Detroit Tigers News: Joey Wentz, trades, and some unlucky hitters

Well, hello there. On the heels of a series loss to the Oakland Athletics, we begin the week with yet another off-day Monday before the New York Yankees roll into Detroit to most likely lay a large amount of hurt on the Tigers followed by a series against the Baltimore Orioles where we will see who truly wants it less. The season marches necessarily forward, and if you were one of the many fans who were hoping a certain professional football team might be a comforting salve on the wound of painful loss, I offer my condolences. As we gather our collective strength to move forward, let’s take some time to see what’s happening with the organization.

Joey Wentz

When the return for the Shane Greene trade with the Atlanta Braves was announced, there was many a Tigers fan expressing displeasure, or indifference, to the return. Pitcher Joey Wentz was part of that package and despite the initial reaction of the fan base, in his short time in the system he has impressed. In Jeff Seidel’s piece for The Detroit Free Press, the words high and ceiling make frequent appearances. Wentz logged a shade over 25 innings for Erie sporting a 2.10 ERA and a 0.935 WHIP. Not too shabby. As Wentz moves into the off season he plans to work on improving his breaking pitch, which is currently described as something of a slurve. He looks to bring whatever developments he makes to Toledo to start the 2020 season.

Hard luck

David Adler at MLB.com took a look at some of the unluckiest hitters in the league this year and two familiar names made the list. In the arena of highest percentage of outs on barreled balls — one of several categories Adler looked at — Miguel Cabrera and Nicholas Castellanos hold the second and third highest numbers in the league behind Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants. The focus here is the ballpark. Playing most of their games in large parks seems to factor in. Let the Castellanos Comerica Park comments debate continue.

Offseason trade candidates

It’s early September, playoff races are in full swing, and there is much baseball left to be played. You know what that means? It’s time — for some reason — to start talking offseason trades. The folks at mlb.com have put together a list of roughly 15 guys who might get moved. Guess who’s on the list? Matthew Boyd. If your guess as to what they say about his trade prospects involves a second half drop of a very precipitous nature and a need for the Tigers to be a little more realistic about their asking price moving forward, then you win the big prize.

The worst

In a season where most things are terrible it’s only fitting that an article addressing the worst teams at each position heavily involves the Tigers. David Schoenfield’s article for ESPN starts off as a fun read mostly because he’s making fun of how terrible the right field situation for the Chicago White Sox is. It’s when he extends his analysis to the league as a whole that it gets super depressing. Positionally, the Tigers are fielding the worst team at third base, second base, and catcher. I would be upset if it weren’t for the fact that I’m genuinely surprised that there aren’t a few more positions that Detroit owns on that list.

Around the horn

Chris Duncan, member of the 2006 World Series winning St. Louis Cardinals, dies at the age of 38. Twins Michael Pineda suspended 60 games after testing positive for a banned substance. Can you tell the difference between real baseball superstitions and ones that were made up?