Friday night was action packed in the Detroit Tigers farm system. We saw a ten-run inning, a 450-foot grand slam, a walk-off wild pitch, multi-hit efforts from several of the team’s top prospects, and eye-opening outing from a breakout pitcher in low-A. Read all about it below!
Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)
Final: Toledo 13, Louisville 4
Top Performers:
Jace Jung: 3-for-4, BB, K, R, 2RBI
Brewer Hicklen: 2-for-4, HR(2), 2B, BB. K, 2R, 4RBI
Ryan Kreidler: 3-for-5, 3B, 2B, K, 3R
Bligh Madris: 4-for-5, HR(5), 2B, 3R, 5RBI
Brian Serven:Â 1-for-3, 2B, 2BB, 2R, RBI
Pitchers:
Lael Lockhart: 5.1 IP 3H 3ER 4BB 4K
Jordan Balazovic:Â IP K
Brendan White: 1.2 IP 2H ER 2BB 4K
Game Notes:Â Lael Lockhart took the mound for the Mud Hens looking to build off of his previous outing, which was his best of the season. He held Louisville off the board for three innings, and the Hens gave him the lead on a 2-out single from Jace Jung. The Bats tied it almost immediately, starting the 4th with a triple and a single, but Lockhart held them to one run. The Hens retook the lead in the 4th when Ryan Kreidler doubled and Bligh Madris drove him in with a single.
Lockhart worked a scoreless 5th, but he started the 6th walk, strikeout, walk, and was lifted. Reliever Ricky Vanasco couldn’t strand those runners, though, and the Bats took a 3-2 lead. But then Toledo fought back, just as they have done so often over the last month. Brewer Hicklen walked, Kreidler singled, and then Madris smacked a 2-run double over the right fielder to put the Hens up 4-3. And then the floodgates opened.
Four walks made it a 6-3 Hens lead. And then Brewer Hicklen absolutely unloaded on a ball for a 456-foot grand slam. And that wasn’t the end of it, as Kreidler tripled and Madris hit a 2-run bomb, giving Toledo ten runs in the inning. Madris has knocked in nine runs in his last two games, and the Mud Hens have now moved to seven games over .500 at 31-24.
Brewer Hicklen smashes a GRAND SLAM to left. A titanic blast that left his bat at 110 MPH and went an estimated 456 feet. pic.twitter.com/jkWvfgkMiz
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 31, 2025
Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)
Final: Reading 5, Erie 4
Top Performers:
Trei Cruz: 1-for-4, BB, 2K, RBI
Max Anderson: 1-for-4, 2B, R
Thayron Liranzo: 1-for-3, BB, RBI
Roberto Campos:Â 1-for-3, BB, 2R
Pitchers:
Jaden Hamm: 5IP 7H 3ER BB 3K
R.J. Petit: 2IP H 2K
Richard Guasch:Â 1.1 IP 0H 2ER 2BB 4K
Game Notes:Â Jaden Hamm’s bumpy Double-A campaign continued in this back-and-forth affair. The SeaWolves struck first, with Max Anderson lacing a 2-out double to the right corner, and Thayron Liranzo driving him home with a single. Reading came right back to tie it in the bottom of the frame with two singles and a ground ball that Erie couldn’t turn into a double play. The Wolves retook the lead on another 2-out knock, this time from Trei Cruz, but it didn’t take long for the Fightin Phils to come back, with top prospect Aidan Miller launching a massive two-run homer off Hamm.
But the SeaWolves are dogged, and they scratched their way back in front, with help from some sloppy Reading play. Roberto Campos walked, then Eduardo Valencia drove him home with a single, aided by an error on the center fielder. Valencia later scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. And Hamm kept battling, to his credit. He scattered seven hits and a walk, and his 5th and final inning was the only clean frame he worked. R.J. Petit came in and pitched two scoreless frames, and then Richard Guasch was tasked with working the final two innings.
Guasch struck out two in a clean 8th, but then the rain began to fall. He struck out the first batter of the 9th with a nasty breaking ball, but the batter reached when the ball bounced away from Liranzo. Guasch then walked the next two batters to load the bases with no one out. He struck out Miller, and then Justice Bigbie made a curious decision to catch a deep fly ball that guaranteed the tying run would score. And just one pitch later the game was over.
