one inning of relief today. Although he pitches for the enemy now, this saddened me because we used to talk to his father over at MotownSports. He was naturally very excited and proud of his kid and it's sad to the youngster continue to struggle.

Despite all the hitting, one of the most impressive performances of the day was by 23 year old right-handed pitcher Guillermo Moscoso from Venezuela. He's old for the league and not one of their big prospects but he looked good to me. He is only 6-1 165 but throws fairly hard and has outstanding control. He has a fastball in the low 90s, a curve and a change-up. He came into the game with a 2.18 ERA and 37/12 K/BB ratio in 45 1/3 innings. He also pitched the first perfect game in Oneonta history on July 16. I'd like to see what he could do at a higher level.

Detroit Tigers Prospect Report - August 4, 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.

First, I'll mention that Baseball America has completed its' annual survey where league managers vote for players who they think have the best tools . The full report is premium content but I'll tell you that Mike Hessman was voted the best third baseman and and Raburn the best outfield arm of the International League. Jeff Larish of Erie was recognized as having the best power in the Eastern League and Eddie Bonine the best control. Defensively, Mark Hollimon is the best second baseman, Matt Joyce the best outfielder and Clete Thomas the best outfield arm.

My team by team updates are listed below:

Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) 66-48

Still trying to regain his stroke, Chris Shelton is hitting .273/.388/.430.

Infielder Jack Hannahan has always been a good defender and has improved offensively this year. He is batting .300/.425/.489 with a 71/84 BB/K ratio in 317 at bats. He is a 27 year old left-handed batter who can play second base and third base.

Virgil Vasquez has a 1.66 ERA in his last 6 starts and has not allowed more than 2 earned runs in any of those starts. He has a 3.65 ERA 109/29 K/BB ratio in 128 1/3 innings.

Brent Clevlen was named the biggest disappoint of the system in Baseball America's annual organization report. He is batting .237/.318/.384 with 83 strikeouts in 232 at bats.

Erie Sea Wolves (AA) 63-47

Jeff Larish is hitting for good power but still struggling to make contact. He is batting .242/.369/.463 with 20 homers and a 68/91 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 .276/.367/.466 with a 54/104 K/BB ratio.

Outfielder Clete Thomas is batting .280/.364/.393 for the season.

24 year old second baseman William Rhymes has batted .313/.328/.375 for Erie after his promotion from Lakeland where he batted .304/.389/.390.

21 year old outfielder Wilken Ramirez has batted .269 in 13 games since being moved up to Erie. Ramirez is batting a combined .272/.316/.418 for Lakeland and Erie.

Jeff Gerbe was named by Baseball America as the player who has taken the biggest leap forward this season. After spending last summer at short season Oneonta, he has made it all the way to AA this year. After posting a 1.20 ERA in 52 2/3 innings as a starter and reliever for West Michigan he was promoted to Erie where he allowed 2 runs in 6 innings in his first start.

21 year old Jair Jurrjens has allowed just 1 run and has 20 strikeouts over 16 innings in his last 2 starts. For the season, he has a 3.32 ERA and 90/30 K/BB ratio in 105 2/3 innings.

Dallas Trahern has slowed down after a sizzling start but is still having a solid season. He has a 3.60 ERA in 132 2/3 innings including one start for Toledo. He has only 73 strikeouts but a very high 2.49 GO/AO.


Lakeland (A+) 1st half: 29-41 2nd half: 16-22

Cameron Maybin is back from his shoulder injury and has 5 hits in 11 at bats since his return. The 20 year old outfielder is batting .308/.398/.482 with 23 stolen bases. One negative is his high strikeout rate - 79 K in 276 at bats.

Speedy 23 year old outfielder Deik Scram is off to a hot start after his promotion to Lakeland. He is batting .367 with 6 extra base hits in his first 13 games. He hit an impressive .327/.416/.447 with 14 stolen bases for West Michigan.

25 year old infielder/outfielder Ovandy Suero leads the league with 66 stolen bases in 88 games.

23 year old outfielder Michael Hernandez is batting .268/.334/.511 with 20 homers in 102 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 .229 with a 10/15 BB/K ratio in 24 games.

Burke Badenhop has a 3.47 ERA along with just 34 walks and a 1.96 GO/AO ratio in 122 innings pitched.

21 year old Lucas French has a 3.75 ERA and a 77/33 K/BB ratio in 115 1/3 innings.

24 year old Angel Castro has a 3.35 ERA with 34 walks and a 1.45 GO/AO ratio in 118 1/3 innings for West Michigan and Lakeland combined.

West Michigan (A) 1st half: 38-32 2nd half: 26-14

20 year old Gorkys Hernandez has slowed a bit after a strong start but is batting .290/.341/.386 with 41 stolen bases. He also is reportedly a strong defensive center fielder.

21 year old left-handed batting catcher James Skelton is hitting .325/.408/.464 in 274 at bats.

Scott Sizemore was off to a slow start but is batting .330/.402/.510 since July 1. For the season, he is hitting .273/.387/.413 with an impressive 58/48 BB/K ratio.

21 year old lefty Duane Below has a 2.06 ERA and 38 K in 35 innings over his last 6 starts. He has a 3.54 ERA with 130 strikeouts in 119 1/3 innings for the season.

Closer Brett Jensen has a 1.97 ERA and 45/6 K/BB ratio in 45 2/3 innings.

21 year old left-hander Charles Furbush has a 1.20 ERA and 15/2 K/BB ratio in 15 innings since his promotion from the GCL Tigers.

Oneonta Tigers (A-) 25-19

Third baseman Ron Bourquin, who batted just .192 in 78 at bats for Lakeland, is hitting .339 in 124 at bats for the GCL Tigers.

22 year old second baseman and recent draft pick Justin Henry is batting .346/.447/.429 in 24 games.

23 year old first baseman Chris Carlson is batting .269/.353/.506 with 8 homers in 41 games.

Small but toolsy 22 year old outfielder Kody Kaiser is batting .265/.341/.452.

23 year old Venezuelan Guillermo Moscoso has a 2.18 ERA and 37/12 K/BB ratio in 45 1/3 innings.


GCL Tigers (Rookie) 18-20

19 year old second baseman Heyden Parrott is batting .309/.338/.382 in 123 at bats.

22 year old outfielder Luis Arlet is batting .312/.353/.505 in 109 at bats.

19 year old lefty and recent draft pick Aaron Fuhrman has a 3.76 ERA and 42 K in 40 2/3 innings.

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.