Detroit Tigers Top Ten Prospects for 2013

By Sean Gagnier

After trading away two of the two top prospects in the Tigers farm system during the 2012 season, what is left on the farm that could help Detroit in the near future?

1. Nick Castellanos 3B/OF
2. Avisail Garcia OF
3. Bruce Rondon RHP
4. Jake Thompson RHP
5. Austin Schotts OF
6. Danry Vasquez OF
7. Tyler Collins OF
8. Casey Crosby LHP
9. Eugenio Suarez SS/2B
10. Adam Wilk LHP

Everyone in Detroit knows who Castellanos and Garcia are. Castellanos is a natural SS, who was moved to 3B and then to the outfield when Miguel Cabrera moved to third base. General Manager Dave Dombrowski has maintained that Castellanos will remain in the outfield, which could work for Detroit. With the Tigers still searching for another outfield bat, having a solid young bat like Castellanos in the minors is a good backup plan.

Garcia is an electrifying outfielder who came to the majors at the end of August and made his presence known in Detroit. He has a plus bat and an incredible arm from the outfield. One problem with him however, is that Manager Jim Leyland only played him against left-handed pitchers, which he did well against. But, being a young player, if he only ever sees action against lefties, then his numbers against righties will only continue to fall. Garcia will be a very good outfielder, but he needs to play every day, and if he can't get that in Detroit, then he should spend half the season in Toledo getting everyday action before he moves permanently to right field in Detroit.

Bruce Rondon has had his name thrown around a lot lately, as a solution to the closer vacancy in Detroit. Rondon is known for his blazing fastball that can easily hit triple digits, but he also possesses what could be the best slider in the Tigers organization. If Rondon has a third pitch that even comes close to his fastball and slider, then he will earn the closer role in 2013 and will not relinquish it for years.  

Jake Thompson and Austin Schotts were both drafted by the Tigers in 2012. Thompson has a good arm and is capable of making hitters miss, but he is still very raw and will require several more years in the minors before he will be ready to break into the big leagues.

Schotts however, could have been the steal of the 2012 draft. The outfielder is said to have 80 speed and said to be able to beat Mike Trout and Michael Bourn in a footrace. Schotts elected to join the Tigers rather than go to college, and Detroit couldn't be happier about it. In his first 22 games as a pro, Schotts hit .388/.440/.538 with 7 doubles, a triple, a homerun, and 11 stolen bases in 13 tries.

Schotts will not take much longer in the minors before he is ready for an everyday job in Detroit. With his exceptional speed, he could be a great fit in the massive Comerica Park center field. This would shift Austin Jackson to left field for the Tigers, which could work well, as Detroit has been on the lookout for a good left fielder for a decade.

Danry Vasquez was signed when he was 16-years old and given a seven figure signing bonus by the Tigers in 2010. There have been some mixed reviews on his fielding, but he stands out as being a good player even when not in the spotlight. Vasquez does possess a strong arm from the outfield and as his fielding improves he will only become more and more inticing for Detroit to either place in the lineup or trade for a top-tier MLB talent.

The Tigers continue the glut of outfield talent with Tyler Collins, who won the National Junior College Athletic Asssociation Player of the Year from Howard College in Texas in 2011. He batted .488 (105-for-215) last spring with 34 doubles, 19 homers and 82 RBI. Collins was selected in the sixth round of the 2011 MLB draft and will likely be a trade piece before he makes it to the majors in Detroit.

Casey Crosby is another name Tigers fans should know, he has spent some time in the Detroit rotation the last several years. Crosby has struggled to stay healthy since being drafted in 2007, and following Tommy John's surgery in 2008 Crosby needs to get some innings under his belt. He possesses a heavy, mid-90's fastball and while he has a good curveball, he needs work to consistently throw it for strikes. A changeup adds depth to his repertoire, but it needs a bit of work still.

