Detroit Tigers News: At least the prospects got some hits

It was a tough night on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates as Jordan Zimmermann had another solid outing allowing one run through the first six innings on three hits and two walks. However, he allowed two hits and a walk in the seventh inning including a home run, which pushed the Pirates’ lead to three. The Tigers couldn’t muster a single run and dropped the first game of the series by a score of 3-0. It was the eighth time the Tigers have been shut out this season, but the first time since July 8.

This drops the Tigers to nine games below .500 — the eighth worst record in baseball — as the first week of August has passed. Despite such a horrible record, they are still only six games back of the second Wild Card spot.

Rumor has it that the Houston Astros are still interested in Justin Verlander as he cleared revocable waivers last week, as expected. So there’s a possibility of a deal there, unlikely as it may be. In case you missed it, on Monday the Tigers number four prospect Jeimer Candelario — who is ranked 90^th out of the top 100 prospects by MLB.com — was called up with Jose Iglesias’ placement on the bereavement list.

The Tigers are back at it this evening as they’re in Pittsburgh for the second game of the series, which starts at 7:05 p.m. EST. Matthew Boyd is scheduled to take the mound for the Tigers, opposing young righthander Chad Kuhl of the Pirates.

Prospect Corner

Although it was brief, Matt Manning made his first start for the West Michigan Whitecaps on Monday night. He pitched an 1 ²⁄₃ innings allowing four runs on three hits and three walks while striking out three. He was pulled when his pitch count reached 53 in the second inning.

Dawel Lugo, the center-piece of the Martinez trade, has 11 hits in 28 at-bats including two homers and seven RBI over the past week with the Erie Seawolves. Lugo is now hitting 21-for-75 for a .255 average, with four homers and 14 RBI since being acquired by the Tigers.

Sergio Alcantara, the final piece of the Martinez deal, has five hits in his last 22 at-bats including seven runs and five walks versus only three strikeouts with Lakeland over the past seven days.

Jeimer Canderlario was the main piece of the Alex Avila and Justin Wilson trade to the Chicago Cubs. He was recently called up from Toledo as previously mentioned. He had five hits in his first 26 at-bats with Toledo including a home run.

Another prospect, Cam Gibson, son of 1984 World Series legend and current Tigers’ color commentator Kirk Gibson, hit for the cycle on Monday night for the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

Jose King is the 18-year-old shortstop acquired as part of the J.D. Martinez trade. He’s currently playing for the Tigers Rookie Gulf Coast League West team. Over the past week he has seven hits in 27 at-bats — a .259 average — including an RBI and a run. three RBI and three extra base hits since being traded to the Tigers.

Isaac Paredes was the second player in the Avila and Wilson trade, he has 11 hits in 31 at-bats, including two homers and eight RBI, with West Michigan since being acquired.

Another top prospect, number three in the Tigers system and 96^th overall, Beau Burrows, struck out 10 over six frames on Sunday which is his best start since reaching the Double-A level. For full Tigers prospects updates, check out the Prospect Notebook.

Other Tigers news

Kurt wrote that Nicholas Castellanos needs a new position. BYB commenter TresTristesTigres tells us why it makes sense for Detroit to trade Michael Fulmer. John talked with Eli Nellis of Bucs Dugout about the Tigers-Pirates series. Rank the TIgers prospects in the BYB community polling thread.

Outside of Tigerland

Monday was Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout’s 26^th birthday and as a celebration, he doubled for his 1,000^th career hit in the majors. That’s something that only 10 American League players have done before their age-26 season. Trout’s birthday party was crashed by the Baltimore Orioles though as Manny Machado cracked a grand slam to help give Baltimore the victory.

The Chicago Cubs always seem to make things exciting: This time, second baseman Javier Baez hit an inside-the-park round-tripper in San Francisco against the Giants. Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit his 37^th home run off former Tiger Max Scherzer in a losing effort to the Washington Nationals. This keeps Stanton in the league lead for homers and also ties a career high as he hit 37 in both 2012 and 2014.

Baseball is awesome