VoxBlog

LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers and the city of Lakeland have a relationship that dates to 1934. The Tigers are under contract to stay in Lakeland until at least 2036. It has been a fruitful arrangement between team and city, even as other clubs have uprooted and left central Florida for destinations on the coasts.

Advertisement

There are many reasons the relationship has worked and lasted so long. Legend has it one of those reasons is the fact Polk County was dry until 1963. Back in the day, team officials liked the idea of players staying away from drinking and thus out of trouble. Of course, that did not stop anyone from driving into Hillsborough County and bootlegging a case of beer back to the hotel. Rocky Colavito used to crush the steel cans with his bare hands.

Times have changed but the Tigers and Lakeland remain. Spring training these days is a time for work, and most players treat their bodies like temples. Pitchers and catchers have their first official workout Wednesday, though most are already in town and throwing on the back fields.

Here is a closer look at each player in camp as the Tigers begin another spring in their second home.

Catchers 

An asterisk indicates the player is a non-roster invitee.

Eric Haase: Likely Detroit’s top option at catcher, Haase has a 162-game average of 28 home runs over the past two seasons. Whether he improves on defense — particularly when it comes to pitch framing — will be the big question this year.

Jake Rogers: Back from Tommy John surgery, Rogers could reestablish himself as a building block in the best-case scenario. But in order to crack the Opening Day roster, he’ll have to shake off some rust and hit. The strong-armed catcher was trending up and had a .239 batting average before his surgery in 2021.

Donny Sands: It will be interesting to get a look at Sands, acquired as part of the Gregory Soto trade, starting this week in camp. The Tigers supposedly like his receiving skills behind the plate, and he hit .308 with a .411 on-base percentage last season in the minors. Might he have a roster case of his own?

Dillon Dingler*: The 2020 draft pick lost some shine after a rough year at the plate in Double A. He still hit 14 home runs and had a .333 on-base percentage, but his 143 strikeouts were cause for concern. We’ll see where his development stands in 2023.

Advertisement

Mario Feliciano*: He’s probably organizational depth, but he’s more interesting than you might think on the surface. Feliciano hit .274 with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate last season. He doesn’t walk much but was once ranked as high as No. 3 on Brewers prospect lists.

Andrew Knapp*: A veteran of 325 MLB games, the switch hitting Knapp brings experience the Tigers otherwise lack at catcher. He probably doesn’t have the upside of Rogers or Sands and has been a slightly below-average pitch framer in the past.

Michael Papierski*: He played 39 MLB games with the Giants and Reds last season. On paper, his biggest strength is a track record of double-digit walk rates in the minor leagues.

Julio E. Rodriguez*: The former Cardinals farmhand has never played above Double A but has a career .264 average and .333 on-base percentage in the minors. His 11 homers last season in Double A were a career high.

Pitchers

Tyler Alexander: The trusty left-hander from the 2015 draft is suddenly one of the organization’s longest-serving members. Alexander has done anything and everything that’s been asked of him over the past few years. This season, chances are he’ll be able to focus on coming out of the bullpen. Arm trouble contributed to a tough year in 2022, but Alexander’s cutter is nasty when it’s right.

Matthew Boyd: Back in Detroit, we’ll get to see what changes Boyd has made since his flexor tendon surgery in 2021. He threw only 13 1/3 innings last season with the Mariners. Look for a revamped changeup to be Boyd’s key to success.

Beau Brieske: The late-blooming right-hander had a 4.19 ERA in 15 starts last season. Opponents hit only .173 against his changeup, but unlocking his slider would take Brieske to a higher level. He’s projected to start this season in the bullpen.

José Cisnero: Easy to forget how good Cisnero was last season after he returned from injury. He had a 1.08 ERA in 25 innings. He throws in the upper 90s and can be tough to hit when his slider is working. He could contend for the closer job.

Advertisement

Mason Englert: It will be interesting to see if the Tigers are truly intent on carrying their Rule 5 pick on the roster. Englert is a starter by nature but would more likely fill a long relief role with the Tigers. He had a 3.64 ERA in the Rangers’ system last season.

Alex Faedo: Faedo returned from Tommy John surgery in strong fashion last season, posting a 2.92 ERA over his first seven starts. His performance waned into the summer, and a hip injury ended his season. Opponents had an average exit velocity of 91.1 mph against him last season, so Faedo will need to limit hard contact to earn a spot on this roster.

Jason Foley: Foley was a stabilizing force in last season’s bullpen. He throws a sinker with nasty characteristics more than 60 percent of the time, but his whiff percentage ranked in the bottom 1 percentile among MLB pitchers. He’ll need to improve his slider and generate more swinging strikes in order to take the next step.

Rony García: The 2019 Rule 5 draft pick has thrown only 54 2/3 innings over the past two seasons. His biggest strengths are his curveball and capability for long relief and spot starts. On the flip side, he gave up a ton of hard contact and had a 6.33 xERA last season.

Garrett Hill: A slight mechanical tweak and a move to the bullpen had Hill’s fastball jumping up to 96-97 mph late last season. Keep that in mind if the Tigers try Hill out of the bullpen in spring. Previously, Hill had a low 90s fastball and profiled more as a depth piece.

Alex Lange: Lange has dynamic stuff, and his curveball that generated a 57.8 percent whiff rate was truly an elite swing-and-miss pitch last season. If Lange wants to seize the closer job, he’ll have to improve his strike throwing, though. His first-pitch strike percentage fell from 63 percent in 2021 to 54.8 in 2022.

Michael Lorenzen: The Tigers signed Lorenzen to a one-year deal this offseason in hopes he can round out their rotation. He had a 4.24 ERA overall last season with the Angels but thrived in September, posting a 2.36 ERA after altering his pitch mix and arm slot.

