The Detroit Tigers can boast two of baseball’s top 10 prospects.
Baseball America unveiled the first significant reshuffling of its top 100 on Monday, and while third baseman Spencer Torkelson held steady at No. 5 overall, outfielder Riley Greene climbed 13 spots to No. 10.
It wasn’t all good news for the Tigers, however, as right-hander Matt Manning dropped 11 spots to No. 34, rounding out Detroit’s representatives in the top 100.
Torkelson, 21, is hitting .258 with an .869 OPS, collecting four home runs and 20 RBIs for Single-A West Michigan as he continues to shake free from early season struggles that started in spring training. Torkelson is hitting .333 in six games in June, with a .667 slugging percentage, with a monster game helping to cap the month of May.
“The No. 1 overall pick in 2020 draws comparisons to Paul Konerko and Paul Goldschmidt as a potential franchise icon who anchors the middle of the lineup,” Baseball America writes in its update.
More: Around the Tigers’ farm: Spencer Torkelson’s big game latest sign of breaking out
Greene, meanwhile, is holding his own as a 20-year-old at Double-A Erie, hitting .274 (.854 OPS) with six home runs, 20 RBIs and six stolen bases while playing solid defense in center field.
The Tigers selected Greene at No. 5 overall in the 2019 MLB Draft, behind Bobby Witt Jr. (No. 2 overall) of the Kansas City Royals, and just ahead of C.J. Abrams (No. 6) of the San Diego Padres. Abrams (No. 6) and Witt (No. 8) remain ahead of Greene in Baseball America’s rankings, but the Tigers prospect apparently still favorably compares with his draft peers.
“Greene doesn’t get the same hype as draft classmates Bobby Witt Jr. and CJ Abrams,” the publication writes, “but he may end up the best hitter of the three.”
More: Greene shows talent, growing pains in Double-A assignment
Manning’s first season at Triple-A Toledo has not gotten off to a good start. The 23-year-old owns a 9.23 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in six starts, though manager Tom Prince characterized is as a “little bump in the road” for the Tigers’ 2016 first-round draft pick.