OT: Who do the Detroit Tigers draft at #1
RHP Emerson Hancock - Fastball reaches high 90's (98). Great slider.
1B Spencer Torkelson - Power Hitter with very good eye. Not much of a fielder, but is setting homer records in college (crushed Barry Bonds freshmen HR record at Arizona State, which was also a Pac Ten freshmen record, and 1 away from tying the National Record (25)
I would rather they get Torkelson. He, to me, is more of a sure thing. Hancock has higher upside (higher upside than Mize probably) but he doesnt have the control of Mize, or the amount of pitches in his arsenal.
The Tigers right now have better pitching in their farm system, and i believe they really, really need a batter to eventually replace Cabrera, and Torkelson is it. He is the surest thing.
If they do not draft one of the above, i will consider their draft an enormous letdown (unless maybe high schooler Blaze Jordan, who could turn into a Torkelson).
Whats your thoughts on who the Tigers should get?
I know nothing of any of these prospects. I also know the Tigers are hurting for position prospects. That said I just don't know how I feel about taking a 1b who is already considered a poor fielder in college. Sounds like you're essentially drafting a DH.
*checks roster*
Yeah I’d take a DH
/s kinda
The OP says to replace Cabrera you mean Cabrera with his vaunted 6 homers and 40 RBIs Cabrera?
Not much of a player to replace anymore he's such an average player now.
I would take an IPA but knowing them they will take a Goebel.
Nope - a PBR.
Hey buddy, I drank a LOT of PBR back in the seventies. Still have one occasionally.?
Glad you are well and can't wait for football season.
GO BLUE!!!!!!
Just throwing it out there-Only one beer has a blue ribbon on it :)
Damn straight!!!?
Don't act like you are too good for a PBR
I drank a good amount of Goebel back in the '70s, back in the mists of time when Coors was considered an exotic classy brew in Michigan because it wasn't sold east of the Mississippi. Goebel was like a midwest version of Coors—very light in flavor and easily poundable.
Goebel, Black Label, Stroh's....
The Golden Years of golden beer.
Ah yes! We called it "Golden Goebels". And do you remember the bottle caps? When you opened the bottles the inside lining of the bottle caps had picture puzzles to solve (kinda like the old Concentration! TV show).
And cheap. I want to say 7 or 8 bucks a case circa 1980? Perfect for a starving college student.
Sergeant Peppers had it for $5.99 a case in the mid-80s. I'm pretty sure of this because I bought about a thousand of them.
There is still a lot that could change between now and the 2020 draft. The summer before Mize's last year, he wasn't getting much hype as a possible no.1 overall pick, and he eventually became the clear no.1 player in that draft. So in theory, Hancock could make a huge jump.
That being said, if there is a bat worthy of no.1, grab the bat. Tigers have some pitching depth in the minors, but zero established prospects who project as middle of the order bats (unless you count Greene who we just picked and does look promising).
No matter what they do... they will likely be in last place at this same time next year.
Well sure. It takes time for most drafted players to make it to the show. They guy they take next June won't help them until 2021 at the earliest.
Looking at a 3-4 year rebuild. Once a few prospects develop and Miggy’s contract comes off the books, the roster will be solid again.
That’s IF Avila can put it all back together...and do a better job of keeping it together.
some offense would be nice.
They'll trade down for an additional fifth round pick.
Baseball teams can't trade draft picks, except for compensatory ones.
It gives ineptly run teams some needed protection against sabotaging their future.
I don't know if you missed the sarcasm or are simple bestowing your MLB Draft knowledge upon us.
I guess I should have put /s. But I really didn't think it was necessary. Color me amazed.
I knew you were joking about that deal, but I also have friends who wonder why the Tigers aren't trading for draft picks.
No problem. The PEACH abides.
They'll draft some huge bum
A new GM.
I would agree if only a small amount of prospects actually pan out from all the talent we traded away. I'm not feeling we will see much value from those trades. We shall see.
The Tigers could have the entire first round of picks and still miss out. If you cannot identify and develop talent nothing else really matters...you will get robbed blind at every turn. As things stand at this juncture, this is at the heart of this organization's woes.