Eugenio Suarez breaks the outfielder daze, and the switch-hitting infielder is a breath of fresh air for the Tigers. Although Suarez is on the smaller side, but he possesses good defensive ability while also hitting well. It appears as though the Tigers scouts found gold with this IFA prospect. The lack of infield prospects and his good skill set should have him in the majors quickly.

Adam Wilk is yet another familiar name for Tigers fans. Wilk is a control pitcher, who does not have great velocity, but he does have great control. He consistently throws strikes, but it is hard to see Wilk as anything more than a bullpen pitcher who could see occasional spot starts.

Below is a graphic representation of the Detroit Tigers 2016 projected lineup, there is a text version further down the page.

Projected 2016 Detroit Tigers starting lineup

Catcher- Alex Avila
First Base- Prince Fielder
Second Base- Jhonny Peralta
Third Base- Nick Castellanos
Short Stop- Eugenio Suarez
Left Field- Austin Jackson
Center Field- Austin Schotts
Right Field- Avisail Garcia
Designated Hitter- Miguel Cabrera
No. 1 Starter- Justin Verlander
No. 2 Starter- Max Scherzer
No. 3 Starter- Doug Fister
No. 4 Starter- Drew Smyly
No. 5 Starter- Rick Porcello
Closer- Bruce Rondon

The Detroit Tigers need to clean house

By Sean Gagnier

In light of Francona's hiring by the Cleveland Indians, it would be the right move for Detroit to hire Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitching coach Mike Butcher as the next manager.

Mike Illich is a fiercely loyal man, it is evident in the way that he treats members of the two sports teams that he owns. He knows family comes first and he will go out of his way to make sure everyone is in the best place, but it might be time for him to change his tune.

Indictment of Dave Dombrowski

Last season general manager Dave Dombrowski signed a four-year contract extension with the Tigers through the 2015 season. That however, may have been a bit premature.

It is known that the Prince Fielder trade reeks of Illich, meaning that he was tired of Dombrowski not pulling the trigger and did so himself. That was the first indication that things may be amiss in Tigertown. Dombrowksi told Tigers fans during Tiger Fest that he and the team were not pursuing Fielder and that he would not be a good fit for the club. Needless to say, Dombrowski was probably just as surprised as the rest of the baseball world when Fielder signed.

With the addition of Fielder to a club that was largely intact after a American League Championship Series run the year prior, expectations were high for Dombrowski and the Tigers, but they never got the ball rolling. Instead of running away with the division, they struggled to sustain win streaks and trailed the Chicago White Sox most of the season. With a little less than two weeks remaining in the 2012 season the Tigers trailed the White Sox in the Central Division by two games and the Wild Card by four games.

2012 was supposed to be a cakewalk for Detroit, it was anything but. The team that Dombrowski fielded struggled and was never able to get things together on both sides of the ball at the same time. Despite Illich's vote of confidence for Dombrowski in 2011 with his contact extension, the Tigers struggles could be grounds for early termination.

It took Dombrowski until August of the 2012 season to realize that he didn't have a second baseman on the roster, and when he did make a trade at the deadline he acquired yet another right-handed pitcher and regained Omar Infante while giving up two of the three remaining bright lights in the Detroit farm system.

With the Tigers farm system consisting almost entirely of Nick Castellanos, Dombrowski is mismanaging that as well. Castellanos has long been a third baseman, where his arm and bat are both a plus, but Dombrowski has shifted him to the outfield where his bat, arm and defensive ability are no longer a plus. Instead of shifting Castellanos to one of the middle infield positions where his major league club struggles, Dombrowski insists on creating yet another young outfielder for Detroit.

Mismanagement of the farm system and overall incompetence should cost Dombrowski his job, it is simply a matter of if Mr. Illich can see just how far Dombrowski has driven this club into the ground.

The Old Man

It is not a lack of respect that requires manager Jim Leyland leave this team, it is his overall failings this season. Leyland insisted on playing a rotation of Brandon Inge, Ryan Raburn, Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth at second base, even admitting to mishandling Inge before doing the same thing with Raburn.

