25 Stats That Summarize the 2025 Detroit Tigers Minor Leagues

We’re just over halfway through the minor league season, and it’s been one for the ages for the Detroit Tigers organization.

The Detroit Tigers currently have the highest organizational winning percentage in all of baseball.

Through Wednesday, June 25^th, the Double A Erie SeaWolves, High A West Michigan Whitecaps, Low A Lakeland Flying Tigers and rookie ball FCL Tigers were all leading their divisions, while the Triple A Toledo Mud Hens were 4^th in their division at 40-37.

There have been a lot of success stories in the Tigers minor leagues this year, which is natural based on how much winning they’ve been doing. But we thought we’d take a crack at identifying 25 stats that help summarize the 2025 Detroit Tigers minor league season to date (all stats through Wednesday):

1

We mentioned all the Tigers minor league teams that were winning their divisions a second ago, and that is due to the all around strengths of each team. The Erie SeaWolves and West Michigan Whitecaps currently rank 1^st in their leagues in runs scored, and the Whitecaps also rank 1^st in their league in ERA. Not to be outdone, the SeaWolves, Lakeland Flying Tigers and FCL Tigers all rank 2^nd in their leagues in ERA.

.330

The West Michigan Whitecaps have been nothing short of dominant in the 2025 season, with a .700 winning percentage that is the best of any full season affiliate team. And the Whitecaps best player is one Kevin McGonigle, who is not only TMLR’s top ranked prospect in the Tigers organization, but is also in consideration as the best prospect in all of baseball. McGonigle may be the best pure hitter in the minor leagues, and his numbers are off the charts this season. But perhaps the most surprising stat of his season in West Michigan is a .330 ISO, which ranks 1^st in the Midwest League among all players with at least 100 plate appearances. We knew Kevin could hit, but we didn’t know he had this much thump in his bat.

.321

Ranking number 2 in the Midwest League in ISO among all players with 100 PAs is The Big Fella, Josue Briceño, with a .321 mark. After a monster 2024 Arizona Fall League, Josue has continued to level up. His 14 home runs (in just 203 PAs) are not only tops in the Midwest League, but also tops his career home run total prior to 2025, in 380 less plate appearances.

19.9

Setting the table for McGonigle and Briceño in the Whitecaps lineup is Mr. Max Clark. It’s been a solid all-around season for the former 3^rd overall pick, especially in the on-base department; where Clark’s 19.9% walk rate ranks 2^nd in the Midwest League among qualified hitters.

183

Keeping up with the Maxes, Erie SeaWolves second baseman Max Anderson has had quite the season himself, with a 183 wRC+ that ranks 3^rd among all qualified hitters in full season affiliate ball. Anderson has been the engine behind the SeaWolves league leading offense.

136

In a season full of joy in the Tigers minor leagues, the one sad day of the year was June 3^rd. That was the day Bryce Rainer got injured, and the day my heart split in two. By all indications, Rainer should be ready to go by spring training 2026, and be ready to build off a strong 2025 season spent in Low A Lakeland. Prior to his injury, Bryce put up a 136 wRC+, that ranks 17^th in Florida State League among all players with at least 100 plate appearances. That’s despite being more than two years younger than the competition level on average.

.840

After lighting the world on fire upon arrival in the Tigers system last summer, Thayron Liranzo has gone through a bit of an adjustment period in his first taste of AA this season, which was to be expected. But he’s improved each month, with an OPS of .659 in April, to .782 in May, all the way up to .840 in June. His 17.9% walk rate ranks 2^nd in the Eastern League among all qualified hitters, his 8 home runs are tied for 13^th, and his .191 ISO ranks 15^th; all despite being over 2.5 years younger than the league average.

23.2

Troy Melton is TMLR’s top ranked pitching prospect in the Tigers system, and for good reason. He began the year in AA, but after just 39 innings (with a 3.23 ERA / 3.11 xFIP), earned a promotion to AAA Toledo. While his ERA (5.63) is up in Toledo, his xFIP is way down (2.48). Between the two stops, Troy has a strong 30% strikeout rate and equally strong 6.8% walk rate. Altogether, his 23.2 K-BB% ranks 23^rd in all of affiliate ball among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.