Advertisement

Matt Manning: It’s a big year for the former first-round pick. Manning’s 6.9 K/9 is too low for a guy who came up as a power pitcher. But Manning still has moments where you can see serious potential. Opponents hit only .198 against his fastball last season. When he has a feel for the slider, he can be dangerous.

Casey Mize: The No. 1 pick in 2018 had Tommy John surgery last June. There’s an outside chance he could return to action by the end of the year, though 2024 is probably the safer bet. In Lakeland, we’ll see how far along he is in the rehab process.

Reese Olson: The sneaky-good trade acquisition in return for Daniel Norris at the 2021 trade deadline has a legit shot to pitch in the majors this year. Occasional command lapses are still a concern, but he averaged an eye-popping 12.6 K/9 last season as a starter in Double A.

Eduardo Rodriguez: With last summer’s odd absence behind him, the Tigers need Rodriguez to pitch like a frontline starter. He’s likely to get the ball on Opening Day, and his contract opt-out at the end of this season is likely to be a topic all year.

Tarik Skubal: Skubal was on his way to a breakout year before flexor tendon surgery sent him to the shelf. We still haven’t gotten a tangible timeline, but chances are Skubal is out until at least midsummer.

Spencer Turnbull: Turnbull, meanwhile, should be ready to go after spending all last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. It may take time before he’s himself again, but Turnbull threw a no-hitter in 2021 and had a 2.88 ERA the last time we saw him.

Edwin Uceta: The right-hander has a 6.27 ERA in 37 1/3 MLB innings, but he struck out 12.6 batters per nine innings last year in Triple A. The former Arizona Diamondback is a dark horse candidate to make the Tigers’ bullpen.

Will Vest: Vest was a quietly reliable relief option who pitched in a variety of situations for the Tigers last season. He had a 4.00 ERA and might benefit from leaning more on his secondary pitches — opponents hit only .211 against his slider and .161 against his changeup last season.

Advertisement

Joey Wentz: Wentz could be the next man up if a member of the Tigers’ rotation gets hurt. He had a 1.73 ERA in his final five starts last season and dazzled in the Arizona Fall League. Opponents hit only .154 against his cutter last season in the majors.

Brendan White: White was somewhat of a surprise to make the 40-man roster this offseason. That said, he had a 2.67 ERA in Double A last season and has a slider with a spin rate approaching 3,000 rpm. He probably starts the year in Triple A, but he’s proven people wrong before.

Elvis Alvarado*: He was once an outfielder in the Nationals system, then the Tigers got him from the Mariners in the Rule 5 draft. The right-handed pitcher has a fastball that can touch the upper 90s, and he posted sub-3.00 ERAs in Lakeland and West Michigan before earning a promotion to Double-A Erie last season. He’s a bit of a sleeper.

Kervin Castro*: The former San Francisco Giant has a 4.91 ERA in 25 2/3 MLB innings. Clearly, Scott Harris liked something about Castro enough to bring him over to the Tigers system. Castro made big strides with the Giants in 2021 before regressing last season.

Angel De Jesus*: The Tigers designated De Jesus for assignment this winter, but he’s sticking around in the organization. He quietly had a 2.13 ERA in eight appearances at the MLB level last season, and at 6-foot-4, his arm extension ranks in the 98th percentile.

Miguel Del Pozo*: The left-hander has done good work for the Tigers in Triple A each of the past two seasons. He pitched five games in the majors in 2021 but didn’t record an MLB appearance last year.

Miguel Diaz*: It was a bit surprising the Tigers didn’t give Diaz more of a chance last season given all their injuries. He’s a right-hander who limited lefty batters to a .172 batting average with the Pirates in 2021. He pitched only 3 2/3 MLB innings at the tail end of last season.

Advertisement

Brenan Hanifee*: Hanifee was once a top-30 prospect in the Orioles system before Tommy John surgery did him in. He had a 4.03 ERA and 8.3 K/9 last year with Baltimore’s Double-A affiliate.

Zach Logue*: Logue is one of several non-roster lefties vying for a roster spot. After rising up the Blue Jays system, he was traded to the A’s, where he struggled mightily last year. He had a 6.79 ERA in the majors and an 8.12 ERA in Triple A.

Chasen Shreve*: Shreve has pitched parts of nine seasons in the big leagues and has a 3.87 career ERA. He had a rough year last season with the Mets even though opponents hit only .128 off his patented splitter. He could have a real chance to earn a spot in the bullpen.

Trey Wingenter*: Wingenter is the epitome of a spring-training flier. Back in 2019 with the Padres, the right-hander used a hard fastball and wipeout slider to create a whiff rate that ranked in MLB’s 98th percentile. Arm surgery and back surgery have him on the comeback trail. His stuff is enticing, but his command was a worry even before the injuries.

Adam Wolf*: The left-hander had a 2.72 ERA in Erie last season. He stands 6-foot-6 and modeled his cutter after Mariano Rivera’s while in college at Louisville. He missed time with surgery earlier in his minor-league career and is looking to put himself back on the radar.

Matt Wisler*: A late addition to the mix, the Tigers agreed to a minor-league deal with Wisler on Monday, though the move has not yet been made official. Wisler had a 2.25 ERA for the Rays last season, though dips in his strikeout rate and velocity presented the Rays with concern. He benefited from an opposing BABIP of .198 and leans heavily on his slider, throwing it 91.5 percent of the time last season.

(Top photo of Eduardo Rodriguez: Allison Farrand / Detroit Tigers)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k2pwbGxiZnxzfJFsZmlqX2aBcMDIoJyrq12ovbO1zaBkraqRnruqusZmp6Ksk52ys7%2BMnJitm5iav7R7