Welcome to “Five Things We Liked From Last Week”, a weekly list of… five things we liked from last week:
1. Dillon Dingler All-Star Bid
It’s that time of year again.
As a youngster attending Detroit Tigers games, it gave me a great thrill to fill out All Star ballots. I couldn’t believe I had so much power. You’re telling me I get to personally decide who is an All Star?
Despite the Tigers often being pretty bad, I made it my personal mission for every Tigers player, and especially Cecil Fielder, to make every All Star game. While that mission fell short, the effort was certainly there.
Several years later, the Tigers now have several players worthy of All Star consideration, and I’m taking this opportunity to wield that power once again. Let’s make Dillon Dingler an All Star.
Dingler has appeared in 47 games in the 2025 season, and has seemingly taken over as the Tigers primary catcher. Here’s where Dingler ranks among all American League catchers with at least 150 plate appearances:
.298 AVG: 2nd
.330 OBP: 5th
.468 SLG: 3rd
127 wRC+: 2nd
2.1 fWAR: 2nd
For all catchers, offense is only part of the equation, and the defensive side of the ball is even more important. Here’s where Dillon ranks defensively per Statcast:
Fielding Run Value: 96th percentile
Blocks Above Average: 100th percentile
Framing: 91st percentile
Caught Stealing Above Average: 60th percentile
Pop Time: 57th percentile
Dingler also ranks 3rd in the AL in catcher defensive runs saved per the Fielding Bible, further adding to his case as one of the best all around catchers in baseball.
The Tigers have had only 2 All-Star catchers in the last 25 years: Pudge Rodriguez from 2004 to 2007, and Alex Avila in 2011. The 14 year drought ends this season.
2. Sawyer Gipson-Long
Let’s travel back in time to August, 2022.
Detroit, led by former GM Al Avila, was nearing the end of a truly brutal stretch in Tigers baseball history. It was their 6th straight year of being under .500, and despite a farm system that was trending up, there was just not much hope for the organization as currently constructed.
Avila would ultimately be relieved of his duties in September of 2022, but not before parting one final gift on the Tigers. In one of his final acts as Tigers GM, Avila traded Michael Fulmer to the Minnesota Twins for an unheralded starting pitching prospect named Sawyer Gipson-Long.
SGL was a former 6th round pick of the Twins in 2019, and prior to 2022, his minor league career was fairly unspectacular, despite putting up strong strikeout and walk rates. But in 2022, he appeared to turn a corner, posting a 1.99 ERA in just under 50 innings for the Twins High A affiliate. He earned a promotion to Double A, and despite his ERA ballooning to 7.17 in 37.2 AA innings, Tigers scouts saw enough to target the right hander.
Gipson-Long was acquired on August 2nd, 2022, and immediately reported to Double A Erie with the Tigers. He was able to cut his ERA to 4.54 in 35.2 innings with the SeaWolves, but with his strikeout rate down and home run rate up, Detroit decided to start him back at AA for the beginning of the ’23 season.
Sawyer responded with a 3.74 ERA / 3.10 xFIP (and 30% K / 6% BB rate) in 65 innings at Erie, so the Tigers promoted him to AAA on July 21, 2023. Now with the Toledo Mud Hens, SGL appeared in 8 games down the stretch, and in spite of a 5.45 ERA in just under 35 innings, his peripherals were strong: 3.74 xFIP, 32.7% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and .244 BAA. Detroit liked what they saw under the hood; enough so that they promoted him to the big league squad on September 10, to get a look at what they had in the young righty.
And it appeared that what they had was pretty good. On the strength of a now devastating changeup, Gipson-Long made 4 starts with the Tigers, and was excellent: 20 IP, 2.70 ERA / 3.76 xFIP, 31.7% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate and .189 BAA.
SGL’s stock was now firmly trending up, and heading into the 2024 season, hopes were high that Gipson-Long could claim a spot in the back of the Tigers rotation. But those hopes were dashed when Sawyer was put on the injured list just prior to the end of spring training, ultimately leading to the dreaded Tommy John surgery (along with hip surgery); forcing SGL to miss the entire ’24 season.
Facing a grueling rehab process, Gipson-Long worked through it, and eventually made his first rehab appearance about a month ago on May 8, 2025. He pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless baseball in his return, and continued to impress enough during the month of May that the Tigers selected his contract on Wednesday, to help out a big league rotation that’s without two starters (Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe) that began the year in the rotation.
All told, it was 615 long days between starts at the big league level for Sawyer. And in his first start back in MLB, Gipson-Long understandably showed some rust but battled, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk in 3.2 innings, and holding the lead for the Tigers.