And Reading walks off Erie when this Richard Guasch fastball sails to the backstop. pic.twitter.com/efwbCKPfGr
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 31, 2025
West Michigan (High-A)
Final: West Michigan 13, Dayton 2
Top Performers:
Max Clark: 1-for-3, 3BB, K, R, SB(9)
Seth Stephenson: 3-for-6, 2B, K, 2R, 2RBI
Kevin McGonigle: 4-for-5, HR, 2B, BB, 3R, 4RBI
Izaac Pacheco: 2-for-5, HR(4), BB, 2K, 2R, 3RBI
Peyton Graham: 1-for-4, HR(3), 2BB, K, 2RBI
Pitchers:
Alex Cobb (rehab): 2IP H 0BB 3K
Andrew Sears:Â 5.1 IP 4H 2ER 2BB 8K
Freddy Pacheco (rehab): 0.2 IP
Haden Erbe: IP H 3K
Game Notes:Â Alex Cobb exists, and he proved it tonight by tossing two scoreless innings for the Whitecaps. It wasn’t particularly thrilling, but he looked like the veteran he is, erasing a leadoff hit by rolling up a double play and the getting a swinging strikeout. He followed that up with a clean 2nd, striking out two and inducing another ground ball. All in all, an encouraging outing.
The Whitecaps were tasked with facing talented Dayton southpaw Adam Serwinowski, and they did an excellent job of making him throw strikes. When he did, things generally went well for him, but he also walked four batters. That let Seth Stephenson put West Michigan up 2-0 on a bases-loaded single. And then Peyton Graham made the only hard contact against Serwinowski with a monster blast to center.
Andrew Sears took over for Cobb and had a very solid outing. He did give up two home runs, and the game was tight for a moment, but Sears also struck out eight over 5.1 innings. And then the Whitecaps hitters went bonkers. West Michigan scored ten runs over the final three innings, with both Kevin McGonigle and Izaac Pacheco chipping in with RBI doubles AND 2-run homers. The Caps coasted to another victory, improving to 34-15 on the season. They have outscored Dayton 44-14 through the first four games of the series.
Kevin McGonigle demolishes this ball for a 2-run homer. It’s his 4th hit of the night, and his first home run of the season. He’s now batting .464 pic.twitter.com/APi41lD190
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 31, 2025
Lakeland (Low-A)
Final: Lakeland 9, Bradenton 3
Top Performers:
Bryce Rainer: 3-for-5, BB, K, 2R, SB(8)
Jackson Strong: 4-for-6, HR(4) 2R, 3RBI, SB(7)
Garrett Pennington: 2-for-6, 2 2B, K, R, RBI
Pitchers:
Lucas Elissalt: 5IP 3H 0ER BB 8K
Ryan Harvey: 2IP H ER BB
Moises Rodriguez: 1.1 IP 2H 2ER 2K
Game Notes:Â Lakeland jumped on Bradenton early, thanks to a swinging bunt from Bryce Rainer and a 2-run blast from Jackson Strong. They added four more in the 3rd inning on four consecutive hits, including RBI knocks for Garrett Pennington and Stephen Hrustich. Meanwhile, breakout starter Lucas Elissalt was spinning a gem for the Flying Tigers. He was outstanding over five scoreless innings, setting new career highs with 8 strikeouts and 17 swings-and-misses.
Not much happened in the middle innings, but the Flying Tigers eventually scratched across three more runs. One came a nice opposite-field single from Strong, his third of four hits on the night. Bradenton battled, but Lakeland essentially cruised to the victory. On a sour note, David Smith appeared to hurt his leg on a Rainer single, and he immediately left the game. It seems likely he’ll be headed to the IL.
Jackson Strong yanks a changeup down the line for a 2-run homer. It’s his 4th home run of the year, and it gives Lakeland an early lead. pic.twitter.com/rH1iMvH7v8
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 30, 2025
FCL Tigers (Florida Complex League)
Final:Â Yankees 8, Tigers 5
Top Performers:
Jesus Pinto: 1-for-5, HR(3)
Jude Warwick: 2-for-4, 2 2B, BB, R, SB(8)
Nomar Fana: 2-for-4, HR(3), BB, 2K, 2RBI
Anibal Salas: 1-for-4, HR, 2K, 2RBI
Pitchers:
Ali Tanner: 5IP 7H 3ER BB 3K
Dawson Price: 1 IP H K
Eliseo Mota: 1.2IP 2H ER K
Game Notes:Â Rain caused a short delay in this one, but he FCL Tigers got off to a fast start once the game started. Exciting young outfielder Jesus Pinto led off the game with his 3rd home run of the year, then Jude Warwick followed with the first of his two doubles on the day. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out, but they couldn’t push across any more runs. Nomar Fana pushed the Tigers lead to 2-0 with a solo homer to lead off the 3rd, but the Yankees took the lead in the 4th when Tigers starter Ali Tanner allowed a single, hit a batter, and then gave up a 3-run homer.
That was all the damage Tanner allowed, though, and he went on to complete a career-best five innings. The Tigers retook the lead in the top of the 6th when Anibal Salas launched a 2-run homer, his first of the season. Dawson Price followed with a scoreless 6th, but then Complex League stuff started happening. The Yankees plated four runs in the 7th on three hits, two walks, and two wild pitches. The Tigers added on a run in the 9th on a Warwick double and a Fana single, but that was it. They fall to 12-8 on the season.
Ashley Couturier 
Joe Rampe