Detroit Tigers in winter leagues: Daz Cameron off to a poor start, playoffs begin

Detroit Free Press

Evan Petzold
 
| Detroit Free Press

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A handful of Detroit Tigers will continue competing in the Dominican Republic, as five of the six teams in the Dominican Winter League made the playoffs. The postseason started Sunday.

The only team that didn’t make it: Tigres del Licey, home of Tigers shortstop Sergio Alcantara. The 24-year-old finished his offseason assignment 18-for-70 (.257) with two homers, eight RBIs, eight walks and 21 strikeouts in 23 games. He had a .346 on-base percentage and a .400 slugging percentage. In the field, Alcantara made six errors in 91 chances (.934 fielding percentage).

[ The 3 tasks Sergio Alcantara is learning to try to stick in majors ]

On Saturday, Robinson Cano (New York Mets) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego Padres) were activated to Estrellas Orientales’ roster for Game 1 of the wild card series Sunday against Leones del Escogido.

Cano was suspended by MLB in November for the entire 2021 season because of a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug. The 38-year-old crushed two home runs in his first DR appearance of the year, leading Estrellas Orientales to an 8-4 win.

While the Tigers don’t have anyone on the playoff roster for Estrellas Orientales, right-handed reliever Drew Carlton — who had a 0.63 ERA with one walk and 11 strikeouts in 14 regular season games — is available out of the bullpen for Leones del Escogido.

Carlton, a reliever for Double-A Erie in 2019, appeared Sunday in the sixth inning with the game tied at four runs. He allowed three runs on three hits and one walk; his only out was a strikeout of Sandber Pimentel.

[ Drew Carlton ‘keeps having success’ as MLB journey stops in Dominican Republic ]

The 25-year-old gave up the go-ahead run on Christian Bethancourt’s single to center field. The next batter, Jeremy Pena, homered to center for two more runs and a three-run lead.

Once the semifinals begin in January, the Tigers will have third baseman Jeimer Candelario playing for Toros del Este, left-hander Gregory Soto for Águilas Cibaeñas and right-hander Jose Cisnero for Gigantes del Cibao.

In the regular season, Candelario was 8-for-42 (.190) with three doubles, four RBIs, eight walks and seven strikeouts in 11 games. He had a .292 on-base percentage, a .262 slugging percentage and did not hit a home run.

Soto held a 3.60 ERA in five games and five innings, recording three strikeouts and one walk. Cisnero ended with a 5.40 ERA in four games and 3⅓ innings. He posted two strikeouts and three walks, with one home run allowed.

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Hitless in Puerto Rico

Outfielder Daz Cameron is 0-for-7 with one RBI, one walk and four strikeouts in two games for Indios de Mayagüez in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

He made his debut Dec. 22 but hasn’t played much since, likely because Indios de Mayagüez wants to keep the 23-year-old healthy and prepared for the start of the postseason.

The playoffs begin Saturday with all four teams in the league advancing. The round-robin semifinals take place Jan. 2-10, followed by a seven-game championship series Jan. 12-20.

Indios de Mayagüez is 12-4 this season, putting the team in second place and one game back of the first place Criollos de Caguas (13-3). Atenienses de Manatí is 6-10 overall, followed by RA12 at 1-15.

Each team has two games remaining in the regular season.

Coming soon: Playoffs in Mexico

The Mexican Pacific Winter League regular season ends Wednesday, and the playoffs take place in January to determine the champion.

Of the league’s 10 teams, eight make the postseason. The regular season is split into two halves, and teams get points for their standing at the end of each portion of the campaign. The playoffs are three rounds.

If the season ended Monday morning, Venados de Mazatlán (10.5 points) would be the eighth and final team in the postseason, meaning Tigers third baseman Isaac Paredes would continue playing.

Through 39 games, Paredes is hitting .391 (54-for-138) with 17 doubles, four home runs and 26 RBIs. He has 24 walks compared to 11 strikeouts, adding five intentional walks. The 21-year-old possesses a .482 on-base percentage, a .602 slugging percentage and a 1.083 on-base plus slugging percentage.

[ Why Tigers like the work Isaac Paredes is doing in Mexican winter league ]

Paredes has hits in all but five of his 39 games and is riding a three-game multi-hit streak. Since last Tuesday (0-for-3), he is 7-for-14 in four games. On Sunday, he went 2-for-4 with two walks and no strikeouts in a 10-9 win against Águilas de Mexicali.

Venados de Mazatlán wraps up the regular season with a three-game series against Cañeros de Los Mochis, the worst squad in the league, from Monday through Wednesday. Naranjeros de Hermosillo leads the Mexican Pacific Winter League with 19 points.

Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.

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