3.74

If Troy Melton is the Tigers top pitching prospect, Jaden Hamm isn’t far behind (figuratively, and literally according to our top prospect list, where he ranks 8^th right behind Melton). After a very strong 2024 season spent at High A, Hamm is at AA for 2025. His numbers are fairly similar to last season, outside of the long ball, where his home runs / 9 have doubled since last year. But on the whole, it’s been a good year for Jaden, and his 3.74 xFIP ranks 6^th in the Eastern League among all qualified pitchers.

13.1

Hao-Yu Lee is another top 10 prospect in the Tigers system, and while he’s faced a bit of an adjustment in Triple A, that’s to be expected as he’s 4.5 years younger than the competition on average. His batting average and slugging percentage are a little down from last year, but he’s still controlling the strike zone, with a strong 18.5% strikeout rate that is the 24^th lowest among 96 qualified hitters in the International League, and an even stronger 13.1% walk rate that is the 18^th highest. Overall, Lee has a 112 wRC+, and is progressing just fine.

123

Speaking of top 10 prospects, Lakeland infielder Franyerber Montilla is having a nice season of his own. After a recent heater, his season-long 123 wRC+ ranks 18^th in the Florida State League. Combined with solid defense up the middle and strong baserunning (his 25 steals rank 4^th in the Florida State League), Montilla has been a key factor in the Flying Tigers success this season.

1.045

As noted by the excellent TMLR X account, former top 10 prospect and current Toledo Mud Hen Jace Jung made a change to his hand set up back on June 10^th. He went 1 for 18 in his first 5 games after the change, but since then, in 7 games and 33 plate appearances, he has an OPS of 1.045. It’s a small sample for sure, but perhaps the changes are starting to work.

139

The Mud Hens offense has been fairly average this season, as they currently rank right in the middle of the pack in runs scored in the International League. But prior to his callup to Detroit, Jung’s former teammate at Toledo Jahmai Jones put up a 139 wRC+, which ranks 10^th in the IL among players with at least 200 PAs. It’s easy to see why Jahmai got the call to Detroit, and he’s continued to produce for the Tigers since his promotion.

107

While the Mud Hens offense has been about league average, their team ERA ranks in the top 5 of the International League. That is in no small part thanks to the contributions of veteran lefty starters Nick Margevicius and current Tiger Dietrich Enns. Prior to Enns’ promotion to Detroit, he and Margevicius combined for 107 innings pitched, which has been invaluable to the Mud Hens pitching staff. Both of their ERAs are below 3, and their ability go deep into games has enabled the Hens to keep their bullpen in order.

151

We’ve mentioned Erie’s league leading offense a few times already, and it’s no secret why they are performing so well, as they’ve received solid production up and down the lineup. Their heart of the order includes a few veterans who are now in their 3^rd full year at AA in Trei Cruz, Jake Holton and Chris Meyers, who have a combined wRC+ of 151, and who along with Max Anderson, are pacing the league leading ‘Wolves offense.

161

We forgot to mention Erie catcher / 1^st baseman / DH Eduardo Valencia, whose 161 wRC+ not only ranks 8^th in the Eastern League among all players with at least 150 PAs, but also ranks 28^th out of 1,216 affiliate hitters with at least 150 PAs.

3.18

Erie’s pitching staff is pretty good too, ranking 2^nd in the Eastern League, and the newest member of the rotation is also one of the most fun stories of the minor league season so far: knuckleballer Kenny Serwa. While he only has just over 20 innings with Erie, Serwa’s combined ERA between High A and AA is 3.18, which is in the 72^nd percentile among all pitchers in affiliate ball with at least 50 innings pitched.

3.32

While Serwa just joined the SeaWolves rotation, the rock of the staff has been starter Garrett Burhenn, whose 3.32 ERA ranks 7^th in the Eastern League among all qualified pitchers. A Rogelio Castillo favorite, Burhenn has leveled up this year in a repeat of AA, as his strikeout rate, walk rate, home run rate and groundball rate are all better than last season. (Other starters performing well in the Tigers organization this year include Jake Miller, Joe Miller, Andrew Sears, Carlos Marcano, R.J. Sales, Gabriel Reyes, Kelvis Salcedo, Eddy Felix, Frenny Grant, Leonardo Leon and Jhonan Coba; who all have ERAs under 3.50 in at least 10 innings pitched.)

