Five Things We Liked From Last Week, September 12th

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

1. Tuesday Night

Winning the division is of course the most important goal for the Detroit Tigers for the rest of the regular season. But it’s not the only one.

Earning the top seed in the American League is another important goal, and getting the offense, bullpen and non-Tarik Skubal starters on track would also go a long way towards making Detroit fans feel better about where the Tigers are heading into October.

Tuesday night was a good start.

After dropping two out of three to the Chicago White Sox heading into Tuesday’s game, the vibes around the Tigers weren’t great; and with a series in New York against the mighty Yankees up next, things weren’t getting any easier. But just like in his last start, Tuesday’s starting pitcher Casey Mize came up big for Detroit.

Mize went six innings, allowing just two runs on four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts; marking his second consecutive strong start when the Tigers needed it.

Casey set the tone, and Chris Paddack, who’s had some ups and downs since arriving in Detroit and recently dealt with a death in the family, maintained that tone, allowing no runs in three innings to close out the game and earn his first career save.

We mentioned getting the offense back on track would be huge for Detroit down the stretch, and Tuesday night they did just that by scoring 12 runs, taking advantage of a meltdown from the Yankees bullpen in a nine run seventh inning to lead the way to a 12-2 victory over New York.

Wins like Tuesday can provide a spark; and Wednesday, the Tigers defeated the Yankees again, by a final score of 11-1. Jack Flaherty tossed five scoreless innings in the victory, which not only helped towards the Tigers goal of getting their starting rotation on track, but also helped make history in the process. With back-to-back wins by 10 runs each, the Tigers were the first visiting team ever to win consecutive games by 10 or more runs at Yankee Stadium (both versions), per OptaStats on X.

The Tigers ultimately dropped game three of the series, but you’ll take a road series win every time; especially since Detroit hadn’t won a regular season series against the Yankees since 2011.

2. West Michigan Whitecaps Playoffs

With a final regular season record of 92-39, the West Michigan Whitecaps truly had a remarkable year.

To put that record in perspective, according to Baseball America, they are the first full season minor league team to have a .700 winning percentage or better in the 21^st century.

Pretty, pretty good.

On the heels of that dominant regular season, the Whitecaps earned a spot in the Midwest League playoffs, which started on Tuesday.

In game one of the division series, West Michigan got a big start from one of their best starting pitchers, Joe Miller, who allowed just two runs in five and a third innings. The bullpen followed up with three and two thirds of scoreless baseball, and an Izaac Pacheco three run homer helped catapult West Michigan to a 7-2 win.

Game two of the three game series was Thursday night, and it turned out that two games was all the Whitecaps needed to clinch a spot in the Midwest League championship. West Michigan starter Hayden Minton (more on him later) was electric for the ‘Caps, tossing six shutout innings, and the bullpen picked him up by allowing no runs in the final three innings of the game. The Whitecaps offense scored four runs in the fourth inning and that was all they needed in a 4-0 win.

The ’Caps will try to win the Midwest League championship starting on Sunday.

3. Hayden Minton

We mentioned that Hayden Minton was electric for the Whitecaps on Thursday night, going six innings and allowing no runs. What we didn’t mention is the man also allowed exactly no hits in those six innings.

It was fittin’ for Minton to dominate in his postseason start, as he’s been excellent all year.

He started the season in Lakeland, tossing 31.1 innings with a 2.30 ERA / 2.95 xFIP, 27.3% strikeout rate, 4.1% walk rate, .219 batting average against, 39.0% groundball rate and 0.29 HR/9.

He eventually earned a promotion to West Michigan on May 27^th, and after a tough first start in High A, picked up right where he left off in Lakeland. With West Michigan, Minton has now thrown 69.1 innings, with a 3.63 ERA / 3.50 xFIP, 24.2% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate, .228 BAA, 41.2% groundball rate and 1.04 HR/9.

Overall, Hayden has pitched just over 100 innings this year, with a combined 3.22 ERA / 3.33 xFIP, 25.1% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate, .225 BAA, 40.5% groundball rate and 0.80 HR/9.

