Oakland claims Jeff Larish off waivers

Another of the Tiger prospects that had been among the top five on their recent prospect lists is gone.   The Oakland A's have claimed Jeff Larish off waivers from the Tigers.  In return, Detroit gets nothing but the relatively modest waiver fee.

Larish was designated for assignment and placed on waivers to make room for Jeff Frazier.  He was put through waivers last November as the Tigers prepared their roster for the Rule 5 draft, and he cleared withoug being claimed.   That he wasn't traded indicates that no club was willing to give the Tigers value in return for Larish, who must now be placed on Oakland's 40 man roster.

Jeff has hit, and hit for power, at every level he's played. He adds about 100 points to his OBP above his average because of excellent plate discipline. He never was given a sustained shot at adjusting to the major leagues, just 10 AB's this year as an example. They moved him to third base and his defense was said to be pretty good there, but the moment Inge went on the DL, he was passed over for promotion by Sizemore, who hadn't played third base in years.    I would like to have seen Jeff given a chance to play third base, and make the necessary adjustments at the plate, and see if he can bring a good portion of his numbers from Toledo to Detroit. 

I think that Jeff can hit at the major league level if he is given the time to adjust that he was not given in Detroit. He has a very peculiar stance, where he stands motionless with his bat straight in the air, and his hat pulled down shading his eyes like beetle Bailey. If he has to trash that stance, it'll take some time. I think it takes a while for him to get his bat in motion from that position. I think that Leyland just didn't like his stance, and he didn't need to see any more.