Five Things We Liked From Last Week, July 11th

Welcome to “Five Things We Liked From Last Week”, a weekly list of… five things we liked from last week: 

1. MLB Draft

It’s that time of year again.

In just two days, the 2025 MLB Draft will commence.

After years of selecting near the top of the draft, the Detroit Tigers first round pick is down to 24^th this year, following a successful 2024 season.

The Tigers also “earned” a Competitive Balance Round A selection for the ’25 draft, which checks in at number 34; and boosts Detroit’s total bonus pool to just shy of $11,000,000, which is not only the 17^th highest total among all MLB teams, but also allows the Tigers to get creative with their selections.

Here at TMLR, we’ve provided a ton of draft coverage that we hope you peruse at your leisure, including:

Ashley Couturier scouting the 2025 class in two parts, Rogelio Castillo providing potential infield and pitcher fits for the Tigers, Jerry Mackinem scouring the Juco ranks for players Detroit may target, Colin Arthur reviewing Detroit’s 2024 draft class, myself covering Tigers draft trends from the past two years as well as potential scenarios for the 2025 draft for Detroit, and Chris Brown providing an overview of the 2025 draft, going back in time to review the Tigers 2005 class, and covering potential outfield targets for Detroit in 2025.

We also hope you join our live draft show the evening of the draft.

Despite not having a high pick, this draft is known for depth, which means Detroit should come out with several talented youngsters. Since Scott Harris, Mark Conner and Rob Metzler have arrived, the Tigers have earned high marks for their drafts, and fans hope that continues this season.

2. Promotions

It’s that time of year again, part two.

We are of course talking about promotion season.

The past few years, again since Scott Harris arrived, the Tigers have been a little less aggressive with promotions than previous regimes. Harris, Ryan Garko and team prefer players to not only play sustainably well at their current level, but also work on specific things and show they’ve made progress prior to moving them up a level. And while some fans aren’t too keen on the pace that prospects are promoted, it’s hard to argue with the developmental team in place for Detroit currently.

We’ve seen a few promotions already this year of course, but just like last season, the Tigers have decided that July is the right time to promote some top prospects.

It’s always exciting when prospects are moved up a level and face increased competition, and this past Sunday, we found out that the West Michigan Whitecaps Big Three of Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark and Josue Briceño would become the Erie SeaWolves Big Three (or Big Five, with Thayron Liranzo and Max Anderson).

We’ve been waiting for this day for many weeks, and it finally arrived.

McGonigle has been ready for a promotion seemingly all season, with a monster 207 wRC+ at West Michigan that would be the best in the Midwest League if he had enough at bats to qualify. Briceño did have enough at bats to qualify, and his 180 wRC+ is the best in the league. Clark’s 151 wRC+ ranks 2^nd in the league, and you’re starting to see why Midwest League pitchers are celebrating that they no longer have to face those three in the same lineup. (West Michigan corner infielder Izaac Pacheco’s 149 wRC+ ranks 3^rd in the league.)

There were ripple effects across the organization as McGonigle, Clark and Briceño were moved up to Erie. Eduardo Valencia and Trei Cruz were promoted to Toledo, Woody Hadeen and Garrett Pennington were moved up to West Michigan, Manuel Margot unfortunately got released and Duque Hebbert was sent from Erie to Lakeland.

The Tigers and their fans are looking forward to seeing how all of these players handle their new levels, with McGonigle, Clark and Briceño now just two steps from Detroit.

3. Casey Mize

It’s been a year of redemption stories in Detroit this season.

After signing with the Tigers in the 2021-2022 offseason, Javy Báez struggled with inconsistency and injuries from 2022-2024; which left some fans understandably ready to pack his bags prior to the 2025 season. But the magic has returned for El Mago this year, helping fuel Detroit’s successful first three plus months of the ’25 campaign.

Those same fans (again understandably) were offering the same help for former number one overall pick Spencer Torkelson this winter, after a down 2024 season and the offseason addition of Gleyber Torres left Spencer on the outside looking in for a 2025 roster spot. But like Javy, Tork put in the work this offseason, and has been a key cog in the middle of Detroit’s lineup all year.

Not to be outdone, another former number one overall pick has made quite the comeback himself this season. After missing the 2023 campaign with injuries, Casey Mize had an up and down 2024 season, which also left him battling for a rotation spot in spring training this year. But just like Torkelson and Báez, Mize worked hard this offseason to improve on his 2024 season; and the hard work is paying off.

With a 2.63 ERA in just under 86 innings, Casey currently ranks 15^th in baseball among pitchers who’ve thrown at least 70 innings, after posting a 4.49 ERA in 102.1 innings last season.