37

The SeaWolves rotation isn’t the only reason their pitching staff has been so good. Relievers Andrew Magno, Drew Sommers (now with Toledo), Troy Watson, RJ Petit and Tim Naughton all have (or had) ERAs below 2.50 with Erie, forming a strong ‘pen for the SeaWolves pitching staff. And while he’s no longer a SeaWolf (and currently a Tiger), Dylan Smith was a key member of the Erie bullpen in his time there, and his 37% strikeout rate ranks 2^nd in the Eastern League among all pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. (We also wanted to shoutout several other relievers in the Tigers system who are performing well this year, including Matt Seelinger, Matt Gage, Trevin Michael, Jordan Balazovic, Richard Guasch, Jordan Marks, Micah Ashman, Carlos Lequerica, Preston Howey, Marco Jimenez, CJ Weins, Luke Stofel, Blair Calvo, Ronny Chalas, Ryan Harvey, Thomas Bruss, Ethan Sloan, Eliseo Mota and Bryce Alewine; who all have ERAs at or below 3.00 in at least 10 innings pitched. It’s been a good year for Tigers minor league relievers.)

2.70

One starter not mentioned above is current West Michigan Whitecap Hayden Minton. The former 9^th round pick began the year in Lakeland, and after dominating there in just over 31 innings, earned a promotion to High A in late May. He’s been consistent all year, allowing 2 earned runs or fewer in all but one of his 12 starts, and his combined 2.70 ERA between Low and High A is in the 84^th percentile among all affiliate ball pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.

156

We mentioned earlier that Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Josue Briceño have paced the West Michigan Whitecaps league leading offense, but that was an incomplete statement. Izaac Pacheco has more than done his part as well, as his 156 wRC+ ranks 2^nd in the league among all qualified Midwest League hitters behind his buddy Josue Briceño. It’s been a great comeback year for the former 2^nd round pick, who is still just 22 years old.

137

Traveling a little further down the minor league ladder, 2024 7^th rounder Jackson Strong has been the best Lakeland Flying Tigers hitter by wRC+ at 137, which ranks 7^th in the league among all qualified Florida State League hitters. Combined with solid defense and baserunning, Jackson has been a key factor in Lakeland’s success this season.

25.4

While the Flygers offense has been decent, it’s been their pitching staff that’s carried them to their league leading record. The relievers have been solid, and the starting staff has been just as good. Perhaps the brightest spot of all has been Lucas Elissalt, whose 2.76 xFIP ranks 1^st in the Florida State League among all pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched, and whose 25.4 K-BB% ranks in the 97^th percentile among all affiliate ball pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched.

129

Traveling even further down the minor league ladder, the Complex League Tigers as mentioned are also leading their division, and have the best record in the Florida Complex League. That’s in part due to having the second best pitching staff in the league, and also in part due to having the 4^th best offense in the league. Leading the way are Javier Osorio, Jude Warwick, Maikol Orozco and Enrique Jimenez, who all have a wRC+ of 129 or better in at least 90 plate appearances. (Here’s where we give some love to other Tiger minor leaguers that are hitting well this season, including Carlos Mendoza, Ben Malgeri, Seth Stephenson, Jack Penney, John Peck, Garrett Pennington and Cristian Santana, who all have a wRC+ of 120 or higher in at least 100 plate appearances.)

.813

Last but certainly not least, we’d be remiss not to mention one of the most recent additions to the Tigers minor league organization, Cris Rodriguez. After receiving a team record $3.2 million signing bonus in this past international free agent signing period, Rodriguez has held his own in the Dominican Summer League, with an .813 OPS. Other Tiger hitters performing well in the DSL include Samuell Sanchez, Santiago Pinto, Jhonger Ochoa and Howard Reyes, who all have a wRC+ of at least 130 in over 50 plate appearances.

Overall, it’s been a great year down on the farm for the Detroit Tigers organization. Along with the success of the big league squad, Tigers fans couldn’t ask for much more halfway through the 2025 season.

Hey Detroit Tigers fans! If you enjoy Tigers Minor League Report and want to help us keep bringing you the latest updates and in-depth analysis, consider contributing to our efforts. We operate entirely on a volunteer basis, and every bit of support goes a long way. You can donate to us directly via our GoFundMe or become a valued member by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Or take your fandom to the next level by joining our Patreon community. Additionally, you can shop for some awesome gear at our TMLR store. Your support helps us continue our mission to provide you with quality content on all things Tigers Minor League. Thank you!