Tigers Minor League Recap – 8/20

Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A)

Final/10: Iowa 5 – Toledo 4

Top Performer(s):

Max Anderson, DH — 3-for-4, BB
Trei Cruz, RF — 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB
Andrew Navigato, 3B — 1-for-4, RBI, BB

Austin Gomber — 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Gomber got the start tonight. His fastball wasn’t missing bats, but the rest of his pitches combined to get 10 whiffs on 25 swings (40% Whiff%).

Game notes:

This was a close game from start to end with the largest lead all night being just 2 and that lasted for exactly half an inning when the Cubs saw their 3-1 lead turn into a 4-3 deficit. That 4-3 lead would last until the top of the 9th when the Cubs would tie the game up and eventually score the winning run in extras to take the 5-4 win.

Max Anderson would log 3 of the 8 hits for the team tonight, all singles. 6 of the 9 starters would get on-base 2+ times thanks to 10 walks. Still, they wouldn’t get the hits when they needed them as they went 0-for-11 with RISP and stranded 12 batters.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Jackson Wolf (1-0, 3.38 ERA) vs TBD

Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)

Final: New Hampshire 2 – Erie 6

Top Performer(s):

E.J. Exposito, 2B — 1-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI
Andrew Jenkins, 1B — 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Zyhir Hope, DH — 1-for-3, R, BB

Lucas Elissalt — 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. Second AA start, second start in a row setting a career high in Ks. The one bad to his start was the 2-run home run he gave up in the top of the 1st.

Lucas Elissalt blows a fastball past Victor Arias for his 10th strikeout of the game. It’s the 2nd straight outing Elissalt has set a new career high for strikeouts. @BurgessLuke03 on the call. pic.twitter.com/UXNrk2JHT4

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) August 20, 2026

Game Notes:

The Seawolves hitters would show exactly why XBH are so valuable. All 5 RBIs came on one, an Andrew Jenkins double in the bottom of the 3rd and a 3-run HR by E.J. Expositio in the bottom of the 4th. The 6th run they’d score also came in the 4th, but game via a wild pitch.

E.J. Exposito crushes a 3-run homer to left to put the SeaWolves up 6-2 in the 4th. It’s his 22nd home run of the year. @BurgessLuke03 calls it. pic.twitter.com/BGHUmsH5gF

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) August 20, 2026

Lucas Elissalt had a terrific game, but the bullpen did their part as well. 4 pitchers would combine to go 5 IP, giving up 2 hits, walking just 1 and striking out 6 and helping to keep the New Hampshire team from scoring any more runs after the 1st.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Max Alba (2-4, 6.01 ERA) vs Johnny King (0-1, 4.50 ERA)

West Michigan Whitecaps (High-A)

Final: South Bend 2 – West Michigan 5

Top Performer(s):

Juan Hernandez, 2B — 1-for-1, RBI
Carson Rucker, 3B — 0-for-3, R, BB
Clayton Campbell, 1B — 2-for-4, R

Win Scott — 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Terrific outing again for Win Scott, who lowered his A+ ERA to 0.84 on the season with these 3 scoreless innings.

Game Notes:

What an interesting game. A pitching dual that saw no runs scored until the Whitecaps scored 1 run in the top of the sixth when John Peck scored on a wild pitch. The South Bend offense would wait to score until the bottom of the 7th when they’d put 2 on the board and take the 2-1 lead late in the game.

Edian Espinal smokes a leadoff single to raise his average with the Whitecaps to .333, and then he immediately steals 2nd. pic.twitter.com/813sr6G6r9

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) August 20, 2026

Then in the top of the 9th, things would fall apart for South Bend. 2 singles, 2 walks, hit by pitch combined with 2 wild pitches and a balk would score 4 runs for the Whitecaps giving them the runs they needed to get the win. And this all happened with just 1 out. Zach Lee would pitch the 2nd of this 2 innings to complete the win.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:

Jojo Ingrassia (0-0, 3.38 ERA) vs TBD

Lakeland Flying Tigers (Single-A)

Final: St. Lucie 2 – Lakeland 6

Top Performer(s):

Javier Osorio, 3B — 2-for-4, HR, R, RBI, SB
Zach MacDonald, CF — 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, 3 SB
Michael Oliveto, DH — 1-for-3, R, 2 BB

Cale Wetwiska — 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K. Cale continues to build quite the resume. Tonight he was able to get a 39% Whiff% on 36 swings and all 4 of his pitches had at least a 32% CSW% and moved to 3-0 on the season.

Cale Wetwiska completes 5 innings for the second straight start, and he does so by setting a new career high with his 8th strikeout. pic.twitter.com/HiZhKkwJhj

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) August 20, 2026

Game Notes:

Third straight affiliate on this recap to give up only 2 runs to their opponents. The offense would attack with their speed tonight. A total of 6 SBs as a team. Zach MacDonald had 3 of them, Angel De Los Santos had 2, and Javier Osorio with the 6th.

Zach MacDonald steals 2nd base and then steals 3rd, making him the 5th player in minor-league baseball with 20+ homers and 30+ steals this year. He’s the first Tigers minor leaguer with a 20/30 season since Howard Johnson in 1982. pic.twitter.com/azqwOi7Aqp

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) August 21, 2026

As a team, the Flying Tigers would have the 8 hardest hit balls in the game and 10 of the 12 hard hit balls. Michael Oliveto would have 3 of those, Anibal Salas and Javier Osorio would have 2 each.

Michael Oliveto scorches a single to right. He’s now batting .325 with 5 extra-base hits, 6 walks, and 8 strikeouts in his first 12 games in Low A. pic.twitter.com/SdRTCBj6CL

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) August 20, 2026

Javier Osorio smacks a 410-foot homer to left center to give Lakeland a 6-2 lead. It’s his 7th home run of the year. pic.twitter.com/M9drN7j3uQ

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) August 21, 2026

After Wetwiska, Frenny Grant would also rack up the whiffs. 8 on 25 swings tonight, 7 of which were vs his sinker.

Tomorrow’s projected starters:
TBD vs Joel Lara (0-5, 5.62 ERA)

DSL Tigers (Rookie)

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs TBD

Final: DSL Colorado 19 – DSL Tigers (2) 5

Top Performer(s):

Manuel Bolivar, C — 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI
Willian Berti, 1B — 2-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB
Yojan Coronel, 2B — 2-for-4, 2B, RBI

Kevin Tejada — 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.

Game Notes:

Game 1 vs Colorado did not go the DSL Tigers 2 way. They’ll look to rebound and even the playoff series at 1 tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s projected starters: TBD vs TBD

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