Going to miss spring training this year. Used to fly Allegiant into Clearwater for under $100 and use miles with AA to fly back, always less than 9K. Phillies are in Clearwater, saw Holladay pitch vs Andy Pettitte in Blue Jays home Dunedin, Tigers in Lakeland, Rays in Tampa Bay, Orioles in Sarasota…if you want to see the Yankee’s go see them on the road, Steinbrenner Stadium is a hard ticket and the fans suck. You can get cheap hotels if you stay off the beach. Joker Marchant Stadium where the Tigers play is a great setting, you can take a blanket and picnic in center field. I liked going towards the end of March when they were getting a last look at the guys who were on the fence and getting the regulars some playing time. For anyone thinking of going it’s a good time and you come home with a tan.
DetNews: Tigers’ Parker Meadows locked in on his game, isn’t listening for footsteps
Full article at link
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Meadows is only 26 years old and laid claim to the job in the second half of 2024 when sparked the Tigers’ run to the postseason by slashing .296/.340/.500 with an .840 OPS and filling up industry highlight reels with one spectacular catch after another.
But just that fast, injuries derailed him last season. First a rare nerve condition in his right arm (musculocutaneous nerve) cost him the first two months of the season. And then later he missed all of August with a right quad strain.
It wasn’t totally a lost season for him. He posted in the playoffs and played his usual stellar defense. But he was still fighting to regain his timing at the plate, going 4 for 29 with 10 strikeouts.
The best version of the Tigers in 2026, as manager AJ Hinch has said, has Meadows patrolling centerfield and getting on base and weaking havoc on the basepaths. But the onus is back on Meadows this spring to stay healthy and bring that version forward throughout the season.
Javier Baez ended up being the American League’s starting centerfielder in the All-Star Game last year, subbing in for Meadows. Matt Vierling is healthy and will be getting reps in center. Both are right-handed hitters and could platoon with lefty-swinging Meadows if needed.
And Clark, MLB Pipeline’s No. 10 prospect, is coming so hard you wonder if Meadows can hear or feel his footsteps.
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Instead of looking at Clark as a threat to his job, Meadows is trying to show him the ropes.
“I had guys when I came up, Derek Hill and Akil Baddoo, they were there for me,” he said. “For me, now I want to be that for these young guys and help guide them. That’s what I had coming up and I really appreciated it. I want to be able to kind of reciprocate that.
“I think stuff like that goes a long way."
Hinch wasn’t at all surprised when he heard Meadows’ response.
“I just don’t think that’s the way players think,” he said, about Meadows possibly feeling pushed by Clark. “They dive pretty deep into the things they’re doing. Plus, at this level, you know you have to contribute to play more often and to keep your roster spot.
“But that doesn’t mean guys hear footsteps. Guys are focused on what they can do.”
Meadows has been locked in since two weeks after the season ended in Seattle. He not only went to work on his body, but he also tweaked his set-up in the box and his swing plane.
“I feel great,” he said. “I got here early, been working out early. The arm feels great. I’m throwing the hardest I’ve thrown. It feels the best it’s felt. I’m good to go."
With all the stops and starts last year, Meadows was fighting to catch up to big-league game speed most of the season. He ended up with the highest strikeout rate (26.3%) whiff rate of his career (28%).
"That was a struggle,” he said. “But we did everything we could’ve done. I thought the staff did a really good job with managing everything. It was tough getting up to game speed, but I felt prepared. I’m not going to use that as an excuse.
“Now that’s in the past and I feel really good, really confident."
Watching Meadows take live batting practice Friday against right-hander Drew Anderson, he’s lowered his hands and is holding them closer to his body. He’s also shortened and flattened out his swing, with the aim of making more consistent contact and more productive contact.
It was also evident that the changes are a work in progress. He reverted to his longer swing a couple of times, whiffing on Anderson’s nasty changeups. But that’s what spring training is for.
Meadows waved off the suggestion that he might feel an extra burden to re-establish himself this spring.
“It’s just unnecessary pressure you add to yourself,” Meadows said. “I just go out and play my game and really don’t think about anything else.”
I love the stadium in Clearwater, one of my favorites in the Florida league.
Ilitch has put a lot of money into Joker Marchant the last few years and it’s great ballpark as well.
Sadly, the low A team draws next to nothing.
TheAthletic: In the Tigers’ loaded rotation, don’t overlook Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize
Full article at link.
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There were times last season when Jack Flaherty was at a loss. He seemed flustered and confused as anyone about why he couldn’t harness the consistent results he craved.
There were outings when Flaherty looked every bit the best version of himself, justifying the Detroit Tigers’ decision to reunite with him after trading him at the 2024 deadline. He had a 2.63 ERA through his first five starts. He allowed only one run over 18 innings during a three-start stretch that began at the end of May. In late July, he shut out the Toronto Blue Jays, striking out seven batters in six innings. In August, he tossed seven scoreless and struck out nine against the Houston Astros.
Other times, though, Flaherty didn’t have his best fastball. He gave up too many balls in the air. His pitch count would elevate, or he would simply seem snakebit.
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Flaherty gave up too much hard contact and got barreled up at the highest rate of his career in 2025. His walk rate jumped and his strikeout rate slightly declined from a successful 2024 campaign. But important to remember: He still struck out 10.5 batters per nine innings. Underlying numbers such as FIP (3.85) and xERA (3.97) indicated he was pitching better than his actual 4.64 ERA suggested.
Especially in the second half, there was evidence Flaherty battled downright bad luck. He had a 4.63 ERA after the All-Star break. But his 2.92 FIP ranked ninth among all MLB starters, better even than Tarik Skubal’s 3.07.