I would agree if only a small amount of prospects actually pan out from all the talent we traded away. I'm not feeling we will see much value from those trades. We shall see.
Why is everyone so upset the Tigers suck ? Guess what, they won’t be a contender for 5+ years. It’s all about assets right now. And losing games isn’t a negative in any way. It’s fair to critique Avila’s management of assets, but not then record.
I say 3 years, but maybe it is a little aggressive. People who do not follow closely do not understand how good their farm system is right now. Top 5 in the majors. Most talent since late 70's (trammell, whitaker, morris).
Still, a little weak on bats, and heavy on pitching.
What service has them ranked top 5? Not any of the major reputable sources like Baseball America, Fangraphs or MLB Pipeline, which has them middling in the 10-15 range.
It's weird how good having a middling farm system seems. Only 3-4 years ago, we were the absolute cellar. But I would feel much better about this rebuild if we truly had a top 5 minor league system.
Long term, this losing pays off. Better draft position leads to better players in the draft.
Short term, it's painful because the guys on this team seem like mostly decent people and nobody likes to watch them suffer through the misery of losing day in, day out.
In a perfect world, the next Mike Trout only better.
This is what I came to say. With that cavernous outfield they need someone to patrol-someone who is, at least, a .280 lifetime hitter. It's that or a stud SS who is fast as hell and is, at least, a prolific gap hitter.
I blame Ausmus for crashing the bus. Avila has done little to help the situation. Gardenhire got handed a pile of junk. I watched one game this year and it was absolutely brutal. I swear I was watching the bad news bears. I can't believe how quickly they went from a powerhouse to bottom feeder.
Ausmus didn't hire himself to be the manager of the Tigers.
Ausmus?
You can blame him for not winning with the talent he had. I fail to see how he gets the blame for where the Tigers are today.
Truth is, fans like to call for teams to tank. It happens in every Pistons thread. But fans also hate watching their teams while they are tanking. Avila's job is not to field a winning team, but to lay the groundwork for one that can win in a few years, without the luxury of spending money to acquire key pieces. It looks like he's doing a decent job of that, but it's too early for anyone to know for sure.
Austin Martin! He is a stud and one could argue, more of an MVP on that Vandy team than Bleday!
I'd be pretty stunned if they take Torkelson first overall. There's never been a college first baseman taken 1-1, and right-handed hitting, right-handed throwing first baseman are incredibly risky prospects.
There's no obvious #1 right now, though you mentioned Emerson Hancock, who certainly looks the part as a big, hard-thrower from the SEC. Vandy infielder Austin Martin, who you may remember from the College World Series, has a good shot to go 1-1, particularly if it looks like he's a legit shortstop next year. There are a couple of other shortstops who could make their way to the top with good seasons, like Casey Martin from Arkansas and Freddy Zamora from Miami. Torkelson's teammate Alika Williams played well for Team USA, and LA Lafayette infielder Hayden Cantrelle has had a great Cape Cod League, but they seem more like second-half of the first round types.
The strength of this draft really appears the be the SEC arms at the top, so that's probably the smart bet at this point.
Don't know baseball at this level of detail... Why is it more of a risk to take a guy who throws and bats right handed??
Because if you throw right-handed you have to wear your glove on the left hand. Otherwise, I'll simply say "Damn!".
Roy Hobbs
He's 82 years old now. He may be faster afoot than Miggy, but wondering how much he still has in the tank.
They need a whole bunch of hitters.Then move the Comerica fences in.It really sucks when a guy hits a long fly ball out, that is a homer in every other ball park .
Id rather watch guys that hit .240 and have 35 hrs then guys bat .240 with 9 hrs
Tigers are going to be terrible for 3-5 more years,and i think they would draw more fans if they lose 14-9 instead of 8-1
The guy who hits .240 with 9 HRs will have a higher BA than .240 if 26 of his previous outs become HRs. Think you're overestimating the effect of moving the fences in, anyways.
So they should draft rob deer 2.0?
Hancock is a really great looking prospect, but to me his mechanics look like he might end up as a stud set up man or closer. This class is supposed to be one of the better ones in awhile. I’d probably keep trying to acquiring bats.