Around the Tigers’ farm: Second half flush with questions and mysteries
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When will Jackson Jobe join a needy Tigers rotation? Probably not until next spring — emphasis on probably. Jobe, the Tigers’ most distinguished prodigy, is ready for big-league work. But there’s a problem as he mows down Double-A hitters: He has pitched too few innings. He had lower-back issues last year that cost him three months. He lost much of this spring to a hamstring.
The Tigers generally want a developing pitcher to work 20% more innings than were tallied the previous season. Jobe pitched 64 innings in 2024, and he has 41 this season at Erie. He needs 80-85 this season. That would put him in range next year of hitting that 100-inning plateau he ideally should be capable of delivering before shifting to Detroit.
Why can’t at least some of those innings be pitched in Detroit?
It’s possible the Tigers will have no choice. The way AJ Hinch’s starters have been getting hurt, and with a trade or two likely, Jobe might be Motown-bound sooner than would be ideal.
Important point: If the Tigers bring him up after Aug. 15, Jobe would retain rookie status next season. If he’s with the team all of next year, and wins Rookie of the Year, the Tigers would get an extra pick after the 2026 Draft’s first round.
What’s the promotion plan for Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle?
How close to a best-case timeline were Sunday’s promotions of Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle to high-A West Michigan?
When will Dillon Dingler be liberated from Toledo? As soon as Harris figures out if he has a deadline trade for Carson Kelly. Dingler has been victimized, you might say, by the situation in Detroit. When was the last time an MLB team four months into a season had not lost one of its two catchers to some brand of injury?
Jake Rogers and Kelly mercifully have remained intact. Dingler, though, is ready for MLB duty and the Tigers know it. If his health holds up, he will be with the team next spring on Opening Day. They would love to get that process going now. Dingler is a prime-time asset.
What’s the prospectus on Roberto Campos at West Michigan?
What are the Tigers most lacking on their farm rungs — hitting or pitching?
What happens at first base if Spencer Torkelson doesn’t turn things around?
Is there a shortstop evolving anywhere on the farm? Yes — in fact, a surprising number of them — except they’re a long way from Detroit. Franyerber Montilla, who might any day now be headed cross-lots to Single-A Lakeland, has a chance to be a dandy. But he is 20 years old. (FRM there is more in this category)
When will Josue Briceno be back for Lakeland? Not soon enough. Here was the player Most Likely To Join McGonigle and Clark as this year’s hottest hotshots on the Tigers farm. Briceno, who is all of 19, is a 6-5 catcher who in 28 games was batting .306/.405/.426/.831 when he hurt his knee in a May 12 rundown.
(FRM more here as well)