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The Detroit Tigers are a boring team to watch right now, frankly. Losing is one thing — and the Tigers have done a lot of that lately — but regardless of the score, the club doesn’t offer much to keep fans engaged right now. Matthew Boyd has tailed off from his hot start, younger players like Jeimer Candelario and Christin Stewart have scuffled to varying degrees, and two-fifths of the starting rotation has been well below replacement level for most of the season.
If all goes well, that should change later on this summer. MLB.com’s Jason Beck noted that the Tigers are hoping to call up both Kyle Funkhouer and Beau Burrows later this summer, giving the starting rotation and the team a much-needed shot in the arm. How successful either player will be is a complete unknown — Steamer projects that both pitchers will have an ERA above 5.00 in the majors right now — but their starts will be must-see TV for diehard fans in a way that Ryan Carpenter, Gregory Soto, and even Daniel Norris can’t warrant.
There are other potential call-ups in the pipeline too. Shortstop Willi Castro is already on the 40-man roster — and hitting well enough to deserve a promotion — while others like catcher Jake Rogers and outfielder Daz Cameron will need to be added to the 40-man prior to this winter’s Rule 5 draft. Righthander Anthony Castro is another player who will be Rule 5 eligible this December.
Our Question of the Day is a loaded one:
Which Tigers prospect are you most excited to see in 2019?
My answer: Beau Burrows may not be the most exciting player in the group mentioned above, but he has been around the Tigers’ farm system longer than the others (except Anthony Castro). We have watched Burrows progress throughout the minors, worried about his strikeout rate, and simply invested more time in following his career than we have with most of these other players so far. Seeing him reach the majors after this long ascent will be rewarding, even if it takes him a little while to get settled at the big league level.