Countless failed roster lineups and explanations of those lineups that are beyond convoluted. When a player, Raburn, is hitting .160, it doesn't matter where he is playing or what he has done there in the past, he won't hit.

Aside from lineups, is Leyland's complete misuse of the Tigers bullpen throughout the season. Relievers are brought into games when they are not needed and Leyland has bought wholeheartedly into his friend, Tony La Russa's system of using pitchers for single outs and matchups. This piecemeal approach to relievers is outdated and damaging to the team. When your starter is still going strong or the reliever on the mound has struck out his last two batters, why take them out for the lefty reliever other than because of "the system?"

Perhaps it is his advanced age, but Leyland has a nasty habit of leaving some relievers in games much longer than any sane person should. It is one thing to leave a reliever on the mound who is hot, it is another entirely to leave a pitcher on the mound who is in the process of imploding. Take the Tigers early season collapse against the Seattle Mariners, Octavio Dotel couldn't find the plate and everyone except for Leyland apparently could see that. But Leyland allowed the game to get out of hand before he even placed a call to the bullpen.

The man knows baseball, but he seems to have lost a step and his mojo this season and for that he needs to get the boot after his contract expires after this season in order for this Tigers team to perform to it's potential.

The Replacements

With both Dombrowski and Leyland needing to be shown the door, there will need to be two new faces in Detroit. Personally, there is an affinity for the philosophy of Billy Beane, it's working in Oakland right now, and with the lack of talent in the farm system it is that philosophy that could save this club.

Billy Beane isn't leaving Oakland and Theo Epstein is comfortable in Chicago, but there is another. He currently works as the special assistant to New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson and has eight years of general manager experience, his name is J.P. Ricciardi.

Ricciardi has bought into the "moneyball" philosophy and had his Toronto Blue Jays competing in the American League East each season, not finishing as high as he would have liked, but each Blue Jays team would have fared well in the much weaker American League Central.

If Ricciardi could come into the Tigers organization and add some young, cheap talent then he would be worlds better than Dombrowski ever was and could have the Tigers on the road to actually winning something.

Of course a general manager with no manager isn't likely to win many games, so Detroit must look to add someone who is different than Leyland, someone who understands how to use pitchers and how to set lineups. It appears that there could be quite a few openings for major league managing positions, but there is one name that has been thrown around Tigertown that could really shake things up, Terry Francona.

Francona has two World Series rings from the Boston Red Sox and understands how to run a club filled with big names and big contracts. Experience aside, Francona has had some history with the Tigers, serving as a coach in the past and even throwing batting practice to a young Prince Fielder at Tiger Stadium.

He has said that he would consider coaching again if the right job presented itself, and what better option could there be than a former club with three superstars and a legitimate shot at a World Series title in a town that loves the game? Let Tito watch begin.     

Tigers Farm System Ranks Near Bottom in MLB

By Sean Gagnier

ESPN's Keith Law recently ranked all of the farm systems in Major League Baseball, and the Detroit Tigers didn't fair that well. Law had the Tigers ranked as No. 24 out of the 30 teams and their farm systems; there were only two redeeming parts of the farm system that kept it from falling lower than 24th.

The Tigers, Law said, were similar to the Philadelphia Phillies farm system, but are even thinner. There are quite a few prospects at the lower levels, but trades have erased most talent in the upper levels. There is raw talent to be had in the Tigers system, but aside from two exceptions, none of it is finished or nearly finished.

Just two prospects saved Detroit's farm system from slipping even lower than it did; Nick Castellanos and Jacob Turner. Turner, 21, is ranked No. 29 among all prospects. The right-handed pitching prospect has had the uber-prospect thrown on him in the past, but several MLB outings have proved that he is in need of more time in the minor leagues.