If you want to know why Flaherty could be better in 2026, that’s a good place to start.
“I think his stuff speaks for itself, the swing and miss, the ability to spin the ball in two different ways, the effectiveness of his fastball when his delivery’s in sync,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “All of that is a great foundation, and we think he can do better.”
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Regarding Mize from same article:
One locker to Flaherty’s left, another pitcher shares a similar story. Casey Mize had a 2.12 ERA in his first five starts last year. He pitched seven shutout innings against the Cleveland Guardians in July, a signature performance that helped vault him into the All-Star Game as an injury replacement. But he gave up six runs over a dismal three innings against the Seattle Mariners right before the break. The Pittsburgh Pirates tagged him for 10 hits in four innings in his next outing.
Mize ground through starts in the second half but struggled to unleash his splitter or keep hitters off balance the way he had for much of the first half. Metrics that suggested he was overperforming before the All-Star nod finally caught up with him.
Mize finished with a respectable 3.87 ERA and a career-best 2.4 fWAR. He had plenty to be proud of after years of fighting injuries and deeper inconsistencies. But sometimes it was hard to shake the feeling he was one pitch or one adjustment away from being even better.
“I felt a little bit closer to turning the bad into the good than I ever have,” Mize said. “Where if it’s supposed to be a heater above the zone and it actually just clipped the zone, or a split below but it clipped and now it turns into a lefty double down the line. It seemed like the margins were smaller, which in one way is a positive but also like, ‘Damnit man, I was so close,’ whereas in the past I wasn’t close.”
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Mize and Flaherty could be what determines whether the Tigers can truly claim the crown as the AL’s best starting five.
At his best, Flaherty is one of the game’s top strikeout weapons. Mize can fill up the strike zone and, when his splitter is working, still has the potential to miss more bats.
Flaherty had a player option attached to the $25 million deal he signed with the Tigers last season. He and his representatives did what they could to survey the market (Flaherty recently switched his agency from Creative Artists Agency to Wasserman) but ultimately chose to return to the Tigers for one more year rather than opt out. He will make $20 million this season, and he seems all in on the Tigers’ culture.
“Not everything is about money when you’re in a place that you feel like you’ve got a chance to win,” Flaherty said. “We were a couple pitches away from going up against Toronto (in the ALCS). It was an unbelievable year. We were one of the best teams in the league for the majority of the season, and we bring all these guys back.”
Mize was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, not so long ago the talk of camp when he arrived for his first spring training. Now he has five years of service time. Like Skubal and Flaherty, he will be a free agent after the season.
Tommy John surgery and a back procedure cost Mize most of 2022 and all of 2023. A hamstring strain sent him to the 60-day IL in 2024. Before last season, Mize had earned only nine — nine! — wins in his Tigers career. He posted a 14-6 record last season, still chasing the highest expectations bestowed upon him on draft day but reminding everyone he’s built to be a reliable big-league starter.
“I look back at when I was hurt. That time was really, really slow,” Mize said. “When things are good, it seems like it kind of goes fast.”
Finally, this winter, Mize had a normal, stable offseason that featured smaller, targeted improvements rather than rehab or sweeping overhauls to his game. His biggest transition was becoming a new father.
“It doesn’t have to be big adjustments in the offseason,” Hinch said. “It’s nice for him to have what’s deemed normal. … Both mentally and physically, he’s in as good a place as I’ve seen him entering camp.”
Kinda funny cause we have seen so much talk on the den about Arraez and Castellanos. Well Castellanos is apparently gonna try to play first base for the Padres replacing Arraez. The Padres pitchers gotta be pissed off
Watch him slash - .275/.347/.389 - For one final season in the sun. And be an average 1st baseman (not awful). Then I shall gloat. LOL… won’t happen… but it could.
Well, he’s tall-ish.
Also, SD is one of the worst hitters parks in MLB and Citizens one of the best, so IMO the only raking that will be done byb1st base is by the grounds crew
Jace Jung taking reps at first base. Being instructed by Joey Cora.
Jung Sweeney Baddoo…AAAA guys that maybe find their way to a few opportunities in the bigs to have a short burst that keeps them relevant for a few years….backup 1b, sure why not. 6 ft isnt very big for 1b but whatever.
Who are the other backup 1st basemen on the roster?
Vierling?
Keith?
??
If a guy can play 3rd, short or 2nd base well then he can easily play first. Unless he’s 5 foot 5 that might be an issue
Keith and Vierling, essentially any unavailability by Tork would bring Keith to 1st I think and allow mixy matchy at 3rd and DH.
Now, minor leagues? I dont see them having givem any 1b reps to Briceño, so I can see them wanting a guy at AAA ready at 1b.
At that point you make him a catcher.
Briceno has played first in the minors.
MLB Pipeline on Wednesday released its top 10 prospects at catcher heading into the 2026 season, slotting the heavy-hitting Briceño at No. 5. He is ranked No. 4 among Baseball America’s top 10 first-base prospects for 2026, released this week, and left off the outlet’s rankings for catchers.
Oh good. Ignore me. Makes sense since he and Liranzo were in AA together.
Briceño I bet stays in AA. Liranzo may too
Liranzo definitely does imo.
I hate to bring this up here, but things are not going real well for me right now. I’m not even sure if I’m going to be around for the draft.
If you want me to back out there will definitely not be any hard feelings. If not then you should at least look for a backup plan.
Please let me know how you want me to proceed.
Don’t worry about it my friend. We all love you no matter what.