Tigers Minor League Recap – 4/9

Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)

Final: St. Paul 3 – Toledo 5

Top Performer(s):

Max Clark, CF — 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Corey Julks, LF — 2-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB
Jace Jung, 3B — 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI, BB

Ty Madden — 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Ty Madden’s second start lasted significantly longer than his first. When facing his pitches that were not 4-Seam, he had 9 whiffs on 18 swings (50% Whiff%). He had 2 Ks each on his slider and splitter with the 5th on his sinker.

Game notes:

The Mud Hens were clobbering the ball tonight. As a team, they had 13 hard hit balls with 5 hitters getting at least 2 a piece. Max Clark collected his 8th double of the season, which is the most in all of the minor leagues on the young season. His OPS is now at 1.076. We also got to see Jace Jung get his first HR on the season. He had been scuffling hitting just .167/.261/.167 in this last 5 games so this should help get him going.

Hitting streak to now 9 games, reach safely in 11 games. Max Clark keeps dominating. Another double. pic.twitter.com/ifJdRfFGZz

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 9, 2026

JACE JUNG HOME RUN HOORAY pic.twitter.com/WpERFuRx8p

— Toledo Mud Hens (@MudHens) April 10, 2026

Ty Madden’s outing was pretty good considering his previous outings this season. His 4-seam got hit hard and he didn’t get many whiffs (1 out of 17 swings), but he was able to keep the Saints to just 1 run. His velocity continues to be significantly down though, so it’s something to watch for.

Drew Sommers, Jack Little, Tyler Mattison, and Burch Smith came in for relief. Tyler Mattison (21” IVB) and Burch Smith (19” IVB) both showed some great rise to their fastballs. I do wonder if Tyler Mattison could eventually earn his way back onto the 40 and get his chance with the big league club.

The news that might not be news was that Wenceel Perez was not in the lineup tonight. That could be significant given the collision between Parker Meadows and Riley Greene in the big league game today.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Dylan File (0-0, 12.27 ERA) vs Connor Prielipp (0-0, 1.23 ERA)

Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)

Final: Chesapeake 2 – Erie 1

Top Performer(s):

Peyton Graham, SS — 2-for-4, SB
Bennett Lee, C — 2-for-3, 2B
Joe Campagna, DH — 1-for-3, BB, R

Joe Miller — 4.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Not a terrible start for Joe considering. He threw 76 pitches, 49 of which went for strikes, and had 5 Ks to show for it. He did however allow 10 base runners in those 4.1 IP.

Game Notes:

Not much offense for either team today. Seth Stephenson gave Erie the early 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning on a ground out. And it would be the only run the team would score. They were able to get 2 XBH out of their 5 total hits and left 10 on base while going 0-for-11 with RISP.

Pitching wise wasn’t bad. 1 run in the 5th when Joe Miller gave up a bases loaded single and then Wadisson Charles gave up a single that scored a guy from 2nd needing just more out to go into extras.

Johan Simon had a nice bounce back outing. Went 1.2 IP but allowed just 1 walk and struck out 2.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Kenny Serwa (0-1, 67.50 ERA) vs Luis De León (0-1, 9.00 ERA)

West Michigan Whitecaps (High-A)

Final: Great Lakes 5 – West Michigan 2

Top Performer(s):

Ricardo Hurtado, C — 0-for-2, 2 BB, RBI
Samuell Gil, SS — 1-for-3, BB
Clayton Campbell, 1B — 1-for-4, 2B, R

Jalen Evans — 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Jalen came into the game in the 4th and had a much better showing than his first. Got his first professional K on a called strike versus the first hitter he saw today and quickly followed up with his second.

Warren native Jalen Evans hits the outside corner for his first strikeout in affiliated baseball. pic.twitter.com/axxQFUkKkG

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 9, 2026

Game Notes:

To sum up the offense — the Loons scored more runs than the Whitecaps had total bases today. The Whitecaps themselves almost had more runs than they did total bases. They had 2 hits total and 7 walks, but also 14 Ks.

Hayden Minton made his second start and gave up 5 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk getting just 1 K. The bullpen had a very good night. Evans, Harvy, Stofel combined for 5.2 IP, no runs, 1 BB, and 6 Ks. On top of Evans 1.2 IP listed above, Harvey and Stofel got 2 IP a piece.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Lucas Elissalt (0-0, 6.00 ERA) vs Logan Tabeling (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Lakeland Flying Tigers (Single-A)

Final: Daytona 2 – Lakeland 10

Top Performer(s):

Beau Ankeney, 1B — 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI
Juan Hernandez, 3B — 2-for-4, 2B, BB, 3 RBI
Anibal Salas, LF — 2-for-3, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI

Ben Jacobs — 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Ben follows up his Lakeland debut with an almost identical outing. His 4-Seam fastball was able to get a 50% Whiff%, he walked just 2 and 7 of his 8 outs came via the strikeout. He could have been a little more economical, throwing 75 pitches, but had a great outing no less.

Game Notes:

For the 4th time in their first 6 starts, Lakeland has scored 10+ runs. Beau Ankeney hit his first professional HR of the season in the 5th inning. Juan Hernandez drove in 3 of the 6 runs scored in the 4th inning for the Flying Tigers on a bases loaded double.

Congratulations to Beau Ankeney on his first professional home run. He launched this 2-run shot 373 feet to left to put the Flying Tigers up 10-0. @AaronArnstein on the call. pic.twitter.com/e9k8jikstN

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 9, 2026

Jude Warwick’s statline wasn’t quite as impressive, but he got on-base 3 times and had 3 hard hit balls joining Beau Ankeney and Juan Hernandez in the multiple hard hit balls. Nolan McCarthy, an undrafted FA who was born in Michigan, raised his OPS to 1.297 on the season after going 2-for-4 and drawing a walk.

The pitching side was equally as good. Combined, they struck out 17 Tortugas. Leading the way was Ben Jacobs 3.2 IP followed up by Pedro Garcia, who got 3 Ks in 1.1 IP on just 15 pitches, Andrew Pogue’s 4 Ks in 2.0 IP, and Yendy Gomez’s 3 Ks in 2.0 IP.

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs TBD

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