SGL still has all the tools to be an effective big league pitcher, with a pitch mix that includes a solid fastball / sinker combo backed by elite extension, a nice slider, and an outstanding changeup that leads to high strikeout rates and low walk rates. Big league teams can never have enough starters, and Gipson-Long is now trying to (again) prove he should be in the mix for the Tigers at the big league level.
3. Troy Melton and Kenny Serwa Promotions
Two of the more interesting pitching prospects in the Tigers organization earned promotions on Thursday.
Troy Melton was the Tigers 4th round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, and has worked his way up top prospect lists the past three years.
Melton conquered Low and High A during the 2022-2023 seasons, and pitched the 2024 season in Double A Erie. While his 5.10 ERA in 100.2 innings was elevated, his peripherals were much better: 3.14 xFIP, 27.7% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. A high 1.70 HR/9 led to the higher ERA, and led to the Tigers repeating Melton at AA to start the 2025 season.
In 39 innings for the SeaWolves in the 2025 season, Troy was excellent: 3.23 ERA / 3.19 xFIP, 27.4% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate, and importantly, just 0.23 HR/9. The Tigers evidently decided Melton was ready for the next step, and promoted him to Toledo on Thursday, where he made his first start and went 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts.
As Troy has worked his way up the prospect rankings, he’s also worked his way up the Detroit Tigers starting pitching depth chart. Without having access to Scott Harris’ big board, it’s tough to say exactly where Melton fits in the pecking order; but with some success in AAA, he could present himself as an option for the Tigers later this year. (Armed with a big fastball and solid slider / changeup combination, Detroit may also see if Melton could help in the big league bullpen later this summer, where his stuff could play up, and where he could give the Tigers a swing and miss option out of the ‘pen that they are missing.)
Taking Melton’s place in Erie is one Kenny Serwa. You may be familiar Serwa’s backstory, but if not: after pitching in indy ball in 2022 and 2024, Kenny went to Tread Athletics this winter to add velo to his knuckleball, among other things. The hard work paid off, as Serwa fired the fastest knuckler ever recorded, and caught the eye of Tigers scouts in the process. Detroit ultimately signed Kenny to a minor league free agent contract this offseason.
Despite being 27 years young, Detroit assigned Serwa to High A West Michigan, likely due to his unfamiliarity with affiliate ball. He answered the bell, and earned a promotion to Double A in just two months. In Kenny’s first start with Erie on Thursday, he went 6 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
While he may not technically be considered a “prospect” by traditional standards, Serwa is still a very interesting pitcher due to his unique pitch mix and solid command. He not only throws two versions of his knuckleball, but also mixes in a low 90s fastball and decent slider.
For a reference point, we wanted to see how a few other famous knuckleballers were doing during their first year of pro ball tossing a knuckleball:
Tim Wakefield (started throwing a knuckleball at age 22)
* Age 22 season at -A: 39.2 IP, 3.40 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 4.8 BB/9, 6.8 H/9, 0.2 HR/9
R.A. Dickey (started throwing a knuckleball at age 30)
* Age 30 season at AAA: 121.2 IP, 5.99 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 11.2 H/9, 0.9 HR/9
Steve Sparks (started throwing a knuckleball at age 26)
* Age 26 season at +A/AA: 196.2 IP, 3.62 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 4.9 BB/9, 8.7 H/9, 0.2 HR/9
Kenny Serwa
* Age 27 season at +A/AA: 42 IP, 3.21 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 6.9 H/9, 0.2 HR/9
Knuckleballers are a rare breed, and as you can see above, Serwa is right on track as a pitcher utilizing primarily a knuckler in his first year of pro ball. While it’s TBD if Kenny reaches the heights of Tim Wakefield, R.A. Dickey or Steve Sparks, he is worth tracking the rest of this season and in seasons to come.
4. Eddy Felix and Kelvis Salcedo
Outside of Keider Montero and Gregory Soto before him, the Detroit Tigers have just not had much luck lately when it comes to international free agent pitchers.
It could be because of many factors, one being that it’s hard to project any teenage international prospect, pitching or otherwise.
But in the past few years or so, the Tigers have started to accumulate some very interesting pitchers in the lower minor leagues, some of whom arrived via international free agency. Two of those pitchers are Eddy Felix and Kelvis Salcedo.
Felix signed with the Tigers in April of 2022, which means he was part of former GM Al Avila’s final international signing class. Signed out of Mexico, Eddy appeared in 8 games in the Dominican Summer League in 2022, tossing 14 innings with a 1.93 ERA / 2.82 xFIP, 35.8% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate, 44.8% groundball rate and .167 BAA.
