It was a tough decision, but the right one.
Not an hour after I posted Wednesday's column, Dave Dombrowski admitted what many in this team's fanbase saw coming for a while: the Tigers are officially sellers at the trade deadline. And Thursday morning, the first domino fell: David Price is now a Toronto Blue Jay.
And despite naysayers who claimed the return on a two-month rental wouldn't add up to much, what the Tigers ended up with might just make up 2/5 of their starting rotation next year. Daniel Norris is ranked by ESPN's Keith Law as the 15th best prospect in the game, though his numbers this year don't inspire much confidence; in 10 games for the Blue Jays, six as a starter, the 22-year old Norris has posted a 4.20 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. At Triple-A Buffalo, he's fared little better, mostly due to command issues which have seen him walk four batters per nine innings. But the potential is there; he's got three plus pitches (fastball, slider, curveball), and the fourth (a changeup) has generated more swinging strikes than the other three. He can get major league hitters out, but he may have mechanical issues that need to be ironed out before he can do so regularly and efficiently. Besides, the man lives in a van (presumably down by the river) and shaves with an axe, people. This really cannot be understated.
Then you've got 24-year old Matt Boyd, who's put together quite the season in Double-A New Hampshire, winning 6 of his 12 starts there with a 1.10 ERA and 0.77 WHIP, earning him a promotion to Buffalo, where he has continued to dominate. This is quite the leap over last year (6.96 ERA in Double-A in 2014), due in large part to a jump in velocity on his fastball (average 91-94 mph, tops out at 96), and a 6.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio this year. He's somewhat a fly-ball pitcher, but Comerica Park tends to negate the impact there. Given the numbers and command of his pitches, it wouldn't be surprising to see him starting in Detroit next season. He debuted tonight in Toledo, pitching two innings with no runs, no hits, three walks and a strikeout.
The final piece of that deal is Jairo Lebourt, currently pitching in Single-A. He's got the velocity already at 21, but lacks command or consistency in his delivery. In other words, the kind of pitching prospect Dave Dombrowski goes crazy for. Lots of potential, but he's a few years away yet. And true to form, he walked four and struck out five in his debut for Lakeland on Friday, giving up four earned runs off seven hits.
Later that night, the Tigers flipped Joakim Soria to the Pirates, meaning that if you thought the bullpen was brutal before... you might just wanna start tuning out after the 5th inning, though Alex Wilson did an admirable job in his first night in the role, with a 5-out save after the rest of the bullpen melted down Thursday night. In exchange, the Tigers pick up JaCoby Jones, a shortstop prospect who might not actually stick at shortstop. So far this year he's hitting .277/.336/.455. He's got a decent amount of pop in his bat and walks a bit, but strikes out even more. What's also interesting here is the potential versatility; he's a shortstop by trade, but can play any infield position and center field as well. And I don't know about anyone else, but the prospect of a Zobrist-type utility guy is a rather exciting prospect to me.
Finally on Friday, Yoenis Cespedes was shipped off to the Mets for two pitching prospects, sadly not named Matz or Wheeler. Michael Fullmer is the top pitching prospect in that system not currently in the major leagues, and has had a breakout year after being plagued by injury in past seasons; for Double-A Birmingham this year, Fullmer has a 1.88 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 83 strikeouts in 86 innings. He's got two plus pitches (a fastball and slider), and a potential third (changeup), and projects as a mid-rotation guy if he can stay healthy. Luis Cessa, the other piece in the deal, looks to be a reliever with some upside. He's only been pitching for 4 years (he was originally a third baseman), and has a mid 90's fastball with a few secondary pitches (a slider and changeup) that are inconsistent at times and need to be refined, but already show flashes of brilliance.
It's hard to argue that the Tigers aren't in a much better position for the future now than they were 48 hours ago, especially with the haul they managed to pull for three guys who will all be free agents in two months. Add to that the fact that Cespedes has indicated that he wants to re-sign here in the offseason, though he told ESPN he didn't think the Tigers should have thrown in the towel on this year, and it's not hard to see this team adding some pitching in the offseason and making a playoff run next year.
Just try and remember that while watching (or not) the Tigers' pitching implosion for the rest of this year.
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