Castellanos, 20, is ranked as the No. 37 prospect in all of the MLB. He has torn up the minors at every stop he has made in his young career, hitting over .400 in Single-A Lakeland this season and batting over .300 at Double-A Erie. Castellanos is one of the most highly regarded Tigers prospects ever, with comparisons being drawn to Evan Longoria. If he can turn out to be a Longoria, the Tigers will be incredibly lucky.

He has been playing some games in the outfield lately for Erie, but is still considered to be a third base prospect and Dave Dombrowski says that is where he plans to play him for the foreseeable future. It wouldn't be the first time a highly touted third baseman made a transition to the outfield (see Ryan Braun), and that didn't turn out all that badly.

Detroit needs to address positional deficiencies in the system in the draft and consider stopping the nearly constant flow of prospects out of town for rental players for the major league club. If they're going to trade prospects away, they need to be signing the major league players they get in return.    

Tigers Nick Castellanos Must Stay at Third Base

Originally published on http://blog.detroitathletic.com/

By Sean Gagnier

It’s no mystery that the Detroit Tigers have a gaping black hole at second base, with no sign of anyone being able to fill the void. The Tigers have tried using Scott Sizemore (although they gave up pretty fast), Will Rhymes, Ramon Santiago, Brandon Inge and Danny Worth and none of them have been able to step in and take control of the position. It is because of this that Tigers fans are grasping at straws trying to find some fix for second, but they’re favorite “solution” just won’t work.

No matter how much Tigers fans pine for and argue for it, Nick Castellanos will not and should not become the second baseman in Detroit. Yes, he is having an incredible offensive season, but he has never played second base, and contrary to public belief, it isn’t exactly an easy job to just start doing.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski has repeatedly said that Castellanos will continue to play third base in the minors, because that is what he is, a third baseman.

Some people point out that Castellanos is too big to play second. While he is 6’4” and 210 lbs, he isn’t the only big guy to have the option to play second; Cal Ripken, Jr. was a big guy too and he played shortstop.
But his size isn’t the factor; he’s just too good of a prospect at third base for them to be messing with. Think about Evan Longoria, and you have a good comparison for Castellanos. In 298 at-bats during the 2012 season (through late June), Castellanos has 113 hits, a .379 batting average, with a .421 on-base percentage, .544 slugging and .965 on-base percentage plus slugging.

He’s on fire this season, having moved up from Single-A Lakeland to Double-A Erie and hasn’t missed a beat. While he should not be hurried along to the majors any time soon, he is proving that he truly is the “can’t miss” prospect that the Tigers think he is.

But how do the Tigers use him when they are ready to have him in the majors? They have an All-Star in Miguel Cabrera at third base and another All-Star, who they just invested more than $200 million in at first in Prince Fielder. Where does Castellanos fit in? the answer? Right where he is – at third base.

Victor Martinez (remember him?) has two years remaining on his contract in Detroit, once that expires Tigers fans should expect to see Castellanos joining the major league club. When healthy, Martinez is a great designated hitter, hitting over .400 last season with runners in scoring position and filling in for Alex Avila early in the year to give him some rest. But Martinez will be 35, going on 36, in 2014 and will not be worth the amount of money he will want in a new deal.

Castellanos fills that hole left by Martinez for Detroit. The Tigers have seen that Fielder is, to put it nicely, not the best defensively at first base, and Cabrera is not much better at third. However, when Cabrera was at first base he fielded his position well, which is why he needs to be placed back there.

With Cabrera back at first base and Castellanos filling his vacated position at third base, that leaves Fielder without an every day job. While he has said that he does not want to be a designated hitter, his defensive play has shown that he should not be the everyday first baseman because he will cost the team runs. At DH he can contribute offensively, which he has been able to do this season, without costing Detroit runs in the field.

If that scenario plays out – and it’s the best path for the Tigers to follow – come ’14 the club will feature a lineup of Miggy at 1B, Fielder at DH, and Castellanos at 3B.