It’s been quite a year for Mize, who has given the Tigers everything they could have hoped for and more out of his rotation spot. Coming into the 2025 season, starting pitching depth was supposed to be a major strength for the Tigers. But injuries and attrition have steadily chipped away at that depth, which means Detroit needs quality innings from the starters who are healthy and performing. And that’s exactly what Casey has provided.

Since the start of June, Mize has allowed two earned runs or less in every start, with his best start of the season coming last Saturday at a time when a taxed bullpen really needed it. In 7 innings against the Cleveland Guardians, Casey allowed no runs on four hits and three walks, keeping the Guardians off balance all game with his improved pitch mix.

With a 1.3 fWAR, Mize has already matched last season’s total, and that stat doesn’t quite do justice in telling how valuable newly minted All-Star Casey Mize has been to the Tigers pitching staff this year.

(Speaking of newly minted All-Stars, we’d be remiss to not shout out Mr. Zach McKinstry, who also made his first All-Star team, and like Javy, Tork and Mize, has been invaluable to Detroit this year.)

4. Lucas Elissalt

As we’ve noted in our draft coverage, the Tigers have done an excellent job recently of scouring the country to find prep talent. They’re unafraid to select not only high schoolers, but also players from smaller colleges, betting on their development team to be able to help bridge the gap.

Lucas Elissalt was the Tigers 13^th round pick of the 2024 MLB Draft, out of a small school called Chipola College. Like many pitchers drafted by the Tigers, Elissalt saw no official professional action in his draft year; but he’s made up for lost time this season.

In just over 49 innings pitched for the Low A Lakeland Flying Tigers, Elissalt currently has a 2.74 ERA / 3.14 xFIP, backed up by excellent strikeout (29.1%) and walk (6.8%) rates. Lucas is also keeping the ball in the yard, as he’s allowed just two home runs all year, and keeping hitters off the barrel, with a tiny .201 batting average allowed.

Elissalt has been good all season, and especially over his last four appearances, where he’s allowed exactly no runs (and just seven hits) in 16.2 innings. In his last appearance on the 4^th of July, Lucas gave up no baserunners at all in four innings.

Here’s what our own Jerry Mackinem had to say about Elissalt recently in his prospect report:

His starts have progressively been better and he gets lots of whiffs on both his curveball and slider. His command is really good. That was one of the first things I noticed. He worked the edge of the zone and hit his spots repeatedly. I think if he can add velocity to his fastball, he has a chance to contribute to the major league club. I don’t even think he needs to sit 96+, but if he can sit 94 and touch 96 he could be close to a middle of the rotation starter.

There are 859 minor league pitchers who’ve thrown at least 40 innings this year, and Elissalt’s 22.3 K-BB% currently ranks 62^nd among those 859. That puts him in the 92^nd percentile for those wondering, and his combination of solid stuff mixed with solid command gives him a high floor as a prospect.

5. R.J. Sales

While it’s too early to tell for sure, the 2024 MLB Draft is shaping up to be a good one for the Tigers.

Along with Lucas Elissalt, first rounder Bryce Rainer had a big year for Lakeland prior to his shoulder injury, while 7^th rounder Jackson Strong currently has the 10^th highest wRC+ among qualified hitters in the Florida State League. Relievers Ethan Sloan, Micah Ashman, Preston Howey and Bryce Alewine have been lights out, starter Josh Randall has had a solid year, and infielders Woody Hadeen, Jack Penney and Jude Warwick have all played well also.

(And we haven’t even mentioned highly regarded pitchers Owen Hall, Ethan Schiefelbein, Zach Swanson and Michael Massey, who have all dealt with injuries.)

Another player from the ’24 draft making a name for himself is 10^th rounder R.J. Sales.

Like Lucas Elissalt, Sales didn’t pitch professionally in his draft year, but also like Elissalt, he’s making quite the first impression in the 2025 season.

Sales has tossed 57.1 innings for Lakeland so far in ’25, and the results speak for themselves: 2.67 ERA / 3.43 xFIP, 23.2% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate, 40.4% groundball rate, .224 batting average allowed, and just 0.31 home runs allowed per nine.

Of the 540 minor leaguers who’ve thrown at least 50 innings this season, Sales’ 2.67 ERA ranks 75^th (86^th percentile). Even more impressively, despite giving up four runs last night, over his last five appearances, Sales has allowed just five runs in 20 innings, with 27 strikeouts against just five walks and 14 hits.

The increased strikeout rate recently is a great sign, and with it being promotion season, it wouldn’t be a surprise for both Sales and Lucas Elissalt to move up to West Michigan in short order.

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!