Minor leaguer James Skelton will not be returning to the Detroit Tigers, after all. The Arizona Diamondbacks will keep him in their system after working out a deal to send pitcher Brooks Brown to Detroit.
Last year with Double-A Mobile, Brown posted a 6-15 record in 26 starts (totaling 144.1 innings), with a 4.18 ERA. He struck out 112 batters, while walking 67. As TigerBlog notes, Brown was named to the Southern League All-Star team last season, and also pitched well in the Arizona Fall League, notching 19 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.
The Detroit Tigers Weblog has more on Brown, including some analysis from Baseball America.
Brown was assigned to Double-A Erie. (Nick Piecoro reports that Brown would've also pitched at that level this season had he remained in the Arizona organization, noting that his stock seemed to have fallen. In that same article, he speaks with Skelton about his performance this spring.) Skelton, meanwhile, will report to Mobile.