Morning Prowl: More Edwin Jackson Mea Culpas, MLB Draft Notes, Rick Porcello's Deal, and the Fall of the Royals

  There's more penance in the Tigersosphere for objections to the Edwin Jackson trade back in December.  At Tiger Tales, Lee admits he was wrong about Jackson being nothing more than an innings-eating starter and looks like the real deal.  Eddie is a bit more succinct at Detroit Tigers Thoughts.

  If you haven't done so already, the latest episode of The Detroit Tigers Podcast is definitely worth your listening time.  Mike McClary talks to the Detroit News' Lynn Henning, who thinks the Tigers are on the verge of making some big roster decisions.  (Henning echoed some of those sentiments in a column on Saturday.)

  Another thing about the Jackson deal was that it seemed like a consolation prize after the Tigers lost out on J.J. Putz during the Winter Meetings.  Well, who really lost, now that Putz will miss 10-12 weeks for surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow.

  One more note from Tiger Tales: Lee looks at the Tigers after the 54-game mark (one-third of the season), and determines how the team is scoring runs when they rank low in so many offensive categories.

  Tomorrow is the MLB Draft, and Keith Law mentioned in his draft notes before the weekend that the Tigers are among three teams who have been looking hard at pitcher Tanner Scheppers.  (In his latest mock draft, however, Law thinks Scheppers will be gone by Detroit's #9 selection.)

Scheppers is a 6'4" right-hander currently pitching for the St. Paul Saints, who's back in the draft after a shoulder injury pushed him down to the second round last year.

  Take 75 North takes a quick look through the Tigers minor league system, highlighting one player at each level that stands out for good reasons, and another whose numbers are cause for concern. 

  Another MLB Draft tidbit: High school pitcher Matt Purke wants "Rick Porcello's deal" from whichever team selects him.  That's a request that will likely push Purke out of the first round and onto TCU to play college baseball.

  This was written before yesterday's game, but it still applies: Hazaa wishes Jim Leyland would stop using Fernando Rodney in non-save situations. 

  Royals Review thinks the good times are over in Kansas City (the Royals are now eight games under .500 and 6.5 games behind the Tigers), and that tough questions now need to be asked of general manager Dayton Moore.

  Here's an entirely unoriginal thought from the Palm Beach Post's Dave George: Hey, why don't the Tigers convert Dontrelle Willis into an outfielder?  It worked for Rick Ankiel!