Starlin Castro to the Tigers?

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

It's probably safe to say that the Chicago Cubs will not be winning much of anything this season, and because of that, they will most likely be sellers at the trade deadline to try to build up their stockpiles of young talent. Chicago has plenty of talent available that is enticing enough that other teams will come calling; Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster and Alfonso Soriano.

One player that has long been on the Cubs "untouchable" list is Starlin Castro, their phenom short stop. But with the Cubs in need of young talent to restock the club, Castro could prove to be just too much of a cash cow for them not to use.

Castro would bring in top prospects into the Cubs organization and General Manager Theo Epstein has shown in Boston that he is not afraid to trade talent to get talent back. The 22-year-old short stop will more than likely have his name come up many times before the trade deadline passes, and if the team that mentions his name is willing to offer enough for him, then the Cubs could part ways with Castro.

A player the caliber of Castro would require at least two top-tier prospects to begin to grease the wheels, it may take even more to land him. ESPN's Buster Olney says that the number of prospects that Castro could be worth will depend on where other teams see him playing defensively in the future. Olney says that during his time at short stop he is making too many mistakes, but his bat is a plus at the position. Should the teams think to move Castro to third base, his defensive numbers improve but his bat becomes only average at the position.

But as of now the Cubs are playing Castro at short stop and that is most likely what he will continue to play; at short stop just about every team would be able to make room for him, including the Detroit Tigers. Detroit has been rumored to have been in contact with Epstein since he made the trip from Boston in regards to acquiring RHP Matt Garza.

Garza could easily slip into the second or third spot in the Tigers pitching rotation and give them a boost, but it would be irresponsible for Detroit to not inquire about the availability of Castro. While a deal for Garza was rumored to take top-prospect Jacob Turner and current right fielder Brennan Boesch; a deal for both Garza and Castro would take just about everything the Tigers have in the farm system.

With Detroit's farm system as lean as it is a deal for Garza and Castro would more than likely take Turner, Boesch, top positional prospect Nick Castellanos and catching prospect Rob Brantly. The cost may be staggering for the Tigers, but if they truly are in a win now type of situation, then this is a deal that could likely happen.

What Do Tigers Do With Nick Castellanos?

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

At the beginning of the 2012 season many Tigers fans were lamenting their team's defense, it was thought that the Miguel Cabrera experiment at third base wouldn't last 100 games because of his poor play - now that that has been proven false the Tigers are left with a problem, what to do with star third base prospect Nick Castellanos.

The Tigers are high on Castellanos, which explains why they drafted him 44th overall in the 2010 MLB Draft, but they drafted him as a third baseman and eventual replacement for Brandon Inge. Well, two things have changed. Inge is no longer with the team, and an all-star took his spot at third for the foreseeable future.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski has said in the past that they would continue to develop Castellanos as a third baseman, but that was before Cabrera showed that he could field the hot corner admirably. The question has continued to press on Dombrowski about Castellanos' future; he was moved from Single-A West Michigan to Single-A+ Lakeland this season and has tore the place up.

The Lakeland Flying Tigers have played Castellanos in all 34 games this season, at third base, but in those games he has had 134 at-bat's and has responded with a .403 batting average a .450 on-base percentage and a 1.009 on-base percentage plus slugging. In short, he's really good.

It is obvious that it is time to move Castellanos up a league to Double-A Erie, but when that move comes does he make the trip to Pennsylvania as a third baseman, shortstop or second baseman? With Cabrera occupying the hot corner at present and looking like he likely won't relinquish it any time soon it appears that Castellanos needs to be moved to a new position, but what?

Detroit just resigned Jhonny Peralta to a two-year extension, which means that shortstop is filled for the time being but that could change in the next couple of seasons. Castellanos has played shortstop in his baseball career, it was in the distant past, but not impossible for him to move one spot over.

