Tigers Minor League Recap – 7/23

Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)

Final: Louisville 3 – Toledo 13

Top Performer(s):

Brett Callahan, LF — 3-for-5, 2B, 3 R, RBI
Cal Stevenson, DH — 3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
Max Clark, CF — 3-for-4, 2 R, BB, SB

Yilber Diaz — 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Yilber nearly struck out all the batters who got out tonight. He would throw quite a few pitches, 24, but he would also gain 1.0 MPH of average velocity on his fastball. He had a 60% Whiff%, 46% CSW% to go with his 3 Ks. His slider would get a 50% Chase%.

Game notes:

What a crazy game this was. The offense would score a run in the 2nd on a single and a run in the 3rd on a double play to take a 2-0 lead. The Louisville offense would answer back with a run in the 4th on a double and 2 more runs in the 5th on back-to-back singles to take the 3-2 lead. Then the Mud Hens offense would come to life.

They’d take the lead back in the 6th with a single and a wild pitch, add to their lead in the 7th with 3 more runs thanks to a Cal Stevenson 3-run HR, and then tack on an additional 6 more runs for good measure in the 8th to put the game out of reach which included a 3-run shot for Carlos Pérez in his first game with the Mud Hens.

This was a bit of a bullpen game for the Mud Hens as they used 7 different pitchers. Yilber Diaz got his first win for the Mud Hens and Tyler Mattison and Tanner Rainey would get the next 3 IPs. In between Yilber and Tyler though was something unfortunate as Burch Smith throws just 2 pitches before being lifted due to injury.

Max Clark with a sharp single to right. pic.twitter.com/CKZZCereqs

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 23, 2026

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Dylan File (5-6, 5.63 ERA) vs Jonathan Harmon (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)

Final: Chesapeake 7 – Erie 8

Top Performer(s):

Andrew Jenkins, 1B — 1-for-2, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Justice Bigbie, RF — 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI
Peyton Graham, SS — 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 SB

Colin Fields — 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Colin Fields pitched the 6th and 7th, helping to hold the early lead Erie had. He threw 33 pitches, 21 for strikes, getting 2 Ks. The 2 runs allowed when he was out there were both unearned.

Game Notes:

The Baysox would take a very quick lead scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st. Kenny Serwa would struggle after getting the first 2 outs giving up a HR to Brandon Butterworth and then a single-walk-single to allow the 2nd run. That would be as bad as it would get for Kenny though. His next 4 innings he would give up 1 more hit and 1 more walk.

During those 4 innings, the Erie hitters would score 6 runs including a 3-run show from Garrett Pennington in the 3rd. The bats would have the 6-2 lead and then go quiet. Colin Fields and Yoniel Curet would combine to give up 3 more runs (just 1 earned) in the next 3 innings making it a 1 run lead for Erie, 6-5. Then in the 9th, thanks to a throwing error and a sac fly, they’d up their lead 8-5. And they would need it as the Baysox would threaten again in the 9th scoring 2 runs before the first out is registered, thanks to a 2-run HR. Then the Baysox offense would get a single and walk to continue the threat. To end the game and get the save, Eric Silva would get a force-out, a strikeout, and a pop out to end the game.

Garrett Pennington crushes a 3-run homer to left center to give the SeaWolves a 4-2 lead. It’s his 3rd home run with Erie and his 17th overall this year. pic.twitter.com/pNmdRZJM3z

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 23, 2026

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Hayden Minton (0-0, 2.29 ERA) vs Joseph Dzierwa (2-1, 2.54 ERA)

West Michigan Whitecaps (High-A)

Final: Peoria 1 – West Michigan 0

Top Performer(s):

Cristian Santana, 1B — 2-for-3, BB
Clayton Campbell, 3B — 1-for-4, 2B
Zach MacDonald, LF — 1-for-4

Lucas Elissalt — 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. What a stretch it’s been for Lucas. I’ll let this tweet speak for itself:

Five more scoreless innings from Lucas Elissalt tonight. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 3 starts. His numbers since June 1:

7G | 29.1 IP | 1.84 ERA | 17H | 10BB | 36K pic.twitter.com/52DV4zZEV4

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 24, 2026

Game Notes:

What a pitching dual this was! A combined 7 hitters were allowed and Clayton Campbell was the only one to have an XBH. 12 guys were stranded and together the teams went 0-for-6 with RISP. In the 18 half innings, 9 of them were 3 up and 3 down.

