Embed from Getty Images The Detroit Tigers are bad. No, they are bordering on historically bad. Yet for the rebuilding Tigers, that is not all that bad. No really. It is true the 2019 version of the Detroit Tigers were not supposed to be this bad, they are. Or perhaps they are tanking for the top pick in the 2020 MLB Amateur Draft.
Major League Baseball team are allowed to expand team rosters in September. For the teams in the playoff race it gives them a chance to rest starters for a playoff push. For teams out of the playoff race it is a time to see how top prospects are performing. It is also a chance for the bottom feeders to play prospects and possibly aid better draft position. Which is exactly where the Detroit Tigers find themselves.
Double-A Erie has most of the Detroit Tigers top prospects. The Seawolves find themselves in the playoffs as a result of having the best best pitching staff seen in the minor leagues since the late 1980’s Atlanta Braves.
The Detroit Tigers “lead” the Baltimore Orioles by 4 ½ games in the race for the No. 1 overall pick. The Tigers had the No. 1 pick in 2018’s draft and took pitcher Casey Mize , and the Orioles had the top pick in 2019 catcher Adley Rutschman.
The Detroit Tigers need to go 10-17 in their final 27, which would give them a final record of 50-112. While that is as bad as it looks. Next June’s draft is loaded. It is a draft the Tigers could get the generational bat they so desperately need to speed the teams rebuild up.
Baltimore, on the other hand, have kept up losing with Detroit. Yet the Tigers hold the upper hand. These final games will find both teams in “tank mode.” As Blaze Jordan, Spencer Torkelson and Enrique Bradfield all figure to hear their names called early in the Draft. Those three players will jump start any team that drafts them.
The Detroit Tigers are about set (in the next two seasons) to pull out of the rebuild phase. They are a team that has outstanding young pitching and some above average bats in the farm system. One more big bat will be the icing on the cake.
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