Five Things We Liked From Last Week, April 4th

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

1. Mariners series

The Tigers got off to a tough start to the season, dropping all three games to the juggernaut LA Dodgers in the opening series of the ’25 season. Detroit hung in there and competed with the defending champs, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Going 4 for 32 with runners in scoring position doomed the Tigers.

However, the turntables turned in the first game of Detroit’s series against the Seattle Mariners. The Tigers scored six runs in the first inning to give Jackson Jobe some breathing room, and went 6 for 14 with RISP to lead the way to a 9-6 win.

In game two, the Tigers got off to another hot start, putting up two runs in the first inning against Seattle ace Logan Gilbert. That was all Casey Mize needed, as the right-hander continued his dominance from spring training into his first start of the year. K-sey was lights out, going 5 2/3 innings and giving up 0 runs with 6 strikeouts, to lead the way to a 4-1 Tigers win.

Detroit ultimately lost game three of the series in a Tom Petty heartbreaker, but it was a series win nonetheless as the Tigers head back to the D for a three game set against the Chicago White Sox.

2. Spencer Torkelson

In the March 14^th edition of “Five Things”, we mentioned Spencer Torkelson looking lean and mean down in spring training. Fortunately for the Tigers, the Tork’aissance has continued into the regular season.

Tork went 1 for 1 with a homer and 4 walks in the regular season opener, and stayed hot throughout the Dodgers series as well as the first two games of the Mariners series. In a small sample size, Tork’s slash is a cool .318/.444/.545 for the year. That’ll do just fine.

If Spencer can provide the Tigers with a big right-handed bat in the middle of the lineup, the ’25 season all of the sudden looks much more promising.

3. Justyn-Henry Malloy

Justyn-Henry Malloy was a surprise last minute cut coming out of spring training, after looking very strong in Grapefruit League action. To his credit, J-(Mud)Hen took the demotion in stride and raked down in Toledo for three games (to the tune of a 1.447 OPS). After Gleyber Torres was put on the injured list with an oblique injury, Malloy got recalled and again raked in his first big league game of the ’25 season, going 2 for 4 with a double and 2 walks.

One gets a warm, fuzzy feeling when Malloy is at the dish, and it is fairly clear that A.J. Hinch feels the same. Playing time will get tight as various players return from injury, but with the Tigers needing offense, it wouldn’t be a surprise for JHM to force his way into the lineup on a regular basis.

4. Toledo MudHens Season Opener and Minor League Roster Releases

The MudHens ’25 season started a week ago, much to the delight of minor league baseball fans (potentially such as yourself). While Toledo went 1-2 in their first series of the season, there were some positive signs; notably from Jace Jung (1.316 OPS), Hao-Yu Lee (.885 OPS) and the aforementioned Justyn-Henry Malloy.

The MudHens continued their season this week with a series against the Round Rock Express, dropping game one 8-4. They also dropped game two of the series despite a big night from Jace Jung (2 for 4, 3B, HR, BB), who continues to stay hot and ready, Little Caeser’s style.

Toledo won game three of the series 7-4, with Jung again leading the way (2 for 5, 2B, BB). If Jace can keep this pace up, he should get another chance in Detroit soon.

The rest of the Tigers full-season affiliates kick off their seasons today, and the Tigers released the rosters for the Erie SeaWolves, West Michigan Whitecaps and Lakeland Flying Tigers. Here’s where TMLR’s top 20 prospects will start the year, along with links to their TMLR scouting reports:

Toledo: Hao-Yu Lee (#4) Jace Jung (#8), Ty Madden (#15)

Erie: Thayron Liranzo (#6), Troy Melton (#9), Jaden Hamm (#10), Roberto Campos (#12), Jake Miller (#13), Joseph Montalvo (#16)

West Michigan: Kevin McGonigle (#2), Max Clark (#3), Josue Briceño (#5), Rayner Castillo (#14), Brett Callahan (#20)

Lakeland: Bryce Rainer (#7), Franyerber Montilla (#11), Owen Hall (#17), Carson Rucker (#19)

5. Prospects we’re looking forward to seeing this season: Franyerber Montilla

Montilla was part of the Tigers’ 2022 international free agent class, and burst onto the scene in the Dominican Summer League in 2023, putting up a strong .280/.394/.439 slash with a walk rate of 13.4% and strikeout rate of just 17.3%. He followed that up with an even better line in the Complex League in ’24, where he slashed .273/.409/.448 while increasing his walk rate to 17.6%, holding his strikeout rate steady, and increasing his ISO to .174. His 6 home runs doubled his output from ‘23, and while Montilla did slow down after his promotion to Class A Lakeland, he finished the year strong in the playoffs.

Here’s what our own Chris Brown had to say about the youngster on the TMLR top prospect breakdown:

There’s a ton to like here. At the plate Montilla shows a quick bat from both sides, with a good approach, and a surprising amount of pop. He seems to have a little better feel for contact from the right side, but he should be able to stick as a switch hitter without issue. On defense he shows the athleticism, hands, arm, and instincts to remain on the left side of the infield. And he’s an aggressive baserunner with plus speed, who plays with infectious enthusiasm. He may take a little while to work through the system, but he has all the tools to be a true two-way shortstop.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been a teenager, but teens often take some time to come into their own physically; and Montilla will still be a teenager until tax day 2025. He is an athletic, twitchy switch-hitter with some juice in his bat already who controls the zone and holds his own defensively up the middle. Montilla will be well worth a watch in 2025.