The opening day roster for the 2024 West Michigan Whitecaps will look largely familiar to those who followed the team last season. Seventeen of the 30 players who will start the season at West Michigan either finished, 2023 on the team or at least played a portion of the season for the Whitecaps. While there are plenty of intriguing prospects at West Michigan to start the season, Tiger fans will keep an eye on Lakeland – specifically, Max Clark – in anticipation of who might make their way to Grand Rapids at some point this summer.
West Michigan plays its home games at LMCU Ballpark on the north side of Grand Rapids and is a member of the High-A Midwest League. Here’s how the team breaks down to start the season.
Catchers (3+1)
Josh Crouch – After a strong 2022 that put Crouch on the radar as a possible future major leaguer, his progression stalled last year, at least offensively. Now 25, Crouch will likely be the ‘Caps top backstop to start the season, his third donning a West Michigan uniform.
Jose Sibrian – Sibrian, 25, spent eight years in the Brewers organization but never played above Low-A ball. Detroit signed him in February and will give him a shot at High-A after he posted a solid 135 RC+ in the Carolina League last season.
Archer Brookman – Last season, Brookman, 25, played a backup role at Lakeland, where he had a 23.9% walk rate in 88 plate appearances, although he hit just .203.
– Injured List: Colin Burgess – Burgess, 25, who played sparingly at three levels a year ago, is on the 60-day IL to start the season.
Infield (7+1)
Max Anderson – Infield is the Whitecaps’ most intriguing position group, led by Peyton Graham, Izaac Pacheco, and this guy – 2B Max Anderson, the Tigers’ second-round pick last summer. Anderson, who played college ball at Nebraska, is built like a strong safety, and power is considered his biggest asset on the diamond. Anderson is TMLR’s No. 24 prospect.
Izaac Pacheco – On paper, Pacheco is comparable to Colt Keith. He’s a big, strong, left-handed hitting third baseman the Tigers drafted out of high school. While Keith’s star skyrocketed last year, Pacheco’s took a bit of a downturn, as he struggled at times for the Whitecaps. Still just 21, Pacheco can show last season’s struggles were just a chance to adapt and grow with a strong 2024. Pacheco is TMLR’s No. 18 prospect.
Peyton Graham – After being the Tigers’ second-round pick in 2022 out of Oklahoma, Graham’s production was tepid last season at Lakeland before struggling with injuries the second half of the season. He’s a toolsy, tall, athletic shortstop and one to keep an eye on for the Whitecaps this season.
Luke Gold – Gold, a fifth-round pick in 2022, played the second half of 2023 at West Michigan, where he’ll start this year. Gold does a lot of things well at the plate and has a utility infielder-type profile. Gold is TMLR’s No. 29 prospect.
Danny Serretti – After a solid first half at West Michigan, the switch-hitting Serretti found success a little harder to come by at Double-A Erie after a mid-season promotion. He’s got good bat-to-ball skills and will look to regain momentum this season.
Andrew Jenkins – The first baseman returns to West Michigan after finishing last season here. He’ll need to get the ball in the air more and hit for more power to progress.
Carlos Mendoza – Mendoza, 24, is back to play a utility role, which will include outfield work. He’s a ground ball hitter who knows how to draw a walk.
– Injured List: Abel Bastidas – Bastidas was one of the Tigers’ higher profile international signings in 2021. Considered a plus-defender, offensive projection is still a wait-and-see situation.
Outfield (3)
Roberto Campos – Maybe the most publicized international signing of the Al Avila era, Campos played a full season at West Michigan in 2023 and will start there this spring. The projected power for Campos, soon to be 21, is still developing, but his strikeout rate has been respectable. Campos is TMLR’s No. 20 prospect.
Seth Stephenson – Stephenson, 23, a seventh-round pick in 2022, got a taste of High-A West Michigan ball toward the end of last season after spending most of the year at Low-A Lakeland. The center fielder’s biggest weapon is speed, which was evident in his 70 stolen bases (in 85 attempts) in 123 games a year ago.
Cole Turney – Turney was drafted in the 34th round by Cleveland in 2017, but opted for college. Four schools later, Turney wasn’t drafted again, but the Tigers are giving him a shot at playing for an MLB organization. After tearing up the Gulf Coast League and a short stint at Lakeland that saw more success in 2023, the left-handed hitting Turney, 25, gets a somewhat unexpected shot at High-A ball to start this season.
