Tigers Minor League Recap – 4/16

Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)

Final: Louisville 5 – Toledo 10

Top Performer(s):

Eduardo Valencia, C — 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
Corey Julks, LF — 2-for-5, 2B, R, 3 RBI
Trei Cruz, SS — 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB

Ty Madden — 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Ty Madden repeated his performance from last Thursday, going 5 IP on 58 pitches. He gave up a 2 run home run in the 2nd inning, but otherwise kept the Louisville hitters a hard time

Game notes:

The Mud Hens were firing on all cylinders tonight as every hitter got on base at least 1 time. Together, they collected 12 with their 4-8 hitters getting 2 a piece. They would put up 4 runs in the 6th thanks to back-to-back singles from Corey Julks and Tyler Gentry, then a force out from Max Burt, lastly from a Max Clark single a few batters later. Not to be outdone, Louisville would quickly answer with a 2 run shot in the bottom of the 2nd to cut the Bats in half. The Mud Hens would get those 2 runs back though in the top of the 3rd on a Corey Julks double, giving the Mud Hens the 6 runs early in the game. The Mud Hens would score their 7th run in the top of the 4th. After a JJ Bleday double in the bottom of the 6th, the Mud Hens would tack on their last 3 runs of the game in the top of the 7th. The inning would start with back-to-back walks from Eduardo Valencia and Jace Jung. Trei Cruz would follow them up with a single to score Valencia and Tyler Gentry would score the final 2 runs on a single a few batters later.

And then there’s this because who doesn’t love some Max Clark highlights?

Max Clark hits a 106 MPH rocket through the second baseman to score Max Burt and put Toledo up 4-0. pic.twitter.com/XCdnbyEd6k

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 16, 2026

Might go by Max Clark, but that catch? Pure Clark Kent.
Some may even say Superman✨ pic.twitter.com/1e9OlYLskY

— Toledo Mud Hens (@MudHens) April 17, 2026

Ty Madden started the game going 5 IP. Sommers and Burch Smith would get the next 2 innings, giving up the 3 runs scored in the 6th and 7th for the Bats before Tanner Rainey and Matt Seelinger would shut them down getting 4 Ks in the final 2 innings. Matt Seelinger’s ERA creeps closer to below 1.00 (now 1.04) on the year.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Dylan File (0-0, 8.22 ERA) vs TBD

Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)

Final: Harrisburg 11 – Erie 9

Top Performer(s):

Brett Callahan, CF — 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
EJ Exposito, 3B — 2-for-5, 2 RBI
Aaron Antonini, DH — 2-for-5, HR, R, RBI

Johan Simon — 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. In relief he threw 10 strikes on 17 pitches and getting 2 Ks to show for it. On a day where good pitching was hard to find, Johan was a bright spot. He was able to avoid any damage despite an error allowing a base runner to get on.

Game Notes:

The Erie offense looks like it was going to be rolling tonight scoring 3 runs in the first 2 innings of the game to take an early 3-1 lead. However despite getting multiple men on in 4 of the next 5 innings, including a bases loaded and 1 out situation, they were able to score just 1 more run that came on a solo shot from Aaron Antonini. Then, when the game seemed to be far out of reach, they get up and score 5 runs in the bottom of the 8ths to make the game look a lot closer than it really was for most of it. The offense had plenty of opportunities to break the game open, but just couldn’t quite get it done as they leave 13 guys on base.

EJ Exposito with a RBI single as Erie pulls within two. pic.twitter.com/2QPhjrqRZG

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 17, 2026

The pitching didn’t help the cause very much either though. We saw 6 guys take the mound. Joe Miller and Sean Hunley gave up 10 of the 11 runs in the first 5 innings. Wandisson Charles came in and gave up the 11th run as he threw just 13 strikes on 30 pitches where he walks 3 guys in 0.2 IP. Luke Taggart ate 1.1 inning allowing just the 1 base runner and striking out 1. He was followed by Johan Simon who had a good outing and closing out the game was the position player, Andrew Jenkins who somehow got 3 outs and had just 1 walk on 14 pitches.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Carlos Peña (0-1, 2.08 ERA) vs Davian Garcia (0-1, 2.25 ERA)

West Michigan Whitecaps (High-A)

Final: Lansing  – West Michigan PPD

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Rayner Castillo (0-2, 11.37 ERA) vs Zane Taylor (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Lakeland Flying Tigers (Single-A)

Final: Fort Myers 7 – Lakeland 4

Top Performer(s):

Zach MacDonald, CF — 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI
Nolan McCarthy, LF — 1-for-4, R, RBI
Jack Goodman, 2B — 1-for-4, 2B, BB

Jan Caraballo — 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. Making his Lakeland debut tonight, Jan looks lights out. He needed just 22 pitches and got a ton of chase up and out of the zone. Statcast data appears to be down for the Lakeland Toledo games, but hopefully it gets fixed and we can catch some of the data here.

Game Notes:

The offense started out slow. They would get 3 base runners off the Fort Myers starter, Riley Quick, but all would be from walks. They’d score 3 runs in the 4th inning to cut their deficit to 1 with 2 of the runs scoring thanks to an error. The 1st run they’d score was on a Zach MacDonald HR, his 4th of the young season. In the 6th, the Flying Tigers would tie the game and look to be threatening for more runs. A double and a walk would have 2 guys on and 2 outs. Jude Warwick would get a single that saw Sergio Tapia head home only to be thrown out and end the threat. The Mighty Mussels would score another run in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good.

Zach MacDonald sends a solo home run to right center for Lakeland’s first hit of the night. It’s his 4th home run of the year. pic.twitter.com/83Xfbirel9

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 17, 2026

Pitching was a little rough. Malachi Witherspoon didn’t have his best stuff out there getting through just 0.2 IP. He had a 10 pitch walk, which might of been able to be challenged got 2 Ks, but also had a 10 pitch battle that ended in a walk to give the Mussels 2 guys on base and allowed Yasser Mercedes to clobber a 3-run HR ending Malachi’s night early. Pogue came in and didn’t have his best stuff either giving up 1 run, 1 hit, and walking 3 himself. Tyler Owens and Jan Caraballo would get the next 3 innings and shut down the offense before Yoan Valdez gives up 3 more runs to take the loss. Jose Guzman, who would also have a good outing, finished the game.

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs Merit Jones (0-0, 3.52 ERA)

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