Second base is where the Tigers have the overwhelming majority of their problems at the moment. Currently on the major league roster Detroit has three "second basemen," in Ryan Raburn, Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth. Raburn has set a new standard for poor play this season, so he is clearly no threat to Castellanos. Santiago has been, and remains, a utility player and backup at best, meaning that he is not and never will be an every day player.

Worth is still a bit of an enigma for Detroit as they have not gotten him enough at-bat's to be able to tell what they have in him, but even if he settles in and solves the Tigers problems at second for the time being, it would be hard to favor him over the kind of talent that Castellanos brings.

According to Baseball America, Castellanos is the Tigers second best prospect in their system right behind Jacob Turner. He is also ranked as the best hitter for average and best power hitter in the Tigers entire farm system. The projections came out prior to the Prince Fielder deal and Cabrera's shift to third base, but Baseball America has Castellanos projected to be the Tigers 2015 starting third baseman.

The same projection of the 2015 Tigers has Santiago as the starting second baseman, meaning that Detroit has no other options at that position. So if Cabrera, who is projected to be the 2015 first baseman, will still be playing and Detroit has no better options at second than Santiago, then Castellanos may have just found his spot.

Castellanos is not built in the typical second baseman form, he stands 6'4" and weighs 220 lbs., quite big for a second baseman. Although it is not unheard of for a second baseman to be 6'4", Cal Ripken was also 6'4" and 200 lbs., it is rare. With his power, a switch to second would draw comparisons of Dan Uggla for Castellanos.

Uggla stands 5'11" and weighs 205 lbs., but a comparison of Castellanos to Uggla would be a fair one. Both are power hitters who can field their position. Both have extra base power, after 34 games in Lakeland Castellanos has 15 extra base hits and both have obscenely good OPS numbers.

At third base Castellanos has drawn comparisons to Evan Longoria. Longoria is 6'2" and 210 lbs. and possesses the kind of power that many players dream of. If Castellanos can draw comparisons to both Longoria and Uggla, the Tigers need to hold onto him and treat him like the once in a lifetime prospect that he is.

Tigers Cut Pauley - How's That Trade Look Now?

 

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier
 
Last July the Tigers approached the trade deadline and pulled the trigger on a deal that sent right-handed pitcher Doug Fister and right-handed pitcher David Pauley to Detroit and sent left-handed reliever Charlie Furbush, outfielder Casper Wells, third base prospect Francisco Martinez and a player to be named later to the Pacific Northwest. The player to be named was relief pitcher Chance Ruffin.

On the surface the trade looked to be solid - the Tigers got a pitcher that statistically out pitched Justin Verlander in the second half of the season and a relief pitcher that had recently dominated out of the bullpen in Seattle. Some thought that with the inclusion of Ruffin to the deal the Tigers may have paid too much - and they may have just been proven right.

While Fister shone once the spotlight was on him, it was a different story entirely for Pauley. After being acquired Pauley struggled in his outings and because of this his playing time was drastically reduced by manager Jim Leyland.

Some thought that his struggles may have been short lived and he might be able to compete for a role in the bullpen coming out of spring training, but the same problems that effected Pauley last season continued to plague him in Lakeland, Fla. He struggled to find control and gave up too many hits for General Manager Dave Dombrowski and Leyland who cut him in the first round of roster cuts during spring training.

Looking back on the deal that sent Pauley to Detroit one has to wonder if the Tigers did pay too high of a price. While the acquisition of Fister is something that will benefit the Tigers for years in the future the question of the need of Pauley remains. Did Detroit really need to have him included in the deal? Did his addition to the trade tip the scales in favor of the Mariners in the end?

A breakdown of the trade looks like this - the Mariners were not going to part easily with Fister and would have required Furbush and Wells regardless of any players being included in the deal. The inclusion of Martinez to the trade may have still been needed to bring Fister to Detroit, but in any way the Tigers had top-prospect Nick Castellanos sitting at third base just a few seasons away from starting at the hot corner in Detroit. With Castellanos in the wings the Tigers deemed Martinez as expendable and included him in the deal.

