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The future is here in Detroit. The Tigers announced this morning that the organization will promote the best prospects Casey mize, Slide Skubal and Isaac paredes this week. Left-hander Skubal is expected to start Tuesday’s game, while right-hander Mize takes the ball on Wednesday. Paredes will take the place of his colleague in the field Quiet Lugo, who is designated for an assignment.
It’s aggressive play from a Tigers club who have fallen five straight games to drop under 0.500 (9-10) after a surprising start to the season. Skubal and Mize will make their MLB debuts in key starts against the division rivals White Sox who topped the Tigers in the standings. Detroit is currently in fourth place – but still just 3.5 games away from the Twins at the top of AL Central.
In Mize, the Tigers will get their first glimpse of the No.1 pick in the 2018 draft. The former Auburn ace is considered one of the top five pitching prospects in baseball by most accounts, and his results in 2019 – his only full professional season to date – underscore why he’s so beloved. The 6’3 ″, 220 pounds Mize pitched 109 1/3 innings between Class A Advanced and Double-A last year, throwing at a combined ERA of 2.55 with a 106 at 23 K / BB ratio. . These numbers include a non-hitter in his first Double-A effort.
Mize, 23, is currently ranked # 8 in the game on MLB.com’s summer update. Baseball America and FanGraphs ranked him 14th on their own summer rosters – the same niche Kiley McDaniel placed Mize in his preseason rankings for ESPN. Mize praises a mid-90s heater that it can hit up to 60mph, but its splitter is the terrain that generates the most love from scouts. MLB.com’s report on him places a rating of 70 on the court (on the 20-80 scale). Mize’s Slider and Knife is also considered an above-average offer.
Skubal was drafted eight rounds later in the same draft the Tigers selected Mize, and his rise should be seen as a feather in the cap of the Tigers’ player recognition and development teams. Also 23, Skubal himself is widely regarded as one of the Top 100 prospects. Those same publications rank him 35th (Baseball America), 50th (MLB.com), 54th (FanGraphs) and 79th (ESPN) in their rankings, and Athletic’s Keith Law placed him 24th ahead of the season.
Much like Mize did, Skubal split last season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A. The 23-year-old has racked up 122 2/3 innings with an outrageous 179-37 K / BB ratio – including a whopping 82 strikeouts in 42 1/3 frames at the Double-A level. Skubal can also run his heater up to 97mph, and while he doesn’t have such a popular pitch as Mize’s Splitter, his curveball is still seen as an offering more accompanied by a cursor and a change of medium or higher level.
Not to be lost in the shuffle, Paredes, 21, was himself one of the Top 100 Farm Workers at Baseball America in each of the past two seasons (although he dropped their list after adding the Top recruits this summer). He appeared in the 2019 season at age 20 and was one of the youngest players in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League Double-A. However, Paredes always posted a healthy slash of .282 / .368 / .416 (133 wRC +). Bat-to-ball skills are Paredes’ best asset, as evidenced by the fact that against a much older competition he walked almost as many times (57) as he took out (61).
With CJ Cron out for the year, Jeimer candelario slipped to first base. That should pave the way for regular reps in the hot corner for Paredes, where he spent most of the 2019 season playing. Paredes, acquired alongside Candelario in the trade that sent Justin wilson and Alex avila at the Cubs, played the shortstop for much of his minors career, so he could see some time there too though Niko Goodrum needs a day off. Alternatively, the club could choose to donate Paredes and Willi Castro Regular time on the left side of the infield, Goodrum returning to the super-sub role in which he has found success over the past two seasons.
The timing of promotions is also important. Holding the trio even through the first week of the season bought the Tigers an extra year of team control, and each of Mize, Skubal and Paredes have now been down long enough that they could also lose Super status. Two. The promotion of Paredes is the only official movement to date. Skubal and Mize will have their contracts selected on the day of their respective departures.
If Paredes stays in the big leagues from that point on, he will end the year with 116 days of service, which could still leave him on the sidelines of Super Two status. Skubal would only earn 113 days of service, however, and Mize would only log 110. These two brands should leave them on the outside when it comes to Super Two status.
Lugo, 25, could be on the verge of exiting the Detroit organization. Acquired from Diamondbacks in the trade that sent JD Martinez in Arizona, Lugo just didn’t find his place at the MLB level. He even received 400 field appearances in three seasons and saw semi-regular action last year (288 appearances on the field), but Lugo only produced a .236 / .270 / .358 outing during this period. He’s out of minor league options, so there is a chance he will clear the waivers given that another club is expected to put him on their MLB roster. Then again, Lugo was once a solidly regarded prospect and has the ability to play both second and third, so another club might take a speculative look at the waivers.
The Tigers have a week to trade Lugo, free him, or give him waivers.
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