Over the last week, we have focused on the 2024 seasons of the Detroit Tigers affiliates and highlighted the journey that some of these players have taken on the road to Detroit. While starting this series of articles, we wanted to do our due diligence and make sure as we got to the higher levels that we covered the details of development. The last stop to this series are the Toledo Mud Hens.
Ever since Scott Harris has arrived in Detroit, the way Toledo as an affiliate was used, changed. The purpose is still the same, the final stop before players get to Detroit, but in the past, sometimes, players would skip Triple-A all together. A player working on their issues such as Spencer Torkelson’s swing to Parker Meadows figuring it out at the plate, that process is nothing new.
What was the plan?
But Harris and the staff seem to use Toledo differently. From having a catcher call the pitches for Jackson Jobe based on instructions from upper management to trying out what ultimately the long term position for a player is (Justin Henry-Malloy, Jace Jung, Eddys Leonard), Harris has changed the plan accordingly.
When Malloy was set to get more reps in the outfield last season, he was still seeing time at third. Ryan Kreilder started his utility route in Toledo, same as Leonard, when he was picked up from the Dodgers.
“Our path forward has to depend on young hitters getting opportunity to make adjustments and demonstrate that they can really help us moving forward,” Harris said on the Tigers’ Have a Seat podcast. “That’s the path we chose over the last 20 months I’ve been here.”
The one aspect under Harris that does not seem to fit the normal box score stat line is the pitching staff. The numbers at Toledo have not added up at the big league level, which has been a good thing.
Toledo at arms
Looking at the numbers, there is one thing that pitchers like Beau Brieske, Sean Guenther, Ty Madden and Keider Montero have in common and that is high K per 9 numbers. Toledo led the International League in K per 9 and also, oddly enough, among the top 4 teams in walks per 9 with 4.49.
| Rk | Name | Age | 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 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Beau Brieske | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.95 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21.1 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 91 | 1.406 | 8.0 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 9.3 | 2.00 | |
| 11 | Sean Guenther* | 28 | 4 | 4 | .500 | 3.31 | 39 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 51.2 | 51 | 28 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 52 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 222 | 1.277 | 8.9 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 9.1 | 3.47 | |
| 12 | Brenan Hanifee | 26 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 5.17 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 47.0 | 47 | 29 | 27 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 204 | 1.298 | 9.0 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 10.1 | 3.79 | |
| 14 | Brant Hurter* | 25 | 2 | 4 | .333 | 5.80 | 19 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71.1 | 82 | 49 | 46 | 8 | 23 | 0 | 70 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 323 | 1.472 | 10.3 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 8.8 | 3.04 | |
| 15 | Jackson Jobe | 21 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 6.00 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 1.889 | 12.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 1.40 | |
| 20 | Ty Madden | 24 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 7.97 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79.0 | 100 | 73 | 70 | 17 | 40 | 0 | 102 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 370 | 1.772 | 11.4 | 1.9 | 4.6 | 11.6 | 2.55 | |
| 27 | Casey Mize | 27 | 0 | 0 | 2.63 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 54 | 1.024 | 6.6 | 0.0 | 2.6 | 11.2 | 4.25 | ||
| 28 | Keider Montero | 23 | 1 | 4 | .200 | 5.03 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48.1 | 52 | 28 | 27 | 5 | 30 | 0 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 224 | 1.697 | 9.7 | 0.9 | 5.6 | 10.1 | 1.80 | |
| 44 Players | 26.8 | 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 |
The mandate throughout the organization is to control the strike zone. Both Toledo and Erie got the message, as Erie also was among the top 3 in K per 9. So what were the end results of the call-ups of Hurter, Guenther, Hanifee and Madden?
The Tigers from June 1 until July 31, out of the bullpen, had a K per 9 of 8.56, walk per 9 of 3.12 and an ERA of 4.05 over 213 innings of work. Since August 1 until the end of the season, Detroit’s bullpen posted a lower K per 9 of 7.71 but dropped their walk per 9 to 1.98 and posted a ERA of 2.71 over 286 innings of work, good for a fWAR of 4.0, compared to their 0.6 fWAR from June 1 until July 31.
Whether it is the final touches from Chris Fetter and the rest of the pitching staff, there is a lot to glean from just ERA and WHIP from the Mud Hens staff.
The Mud Hens 9 overview
Dillon Dingler put together his best offensive season in a Mud Hens uniform, hitting .308/.379/.559 with 17 home runs before getting the call-up to Detroit. The one player that we got asked about the most who put together a hell of a season for Toledo was Andrew Navigato. He, along with Dingler, were named to the International League All-Star squad, batted all over the Mud Hens order, hitting .271/.363/.559, with 21 home runs, stole 22 bases and had a WRC+ of 124.
Andrew Navigato shoots a 2-run single to center to give Toledo an early lead. pic.twitter.com/Wa4GKh75Tb
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) September 20, 2024
Navigato made our Top 31 list based on his consistent performance, however, he never got the promotion. He does turn 27 in May and by prospect standards, isn’t a prospect anymore, but with Gage Workman spending three seasons in Erie and more than likely heading towards Toledo, Navigato may seek another opportunity elsewhere.
Toledo was the only organization that did not finish .500 but their best players were in Detroit and contributed to the playoff run down the stretch, which is what a good affiliate does.
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Emily Waldon