That trade, a three-for-one deal, would have been acceptable for many Tigers fans and would have still benefited Detroit down the stretch. But the player-to-be-named-later inclusion pushed the scales in favor of Seattle. Chance Ruffin, the player who was named later, had shown in the minors that he had skill and could be a solid bullpen pitcher in the near future. He did not perform well in his time with the Tigers, mainly due to Leyland's penchant for throwing rookies into the game in high-pressure situations.

While it may take a number of years for Ruffin to make the big-leagues, when he does, he will prove to be a dependable arm out of the bullpen. If the Mariners hang on to the players they acquired in the Fister deal, they could come out quite ahead in this deal but as of now, with Pauley released and Ruffin sitting in Mariners' camp the balance of this trade is pointing towards Seattle.

Tigers top five prospects for 2012

Tigers 3B prospect Nick Castellanos will soon be a stalwart in the Detroit lineup

At one time the farm system of the Detroit Tigers resembled the system that the Kansas City Royals enjoy today, but through multiple trades - both good and bad, the Tigers farm system no longer has the same luster it once did.

However, the future is not entirely bleak, there are many bright spots on the farm for the Tigers including Jacob Turner, Nick Castellanos and Drew Smyly.

A majority of the stock the Tigers enjoy in the minors are pitchers but Detroit is flush with talent across the diamond as well; the five best of those prospects are listed below.

1. RHP Jacob Turner, 20
A first round pick in 2009 Turner has been a prized commodity in the Tigers farm system for years and has even cracked the big league roster - making three spot starts in 2011. In his three starts with the Tigers Turner has a 0-1 record and an inflated 8.53 ERA. His WHIP is in good shape through his time with Detroit at 1.65. Despite his praise and potential his name has been mentioned in trade talks - should he remain with Detroit in 2012 expect him to take the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

2. 3B Nick Castellanos, 19
He is the real deal. Tigers fans may agree to another season or two with Brandon Inge struggling his way to retirement just so that they can see Castellanos play. In his first full season in the minors he has proved to be everything that the Tigers wanted in him. He exhibits power to all fields and is an exceptional fielder at third, I stop short of calling him a "five-tools player" after seeing Moneyball. After a full 142 game minor league season Castellanos' BA is .313, hitting 7 HR and 76 RBI. An OBP of .367 shows that he is capable of getting on base consistently.

3. LHP Drew Smyly, 22
Smyly was also mentioned in the possible trade for Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland Athletics. In that trade A's General Manager Billy Beane wanted Turner, Castellanos and Smyly in return for Gonzalez. In 22 minor league starts last season, across high A ball and into AA Erie Smyly posted a 11-6 record with a 2.07 ERA, a 1.103 WHIP and 9.3 SO/9. If he continues on this path Smyly will find himself with a spot on the roster very soon.

4. LHP Casey Crosby, 23
He struggled with control throughout the 2011 season posting a 4.10 ERA for a career ERA of 3.55 and a 19-12 record. Crosby has shown, when healthy, that he is capable of being dominant, having a WHIP of 1.37 and a 1.89 SO/9. In the past he has had Tommy John surgery but like many pitchers has come back stronger than he was previously - expect to hear his name quite a bit in 2012.

5. C Rob Brantly, 22
Drafted in the third round of the 2010 draft Brantly is one of several impressive catching prospects the Tigers find themselves flush with. He has shown that he is capable with the bat and has shown that he has the ability to play effectively behind the plate. In his two years in the minors Brantly has posted a .988 fielding percentage and has caught 32 percent of runners attempting to steal off him. Offensively, Brantly is hitting .269 with a .333 OBP between Lakeland and West Michigan. With Gerald Laird only being signed through the 2012 season expect for Brantly to take over the back-up duties in 2013.