The Tigers organization dealt with a lot of injuries from their starting pitchers this year, and Minton was one of the few to get through the full season and produce. That bodes well for his 2026 season, which will likely start either in High A or Double A.

Minton strikes batters out, limits walks and generally keeps the ball in the yard. With continued progress, he could give the Tigers a depth option as a starting pitcher as soon as late 2026 or early 2027.

4. Lakeland Flying Tigers Playoffs

Not to be outdone by their peers in West Michigan, the Lakeland Flying Tigers also secured a spot in their league’s playoffs (the Florida State League), after going 75-53 in the regular season. Their postseason also started on Tuesday.

In the first game of their division series, just like West Michigan, Lakeland got an excellent start from their starting pitcher, Gabriel Reyes, who led the Florida State League in ERA among all pitchers with at least 70 innings. Reyes allowed no runs in five and two thirds innings, and the bullpen held up as well, allowing just one run in three and a third innings to lead the way to a 5-1 victory for Lakeland.

On Thursday night the Flying Tigers played game two of the division series, and like their friends in West Michigan, they needed just two games to earn a spot in the Florida State League championship after taking home a 7-5 victory over Clearwater. The Flygers scored four runs in the first, and were able to hold onto the lead all game despite the Threshers trying to claw back multiple times. Ricardo Hurtado was the star of the show for Lakeland, going 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI.

Lakeland will play for the FSL championship starting this weekend.

5. Arizona Fall League Rosters

Every year, the Arizona Fall League provides MLB clubs with one last chance to see prospects in action at the end of the minor league season.

Players are sent to the AFL for many reasons. Sometimes teams want to get one last look at a player before making a decision on a 40 man roster spot, sometimes teams want to give players some more game action if they’ve missed time with injuries, sometimes teams want to see how players will perform against a higher level of competition than they faced in the regular season, and sometimes teams want a player to learn a new position defensively.

This year, the Tigers contingent consists of some very interesting names.

The headliner is Kevin McGonigle, who has taken the minors by storm in 2025. Likely, Detroit wants to see McGonigle get more reps offensively and especially defensively, after he missed some time earlier this spring with an injury.

Max Anderson is likely the second biggest name heading to Arizona from the Tigers system. Anderson has been one of the biggest surprises in Detroit’s organization this year, putting up eye opening numbers after a productive yet unspectacular 2024 season. Max began seeing some time at third base during the minor league season, and the Tigers may want to see more of that this fall.

Lefty Jake Miller is another highly ranked prospect heading west after the minor league season wraps up. Miller played in the AFL last year after missing time with injury, and will do the same this year after again missing a large chunk of the season with an injury. With a good start to the 2026 season, Jake could find himself in line for a spot with the big league club, as he certainly has the stuff, and has done nothing but perform when healthy the past two years. Miller is Rule 5 eligible this offseason and is a near lock to be added to the 40 man roster.

Another very interesting pitcher from the Tigers system is also heading to Arizona, knuckleballer Kenny Serwa. Serwa has had a solid first full season in affiliate ball, and after pitching a full year, it’s interesting that Detroit is sending him to the AFL. He will continue to work on his knuckler in Arizona, and just like Jake Miller, could find himself pitching for a spot with Detroit if he continues to progress and gets off to a good start in ’26.

Infielder Jack Penney will also head west after the conclusion of the minor league season, after he put himself on the map with a solid year in West Michigan in 2025. Penney missed time with an injury this season, so he’ll get more reps against a little better competition than he faced in High A this year.

The final two players the Tigers are sending to Arizona are pitchers Dariel Fregio and Carlos Lequerica. Both Fregio and Lequerica are 25 year old relievers with intriguing stuff who had good years at High A West Michigan. Neither appears to be Rule 5 eligible quite yet, so most likely Detroit wants to see how they do against more advanced competition.

Overall, Detroit is sending a strong cohort of players to Arizona. The Tigers hope the main focus will be on a long playoff run for the big league club in October, but it’s also worth tracking these seven players’ progress in the AFL as well.

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