After missing the 2023 season due to injury, Felix was back in the DSL for the 2024 season, and didn’t miss a beat; firing 49 innings (across 11 starts) with a 3.12 ERA / 2.85 xFIP, 34.2% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate, 48.1% groundball rate and .207 BAA.
Salcedo on the other hand was signed in January of 2023, which means he was part of new Tigers GM Scott Harris’ first international signing class. Originally from Venezuela, Kelvis was able to accumulate just under 25 innings in the ’23 Dominican Summer League season, posting an elevated 6.20 ERA but with peripherals that were more impressive: 3.74 xFIP, 27.4% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate, 59.1% groundball rate (with no home runs allowed) and .257 BAA.
In 2024, the Tigers converted Salcedo to a starter back in the DSL, where he was excellent in just over 50 innings pitched: 3.93 ERA / 3.16 xFIP, 28.9% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate, 57.6% groundball rate and .247 BAA.
Detroit decided that Felix and Salcedo were ready to come stateside to the Complex League for the 2025 season, and so far, they’ve proven that decision right. In 21.1 innings, Felix currently has a 1.69 ERA / 2.41 xFIP, with a 36.7% strikeout rate, 5.1% walk rate, 45.7% groundball rate and .240 BAA; whereas Salcedo currently holds a 1.04 ERA / 4.49 xFIP in 17.1 innings, with a 23.1% strikeout rate, slightly elevated 13.8% walk rate, 55% groundball rate and .107 BAA. Salcedo’s also allowed just one home run on the year, and has allowed just 4 home runs total in his short career so far (in just over 92 innings); whereas Felix has allowed just 6 home runs in his career in just over 84 total innings.
Felix gets up to 96 with the heater, which he pairs with a looping mid-70s breaking ball and developing slider. As he progresses up the minor league ladder, he may need to tighten up the breaking balls and add a pitch or two to keep hitters off balance; but the tools are there.
Salcedo also sits in the mid 90s, and was ranked Detroit’s 20th overall prospect prior to the ’25 season according to FanGraphs. Per FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen: “Salcedo is a bigger-bodied righty whose mid-90s fastball features nasty natural cut; he also has a sinker variant with a little less movement. Salcedo’s mid-80s sweeper features plus-plus spin and late movement, which helped him strike out 28.9% of DSL hitters in 2024, and some of his breaking balls have slider velo and curveball depth... His profile includes substantial relief risk because of his build alone, but his stuff is nasty enough to consider him a priority teenage pitching prospect in the org.”
The Tigers have shown that they can maximize pitchers’ arsenals, and you’ll take a pair of youngsters who are up to the mid 90s already, keep the ball on the ground and in the park, and who show advanced control and bat-missing ability as well. Eddy Felix and Kelvis Salcedo, like several other young pitchers in the Tigers system, are ones to keep an eye on over the next few years.
5. Dominican Summer League Action
Speaking of international free agency, the Dominican Summer League kicked off this past Monday, for those who are so inclined.
The DSL is where the majority of international free agent signees begin their professional careers (like Eddy Felix and Kelvis Salcedo did), and while footage is often sparse (outside of TMLR, of course!), it’s still fun to follow along and see how various Tigers prospects are performing.
Several members of the Tigers 2025 international signing class are suiting up in the DSL this summer, and TMLR’s Chris Brown did an excellent job covering the class back in January. Jose Ramirez, Carlos Benavides, Anderson Diaz and Angel De Los Santos were some of the bigger bonus signings from ’25, and all are playing in the DSL this year.
The Tigers have two DSL teams, and the most well-known name on either squad is Cris Rodriguez, who Detroit signed to a record (for them) $3.2 million signing bonus this past signing period. Here’s what Tigers AGM Rob Metzler had to say about Rodriguez on signing day:
“Obviously the physical ability, we believe to be special… The bat speed, the power, the bat path. We love the athleticism, the frame, the natural projection. I’d follow that up by saying we feel strongly about the kid. This is a kid we’ve gotten to know really well. The work ethic, character, aptitude are, we believe, to be pluses. That’s what he’s shown us over a significant amount of time. And we’re excited to be able to sign him today.”
C-Rod doubled in his first career game Monday, finishing 1 for 3 with two strikeouts; showcasing both his potential and areas of growth.
It will take a while until the Tigers know what they have with these youngsters, including Rodriguez, as they work on fundamentals and figure out how they need to get better. But as Bluey’s dad Bandit says, “The obstacles are the path”, and the adversity they face in the DSL will only help as they climb the minor league ladder.
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Colin Arthur 
Rogelio Castillo 
Chris Brown