Pitchers (17+3) asterisk indicates a lefty
Likely Starters
Garrett Burhenn – Burhenn logged 93 innings in 24 appearances, including 18 starts, for West Michigan last season (video). He’s got a low-90s fastball and has shown the ability to limit hard contact thus far, but doesn’t miss many bats.
Jaden Hamm – A 2023 fifth-round pick, Hamm is an under-the-radar prospect to watch after what he did in four starts at Lakeland last year (only three hits allowed in 11 innings). Said our Colin Arthur: “His fastball shows a lot of deception thanks to his steep arm angle, and he also features a plus changeup and curveball that he mixes well.”
Carlos Marcano – The youngest pitcher on the staff – he doesn’t turn 21 until July – the Venezuelan Marcano spent the past two seasons at Low-A Lakeland, first as a reliever in 2022 and then as a primary starter last season (video). The slender Marcano is still filling into his 6-2 frame and has plenty of upside.
Carlos Pena* – Pena, 25, pitched all of 2023 for West Michigan, compiling a 3.11 ERA in 110 innings, which won the Midwest League’s ERA title. His return to the Whitecaps is probably a testament to the Tigers’ pitching depth at the upper levels of the minors.
Dylan Smith – It was a bit of a surprise to see Smith on the Whitecaps roster, as the former third-round pick seemed destined for Double-A Erie after starting there in 2023, a season that saw him miss several months due to a forearm strain. Smith, who has back-of-the-rotation potential, may not be in West Michigan long if he’s healthy and throwing well. Both FanGraphs and Pipeline have him rated as the system’s No. 23 prospect.
Bullpen
Max Alba – TMLR’s Jerry Mackinem called Alba his breakout pitching prospect for 2024. An undrafted free agent signing in 2022, Alba limited opposing hitters to a .224 batting average in 41 relief appearances at Lakeland last season.
Michael Bienlien – Bienlien, 26, has pitched parts of four seasons for West Michigan since the Tigers drafted him in the 24th round in 2019.
Carlos De Los Santos – Like a lot of young power relievers (video), command tends to be an issue for De La Santos. He misses a lot of bats, but he also misses the strike zone (28 walks in 38 innings last year). De La Santos, still just 23, spent six years in the Dodgers organization before they cut him loose on March 23. The Tigers signed him four days later.
Colin Fields – Fields, an undrafted free agent signing in 2022, is a flyball pitcher who was very effective in 51 innings at Lakeland, as a starter and a reliever. He’ll get the chance to see if his stuff translates to a higher level this year.
Zack Hess – The 27-year-old, 6-6 power righty has battled injuries throughout much of his tenure with the Tigers, which started in 2019.
Connor Holden – Another undrafted free agent signing, Holden pitched for Lakeland, West Michigan, and Erie last season. He was in West Michigan during the months of July and August, appearing in 12 games.
Marco Jimenez – Jimenez, 24, is a hard-throwing righty who struggled with injuries while at Lakeland last season.
Tanner Kohlhepp – A 2021 fifth-round pick, Kohlhepp finally made his organizational debut in June after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Kohlhepp had an impressive 14.9 strikeouts per 9 over 23.2 innings at Lakeland, but he also walked 25 batters. Kohlhepp played in the Arizona Fall League last year as well.
Matt Merrill – The Tigers inked Merrill, 25, to a deal last December after he elected free agency from the Astros organization. He’s got 1.75 WHIP and 73 strikeouts in 54 career innings at High-A ball.
Trevin Michael – Michael, a 10th-round pick in 2022, has 42 career appearances at West Michigan, including 34 last season as he posted 3.43 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 39 innings.
Erick Pinales – Pinales is back for a second stint with the Whitecaps after 38 innings in 35 games last year. Like many young relievers, Pinales struggles with walks and tends to give up a little too much hard contact.
Angel Reyes – Reyes, 26, has 93 career appearances over three seasons for the Whitecaps, which I would imagine ranks pretty high on the franchise’s all-time list.
– Injured List: Gabe Sequeira*, Jordan Marks, Aaron Haase. Sequeira starts the season on the 7-day IL, and Haase the 60-day IL. Marks is expected to miss the season.
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