Detroit Tigers Minor League Recap: Week Two Highlights and Standouts
Welcome back to another week of the Detroit Tigers Minor League Recap! In this edition, we’ll be covering the performances and highlights of Week Two, with some updates on how our favorite prospects are faring in the Tigers’ system. We’ll also discuss a few standout players who caught our attention this week.
Triple-A Toledo
Justyn-Henry Malloy continues to hit. He hit .412 during the series against Louisville. So let’s break that down a bit.
7-for-17, four singles, two doubles, home run.
Season: Average exit velocity: 92.2MPH. Average launch angle: 14.7. BABIP .486 WRC+ 185
Line Drive: 27.3% Groundball: 48.5% Flyball: 24.2%
Malloy mentioned in our interview with us earlier in the year how he will wait for the right pitch. The patience at the plate is there, posting a 23.4% walk rate. However, so far early on, he has been mainly a line drive/groundball hitter. His flyball rate is lower than his short stint at Gwinnett, but it could be simply the weather. He isn’t a power hitter by trade, but you would like to see the groundball rate drop a bit in order for him to be effective at the next level.
Justyn-Henry Malloy picks up his first extra-base hit of the season and ties the game for Toledo on this deep drive to right center. pic.twitter.com/lmQUQLAWqv
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 11, 2023
Double-A Erie
Gage Workman was named the Eastern League Player of the Week and rightfully so, after putting up an impressive week against Altoona.
8-for-18, two singles, two doubles, two triples, two home runs, six RBIs, four walks, five strikeouts
wRC+ 252 (Ranked 2nd in the Tigers system)
He has been working on cutting his strikeouts since the end of last season after struggling in August. He continues his good trend since fall ball. Granted, it is still early, but the signs are there that Workman is trending upward. When we saw him on our live looks last week, Workman was barreling up the ball better.
Gage Workman with his first home run of the season to center. pic.twitter.com/SD6Ndr7jgK
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 12, 2023
As predicted on our podcast last night! Congrats to @gagework9 on a great week! https://t.co/iDraZQlfyX https://t.co/Ekin1x68LF
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 17, 2023
High-A West Michigan
The Whitecaps have several batters who are off to hot starts. Ben Malgeri continued the minor league trend from Gage Workman and picked up the Midwest League Player of the Week.
8-for-19, two singles, four doubles, one triple, one home run.
wRC+ 285. (leads the Tigers minor league system)
Chris Brown was out in Lansing last week for a live look, and this is what he said about Malgeri’s at-bats.
“Malgeri provided the lone run of the game, turning on an inside fastball from Iriarte and driving it deep over the left field wall. He shows above-average bat speed, but his power was a bit surprising. Malgeri struck out in his next two at-bats, struggling in particular with sliders away from him. He showed good range and speed in center field”.
Congratulations to @benmalgeri on being named the @MiLB Midwest League Player of the Week! Malgeri is batting .421/.478/.895 in his last five games, including four doubles, a triple and a home run. Go Caps! pic.twitter.com/gHOkrOBJ6g
— West Michigan Whitecaps (@wmwhitecaps) April 17, 2023
He has been sharing time with Roberto Campos, who is also off to a good start. The 19-year-old hit his first High-A home run, an opposite field shot in Lansing last week, continuing his improvement on his swing mechanics he talked about during the off-season. He hasn’t looked overmatched so far in his short time in High-A.
Roberto Campos with a hard line drive single to the opposite field. pic.twitter.com/jmo6lH5Fhq
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 15, 2023
6-for-20, three singles, two doubles, one home run.
wRC+ 147
In the outfield, for his size, he moves well and has handled centerfield so far in the times he has started.
Worth noting:
Izaac Pacheco loves Jackson Field. He homered in three straight games last week and last season, his first two career High-A home runs were in Lansing.
Izaac Pacheco with a bomb to dead center. It’s his second home run of the series, and the season. pic.twitter.com/CNzy8gRLO9
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 15, 2023
Jerry McKennan