Tigers Minor League Recap – 7/2

Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)

Final: Columbus 13 – Toledo 0

Top Performer(s):

Brewer Hicklen, CF — 1-for-3, 3B
Akil Baddoo, LF — 1-for-4, 2B
Andrew Navigato, 1B — 1-for-3

Wilkel Hernandez — 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. On the surface, this was a really bad start for Wilkel. A 9.64 ERA, less than 5 IP, 90 pitches. But he was generating tons of whiffs. 39% Whiff% in total, but his slider was really good getting 8 on 14 swings. So while the box score looks terrible for Wilkel tonight, the underneath data suggests it wasn’t that bad.

Game notes:

The offense was nonexistent today. 0 runs on 3 hits and drawing 2 walks while striking out 12 times. Every Mud Hen hitter had a strikeout except for Riley Unroe and Akil Baddoo led the way with 3, though he also had one of the 3 hits.

Speaking of Riley Unroe. He got yet another relief appearance and, once again, allowed no ER in his inning. He was the only Mud Hen to not allow a run. After Wilkel started the game giving up 5 ER in 4.2 IP, Ryan Miller came in and gave up 5 ER as well but his was in just 1.1 IP. Woo-Suk Go also got a couple of innings. He gave up 3 ER, but he got 3 Ks and was getting some good swing and miss action.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

TBD vs Joey Cantillo (0-0, 3.86 ERA)

Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)

Final: Akron 6 – Erie 5

Top Performer(s):

Chris Meyers, DH — 2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
Max Anderson, 2B — 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, RBI
Thayron Liranzo, C — 1-for-3, R, 2 BB
Justice Bigbie, LF — 0-for-0, 4 BB

Yosber Sanchez — 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Yosber got the 7th and 8th innings tonight. He got 3 Ks and the two base runners allowed came via walks. He had a few o

Game Notes:

The offense was driving primarily by Chris Meyers and his him hitting a 2-run HR in the 3rd and 7th tonight. Max Anderson drove in the other run scored from a 7th inning sac fly. As a whole, the offense drew 11 walks including Justice Bigbie’s 4.

Akron had a huge 4th inning scoring 5 of their 6 runs tonight to take the lead for good. All 6 of the runs were charged to the starter, Garrett Burhenn. The bullpen got the bulk of the work here, getting 5 Ks in 5.1 IP and giving up 0 runs.

The loss tonight dropped Erie to 2nd place in the division behind Akron. They’ll look to bounce back and regain the lead.

Chris Meyers with his fifth home run of the year, a blast to right field to give Erie the 2-1 lead pic.twitter.com/Rwp0FwXG7D

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 2, 2025

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Game 1: Austin Bergner (5-3, 3.45 ERA) vs Rorik Maltrud (2-1, 3.512 ERA)

West Michigan Whitecaps (High-A)

Final: Great Lakes 5  – West Michigan 2

Top Performer(s):

Kevin McGonigle, SS — 0-for-1, 2 BB, CS
Josue Briceño, DH — 1-for-3, HR, BB, R, 2 RBI
Patrick Lee, LF — 0-for-2, 2 BB

Preston Howey — 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K. Preston didn’t have any Ks, but he got through the inning allowing no base runners and throwing just 8 pitches. A terrific game for him.

Game Notes:

There wasn’t a ton of offense from the Whitecaps today, getting just 2 runs. They scored 1 in the first and wouldn’t score again until the 6th. It seemed like they could be in for a big game in the first inning. They saw 6 batters where and it ended on a stealing of home.

They would get a base runner on every inning via 6 walks and 4 hits. Still, the runs just couldn’t come though.

Rayner Castillo got the start tonight. He only made it to the 4th but couldn’t complete it. He gave up 3 hits and walked 5 while striking out 5. The strike zone was a little off today according to the game day. He had a lot of pitches call balls that were in the strike zone.

Because of the short start, the bullpen had the bulk of the innings tonight. They had a decent night. Gave up 2 runs and got lots of contact.

112 MPH off the bat of Josue Briceño. Wow, smoked the pitch over the right field wall. @wangler_nathan on the call. pic.twitter.com/G9LGfKFvzl

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 3, 2025

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Colin Fields (4-0, 1.83 ERA) vs Sean Linan (0-1, 3.63 ERA)

Lakeland Flying Tigers (Single-A)

Final: Dunedin 0 – Lakeland 2

Top Performer(s):

Carson Rucker, 3B — 2-for-4, R
Stephen Hrustich, 2B — 2-for-3, BB, R
Sergio Tapia, C — 1-for-4, RBI

Luke Stofel — 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. Luke adds yet another appearance giving up 0 or 1 ER. Dropped his ERA to 0.98 on the season, he allowed just 2 base runners in his 5 innings. There really doesn’t seem to be much stopping or slowing him down in Lakeland at this point. He was also out Player Profile this week, take a look here!

Game Notes:

A very low scoring game, only 2 runs were scored and both were in the 7th inning by Lakeland. Stephen Hrustich scored the first run on a Sergio Tapia single. Carson Rucker would score the second run two batters later on a Woody Hadeen double play.

After Luke Stofel’s 5 innings, Jorger Petri came out and struck out 5 in 2 innings, which included a 39% CSW%, to get the win. Chris Williams Jr. got a hold as he took the 8th and Moises Rodriguez gets his 7th save in a shaky 9th that saw it start off with back-to-back singles until he got the next 3 batters out.

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs TBD

FCL Tigers (Rookie ball)

No FCL Tigers games today, but there is 1 scheduled tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs TBD

DSL Tigers 1 (Rookie ball)

No DSL Tigers 1 games today, but there are 1 scheduled tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs TBD

DSL Tigers 2 (Rookie ball)

No DSL Tigers 2 games today, but there are 1 scheduled tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs TBD

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