The Detroit Tigers are now in the postseason, and the way they arrived here is a lot different from their last trip, back in 2014. The Tigers have completely overhauled a player development system since then and as a result, 12 of the 16 rookies who have played this season were homegrown.
Al Avila deserves credit for drafting most of these players. But there are countless scouts and player development people behind the scenes who have played a role in the success of Detroit this season.
So let’s look at the 2024 Tigers farm system and see how players who performed at each level helped lead Detroit to a playoff berth.
Farm System Rankings
| Tm | Lg | Lev | PAge | R/G | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | BK | WP | BF | WHIP | H9 | HR9 | BB9 | SO9 | SO/W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSL Tigers 2 | DOSL | FRk | 19.0 | 4.00 | 38 | 18 | .679 | 3.62 | 56 | 56 | 55 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 445.0 | 397 | 224 | 179 | 19 | 142 | 1 | 419 | 60 | 8 | 75 | 1868 | 1.211 | 8.0 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 8.5 | 2.95 |
| DSL Tigers 1 | DOSL | FRk | 19.4 | 5.57 | 30 | 26 | .536 | 5.21 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 443.2 | 427 | 312 | 257 | 11 | 289 | 1 | 428 | 54 | 19 | 135 | 2041 | 1.614 | 8.7 | 0.2 | 5.9 | 8.7 | 1.48 |
| FCL Tigers | FCL | Rk | 21.0 | 4.78 | 34 | 23 | .596 | 4.43 | 58 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 479.1 | 451 | 277 | 236 | 30 | 289 | 0 | 450 | 49 | 18 | 63 | 2150 | 1.544 | 8.5 | 0.6 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 1.56 |
| Lakeland Flying Tigers | FLOR | A | 23.0 | 4.12 | 80 | 50 | .615 | 3.76 | 130 | 130 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1107.0 | 931 | 535 | 462 | 78 | 465 | 2 | 1195 | 127 | 20 | 93 | 4732 | 1.261 | 7.6 | 0.6 | 3.8 | 9.7 | 2.57 |
| West Michigan Whitecaps | MIDW | A+ | 23.7 | 4.03 | 68 | 63 | .519 | 3.58 | 131 | 131 | 131 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1141.1 | 958 | 528 | 454 | 86 | 459 | 3 | 1164 | 72 | 16 | 83 | 4828 | 1.242 | 7.6 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 9.2 | 2.54 |
| Erie SeaWolves | EL | AA | 25.3 | 3.92 | 77 | 58 | .570 | 3.51 | 135 | 135 | 135 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1186.0 | 1011 | 529 | 463 | 113 | 460 | 3 | 1297 | 56 | 10 | 61 | 4986 | 1.240 | 7.7 | 0.9 | 3.5 | 9.8 | 2.82 |
| Toledo Mud Hens | IL | AAA | 26.6 | 5.32 | 69 | 80 | .463 | 5.08 | 149 | 149 | 149 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1289.1 | 1305 | 793 | 728 | 162 | 643 | 7 | 1461 | 88 | 8 | 73 | 5804 | 1.511 | 9.1 | 1.1 | 4.5 | 10.2 | 2.27 |
| Affiliate Totals | 4.47 | 396 | 318 | .555 | 4.11 | 715 | 715 | 714 | 1 | 0 | 158 | 6091.2 | 5480 | 3198 | 2779 | 499 | 2747 | 17 | 6414 | 506 | 99 | 583 | 26409 | 1.351 | 8.1 | 0.7 | 4.1 | 9.5 | 2.33 |
The DSL 1 and DSL 2 Tigers both finished over .500 this season, with the DSL 2 squad clinching a playoff berth. Detroit has long struggled to produce players on the international side, that may be changing soon. And two signs of that change were Keider Montero and Wenceel Pérez, who both got their start on the 2017 Dominican Summer League squad.
Montero, outside of Skubal, was the other steady presence in the starting rotation. And Perez, the former infielder, ended up being a plus defender in right field to the tune of four Outs Above Average.
FCL TigersÂ
The FCL Tigers took home the championship this season and have a few players who made enough noise to reach our Top 31 prospect list. Franyerber Montilla now ranks 12th on our list, which is one of our highest rankings for someone who has never played above Single-A ball. He hit .273/.409/.448 with an OPS of .857 in complex ball. While he struggled at first when he was promoted to Lakeland, he hit his stride at the right time, going 9-for-30 in September, with the vast majority of those hits coming in the postseason.
Back in 2019, when it was still the GCL (Gulf Coast League), Kerry Carpenter took home the league MVP award. He batted .319 and led the league in home runs (nine), total bases (100), slugging percentage (.625) and OPS (1.033) in 43 games.Â
Connecticut Tigers
Back when the Norwich Sea Unicorns were the Connecticut Tigers, the 2019 squad featured Riley Greene, Ryan Kreidler and Kerry Carpenter, who was there just for a handful of games. Pitching there was Montero and Jack O’Loughlin, now in the Athletics organization, who was signed out of Australia by the Tigers in 2016. Perez and Meadows were also there in 2018, but Meadows spent just six games before getting promoted to then Single-A West Michigan.Â
Lakeland Flying Tigers
The Flying Tigers missed the playoffs in the first half by a half game with a roster that included Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Josue Briceno before his knee injury. Even with the graduation of Clark and McGonigle, Lakeland continued to roll on, finishing 80-50, the best mark among all Tigers affiliates at a .615 winning percentage.
There were several pitching standouts on the Flying Tigers this season. Rayner Castillo, who is heading to the Arizona Fall League, led a mix of starters and relievers that were second only to Palm Beach, the team they faced in the championship, in walks given up by a team. Andrew Sears, Zack Lee, and most notably, left-handers Jake Miller and Gabriel Reyes, were pitchers that drew up big strikeout numbers.Â
Among the current Tigers, both Brant Hurter and Jackson Jobe were on the 2022 Lakeland pitching rotation. It stands out for Hurter, who was drafted in the 7th round in 2021, as he would advance three levels that season, finishing the year in Erie.
West Michigan Whitecaps
The role West Michigan plays in player development changed in 2021 when short-season ball was eliminated. The Whitecaps then became the High-A affiliate, and their first season at LMCU Park would see a good amount of the current roster on the team.
But before we get to that, the Whitecaps this season stayed in the playoff race in the second half of the season until fading in the final two weeks. Nevertheless, prospect wise, there were several performances that stood out.Â
Jaden Hamm took home the Pitcher of the Year award after finishing with an ERA of 2.64 with 122 strikeouts in 99 innings of work. Joining him is Garrett Burhenn, who was there only for seven starts but put together a good season after he was promoted to Erie.
Yosber Sanchez was impressive out of the pen, striking out 47 in 39 innings pitched while allowing just one home run. Thayron Liranzo quickly made an impact on the Whitecaps after coming over in the Jack Flaherty trade, providingthe Tigers with another option at first base or catcher in the future.Â
Now back to that 2021 Whitecaps roster. Spencer Torkelson, Dillon Dingler, Parker Meadows, Wenceel Perez, Keider Montero, Beau Brieske and former Tiger Andre Lipcius all were a part of the roster for significant periods of the season. Reese Olson, who the Tigers picked up in a trade with the Brewers for Daniel Norris, made his debut that season in the Tigers organization, starting in two starts before heading to Erie and sitting a franchise record for most strikeouts in a season.
We will dive into Erie and Toledo in part 2.
Chris Brown