Prospecting the 2009 Detroit Tigers Prospects

by Ian Casselberry on Jan 8, 2009 2:00 PM EST in News Comment 2 comments

The present day is currently terribly vexing with the Detroit Tigers, so maybe it would be somewhat therapeutic to look into the future. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, John Sickels would be publishing his rankings of the Top 20 Tigers prospects this week, and that list has now been posted at Minor League Ball.

For the second consecutive year, as could be expected, Rick Porcello gets the top spot in Detroit's organization. Sickels, however, has some concerns with Porcello's strikeout per nine innings numbers. But that's an argument that can be carried well into the night among Tigers fans and minor league observers.

The number of bullpen arms Detroit has accumulated in its system is seen as a plus. (Sickels says not to pay too much attention to the letter grades he's assigned them.) Especially since a couple of those pitchers are more than likely to make a contribution this coming season.

Perhaps surprisingly, however, Sickels doesn't think very highly of Cale Iorg (mostly in regards to his bat), who Dave Dombrowski has basically tagged with future All-Star expectations. Actually, he doesn't have much regard for any Tigers position player prospects, other than perhaps Casper Wells.

Click on over and join in the discussion. Porcello always creates some interesting arguments among the Minor League Ball community. And please post some of your thoughts in the comments here, as well.

Is there anyone notable that Sickels left off his list? Do you think he was too harsh on the Tigers' position players? What do you think about Porcello being a sinkerballer vs. fireballer? Which player do you see either making the team out of Spring Training or getting a call up later in the season?

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Sickles has never been very high on Cale Iorg. He thought the over-slot bonus that Iorg received in ‘07 had more to do with his pedigree than his tools or potential. Looks like he still thinks he’s over-hyped. Iorg does have some weaknesses, particularly at the plate, and Dombrowski probably overstates his ultimate ceiling. Still, I think Sickles’ grade is a little stingy. I would probably give him a C+.

by Brian8603 on Jan 8, 2009 4:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

On the one hand...

He’s only OPS’ing around .730. On the other, he’s about 30 points higher than league, because he plays in the FSL. But that league includes a lot of kids up to 4 years younger than him.

If we assume that he remains a .730 OPS hitter at the ML level, that puts him in the bottom half of regular shortstops. So if he’s a legitimate defensive bad-ass, that could maybe make him an All-Star. More likely, it makes him Brandon Inge.

The defense is what Sickels is ignoring a bit when he says, “his brother Eli has exactly the same weaknesses and looks like a failed prospect,” because while Eli has put up slightly better offensive numbers (albeit not in the FSL) Eli has been playing corner OF and some CF.

Some of the ranking discrepancy between Sickels and BA is probably philosophical. You could argue that Wells is the better player, and in the same breath concede that it’s more likely that Iorg will crack the roster in 2010, simply due to need.

by cherub_daemon on Jan 8, 2009 11:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs