Detroit Tigers Spring Breakout Reactions

Spring Breakout Reactions

A team of Detroit Tigers prospects beat a team of Atlanta Braves prospects 6-3 on Sunday afternoon. For prospect fans like us, this was about as good as spring training gets.

Before the game we previewed the roster and provided scouting reports for every player. Then we live streamed the entire game – a huge thank you again to Tigers/SeaWolves announcer Greg Gania, and SeaWolves announcer Sam Lebowitz for joining us for the entire broadcast.

And we still have some thoughts! So, what follows is a collection of observations from Sunday’s contest.

No, one game against minor leaguers doesn’t necessarily mean much. Just ask Jace Jung, who hit two homers in the 2024 Spring Breakout game. He was optioned to the minors on Monday morning after a rough spring training. We’re just treating this like a live looks piece to share our initial reactions. We’ll of course keep our eyes on these players all season to provide more in-depth analysis.

Hello Bryce Rainer

Well, that was a strong first impression. Outside of his appearance at Comerica Park last summer, and some batting cage work posted on YouTube, Rainer hasn’t been heard from much. The Spring Breakout was his first real game, and he looked fantastic.

In his first at-bat he grounded out to the third baseman, but it sure looked like he beat the throw to 1st. He appeared to be quite fast. You can’t really rely on a TV broadcast to get an accurate run time, but he got to the bag in about 4.1 seconds. That would make him a plus runner.

In his next two at-bats we got a glimpse of what he consistently showed as a prep hitter: impressive oppo pop. His first hit was a fly ball to left that just kept going. And his second hit was the most impressive of all. He got ahead in the count and then put a beautiful swing on a 96MPH fastball to bring home two runs. Color us skeptical about the reported 114 MPH exit velocity. But he definitely smoked the ball.

Bryce Rainer with a beautiful piece of hitting to take a 96 MPH fastball and drive it over the shortstop for two runs. pic.twitter.com/9lvaKrQMZY

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) March 16, 2025

The Kids Are All Right

At this point it’s not surprising to see Josue Briceño, Max Clark, Thayron Liranzo, and Kevin McGonigle perform in games. They all picked up a hit, but it goes beyond that. They also showed mature approaches, with Clark and McGonigle going the opposite way for hits. Clark and Liranzo both picked up sac flies. Briceño worked two walks, and only struck out after an 8-pitch battle. It’s easy to forget they are all 21 or younger.

Glovely Day

And it wasn’t just the bats, as we also saw some strong defensive tools and heady plays. Clark did appear to let a fly ball land in front of him in right center, but he made up for that with a very clever outfield assist.

McGonigle has only played shortstop and second base in pro ball, so it was interesting to see him get the start at third base. He got one chance deep behind the bag against an extremely fast runner, but he managed to make it relatively close with what looked like plus arm strength. That was a very welcome surprise.

On the other side of that throw was a very nice stretch and snag from Briceño at first base. Briceño also caught a tricky popup on a windy day, and he made an excellent turn and throw to second base to start an attempted double play. He definitely looked like a viable defender at first base.

And Liranzo looked pretty comfortable behind the plate. He didn’t get a chance to flash his arm, and his pitchers didn’t get a couple of borderline calls. But he was otherwise unmemorable back there, which is a good thing in this case.

And a hat tip to Nomar Fana, who made a fine sliding catch in left field in the 9th.

Nomar Fana with a nice sliding catch in left field. pic.twitter.com/mQoNZFKw4e

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) March 16, 2025

Don’t You Forget About Me

A quick nod to a couple other players who did nice things. Roberto Campos had a sharp oppo single and he drew a walk. His day would’ve looked even better had he not taken a fastball for a called third strike with the bases loaded.

Max Anderson got in late, smoking a 98 MPH fastball for an opposite field single. And he made a solid running play at second base to end the 7th inning.

Jim Jarvis was one of a few unexpected additions to the roster, but he looked strong defensively at shortstop. And it was nice to see Enrique Jimenez get some time behind the dish. He did have a passed ball, and he couldnt corral a wild pitch, but he otherwise looked like a quiet receiver.

And spare a thought for poor Jake Holton. He was a key part of Erie’s title run last year, but he saw his season end early when he was hit by a pitch that broke his wrist. And then he was hit in his only appearance in the Spring Breakout. It appeared he took the ball to his shoulder, but it may have also glanced off his helmet. The Tigers don’t take chances with helmet contact, so he was removed from the game. 

We’ve Seen Better Days

It can’t all be sunshine and roses. Unfortunately the swing-and-miss issues plaguing Hao-Yu Lee all spring continued. He did get a hit and work a walk, but he also struck out twice, and he looked particularly overwhelmed by velocity, with seven whiffs in his five plate appearances.

Early spring Statcast data suggests Lee’s bat speed would be the slowest of any regular big-league hitter. But that’s a small sample size, and it doesn’t really pass the eye test. Still, he has looked jumpy all spring, and he could probably use a bit of a swing reset.

The other mild disappointment was Franyerber Montilla. We saw his usual athleticism and enthusiasm on the field, and he’s another young hitter with a mature approach. But his bat-to-ball skills leave a lot to be desired. We aren’t concerned, per se, but his hit tool definitely needs more development.

Armed and Dangerous

The Tigers trotted out six different arms on Sunday, and they all looked pretty good.

Lefty Jake Miller got the start, and he looked a lot like the pitcher who broke out last year. Except with a little more velocity. Miller came out firing 94-96 with his usual excellent fastball shape and quality command. He also showed his above-average secondary offerings, manipulating the shape and velocity on his slider, and tossing in his upper-80s changeup with occasional splitter-like dive. Miller did give up a run on two hits, but he struck out three and drew seven swings-and-misses.

Here’s Jake Miller’s full outing from the 2025 Spring Breakout game. pic.twitter.com/DFaokk5l1z

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) March 17, 2025

Josh Randall was solid in his inning, tossing his 93-94 MPH fastball from a tough angle, and flashing an above-average sweeper. 

Jaden Hamm looked bigger and stronger, and he pitched two scoreless frames. But his fastball velocity and command fluctuated a bit, forcing him to throw 40 pitches.

Micah Ashman stepped into the back end of Lakeland’s bullpen last year and found success. The tall lefty doesn’t wow with velocity, but his fastball plays very well, and both his slider and changeup looked useful. He could move quickly as a reliever.

We wanted to see Joseph Montalvo throwing a little harder this year. And he did, touching 95 MPH a few times. He flashed his solid slider and his quality changeup, but his cambio is still a little firm at about 89 MPH

Troy Melton was arguably the most impressive Tigers pitcher in the game. He dominated in a 1-2-3 inning, picking up a pair of strikeouts. His fastball touched 99 MPH, and he showed his slider, change, and curve – and possibly a nasty new sinker.

Here’s Troy Melton’s full outing from the 2025 Spring Breakout game. pic.twitter.com/Cl5Lrq7feY

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) March 17, 2025

Oddly enough, the worst outing for a Tigers prospect came from Tyler Owens, who had been one of their more impressive arms in spring training. There wasn’t anything wrong with his stuff. His fastball was still sitting in the upper 90s, but he just got hit a little. We aren’t worried.

And finally, let’s just give a quick nod to the Braves. They didn’t have any hitters stand out, but they have some interesting arms. None more impressive than 19-year-old Didier Fuentes. He was absolutely electric, relentlessly pounding the strike zone with upper-90s fastball on the way to seven strikeouts and 10 whiffs. That kid looks like he could be special.