The lone run scored this game came in the form of a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the 9th by Eliseo Mota.

I mentioned Clayton Campbell had the only XBH, but Cristian Santana also had half the hits on the night. As a whole, the offense struck out 14 times.

Both teams will look to score more runs tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Carlos Marcano (1-3, 4.49 ERA) vs Ty Van Dyke (3-3, 6.44 ERA)

Lakeland Flying Tigers (Single-A)

Final: Jupiter 3 – Lakeland 5

Top Performer(s):

Edian Espinal, DH — 1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Carson Rucker, 3B — 1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI
Nick Dumesnil, CF — 1-for-3, 2B, R, 2 BB, SB

Cale Wetwiska — 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Cale did a terrific job with 1st pitch strikes, getting 7 out of 10 batters faced. His fastball sat 95 and he had a 35% CSW%. He pounded the zone with his fastball seeing an 83% Zone%, averaging 17” of IVB.

Game Notes:

Has anyone in the system had a better last couple of days than Edian Espinal? As if getting a walkoff yesterday wasn’t good enough, he goes and does it again with a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 9th tonight. It was his 3rd time on base today, his first hit. He hit his 6th HR on the season and now also has more walks than strikeouts as his BB% raises to 15.5%.

🚨Flying Tigers Walk-Off Win🚨

Edian Espinal with a 2-run walk-off blast to give Lakeland a 5-3 win. He hit a walk-off double last night. This is his 6th home run of the year. @AaronArnstein with the call. pic.twitter.com/4yycjuyHLZ

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 24, 2026

Prior to Edian’s heroics, Carson Rucker and Hunter Dobbins added their own HRs. Rucker would drive in his 2nd run on a bases loaded ground out.

Carson Rucker crushes the first pitch of the inning to put Lakeland up 1-0. It’s his 10th home run of the year, and it left his bat at 108.4MPH and went 422 feet. pic.twitter.com/wSFDLZjnzS

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 23, 2026

Cale Wetwiska had the start today and had a great outing. He was far from the only one though. Win Scott had 1.1 of his own hitless IP, getting 3 Ks. Donel Evans got the win after getting the final 2 innings where he gave up just 2 hits and got 3 Ks.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:
Cash Kuiper (1-4, 6.36 ERA) vs Eiver Mosquera (2-1, 4.64 ERA)

FCL Tigers (Rookie)

Final: FCL Yankees 3 – FCL Tigers 5

Top Performer(s):

Gabriel Rosado, DH — 2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB
Steven Madero, 1B — 1-for-3, R, RBI, BB
Angel De Los Santos, SS — 0-for-3, R, RBI, BB

Aleiman Cruz— 4.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.

Game Notes:

Tomorrow’s projected starters: — vs —

DSL Tigers (Rookie)

Final/8: DSL Blue Jays Red 9 – DSL Tigers (1) 8

Top Performer(s):

Oscar Tineo, SS — 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB
Carlos Benavides, C — 1-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI, R
Howard Reyes, LF — 2-for-3, 2B, R, BB

Oliver Castillo — 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.

Game Notes:

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs TBD

Final: DSL Twins 4 – DSL Tigers (2) 5

Top Performer(s):

Eduardo Tusen, 2B/3B — 2-for-4, 2B, R
Willian Berti, 1B — 1-for-2, 2B, 2 R, BB
Andy Mata, 3B — 1-for-2, 2B, 4 RBI, BB

Ericksson De Los Santos — 2.2 IP, 2 H,  0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.

Game Notes:

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs TBD

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