While the trade deadline was pretty much a non-factor for the Tigers, it was a pretty busy day down on the farm. By the end of the evening, four prospects had been promoted, while a new Tigers acquisition received his first assignment with the organization.
The Tigers announced after Tuesday night’s action that shortstop—third baseman really—Izaac Pacheco had been promoted from Single-A Lakeland to High-A West Michigan. The Tigers 2021 second rounder out of high school, Pacheco posted a .757 OPS in 371 plate appearances with the Flying Tigers, with eight home runs and good strikeout-to-walk numbers.
Right-hander Ty Madden, drafted just before Pacheco in the Competitive Balance A round of the 2021 draft, was also promoted from West Michigan to Double-A Erie after his start on Tuesday. It wasn’t his best outing for the Whitecaps, but coming into the game he held a 2.74 ERA with solid strikeout and walk numbers. The Tigers cleaned up some of his delivery issues not long after drafting him, and his fastball has been better, if still sometimes too hittable for A-ball players, topping out at 98 mph at his best.
Finally, the Toledo Mud Hens received replacements for some call-ups as right-hander Austin Bergner and infielder Andre Lipcius were both promoted to Toledo from Erie. Sawyer Gipson-Long, the right-hander the Tigers picked up in the Michael Fulmer deal with the Twins, has been assigned to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves as expected. We tend to expect him to be converted to relief at some point, but we’ll see how it goes. The Tigers haven’t made their thoughts known on the unheralded starter.
The news we’re really interested in now, is when and where the 2022 Tigers draft class will be assigned. These moves seem likely to precede those announcements, with the likelihood that Jace Jung and Peyton Graham in particular will get some work in the Florida Complex League as the team evaluates them and develops their plans, before presumably joining the Flying Tigers at some point.
Toledo Mud Hens 8, Iowa Cubs 4 (box)
Everyone you’d like to see hit a home run did so for the Mud Hens in this one. They crushed four long balls in the contest to back Daniel Norris and the Hens bullpen.
It wasn’t a good outing for Norris as the Tigers try to sort him out and extend him toward a starting role. Frankly it seems like fool’s gold to even try at this point, but we can’t help but root for the left-hander. He allowed a pair of runs in 2.2 innings of work, giving up a two-run lead bestowed on him in the top of the second inning when Kerry Carpenter led off with his 28th home run of the season. A Brendon Davis double and a John Valente single produced another run, but they were tied up after two.
In the third, Ryan Kreidler walked to lead off in his return to Toledo after a rehab stint. Josh Lester followed with a single and Spencer Torkelson turned and destroyed this pitch deep to left for a three-run shot.
Not to be left out of the fun, Kreidler then went yard to center field to lead off the fifth. He reached base four times in this one with two walks in the mix. Jack Lopez followed in the sixth with a solo shot of his own, and the Hens added one more run in the eighth to put this one to bed.
Torkelson: 2-5, R, 3 RBI, HR, SO
Kreidler: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, 2 BB, SO
Carpenter: 2-5, R, RBI, HR, SO
Norris: 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, SO
Coming Up Next: It’s a 1:08 p.m. EDT start in Iowa on Wednesday. No starters have been announced.
Erie SeaWolves 1, Portland Sea Dogs 0 (box)
Wilmer Flores and the bullpen were strong in this one, limiting Portland to just four singles and three walks. Flores himself one-hit the Sea Dogs for four innings, punching out five and walking one. Of course, the SeaWolves weren’t getting anything done offensively either. Gage Workman had a single, the lone hit that didn’t come off the bat of Parker Meadows in this one for Erie. Meadows had a three hit game, but the one that counted was a ninth inning solo shot, his ninth homer of the year, which proved to be the game winner. Elvis Alvarado wrapped things up with two perfect innings to earn the save.
Meadows: 3-4, R, RBI, HR
Flores: 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: RHP Chance Kirby (7-3, 2.48 ERA) gets the start at 6:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday.
West Michigan Whitecaps 15, Lansing Lugnuts 8 (box)
Ok, now THIS was a slobberknocker. The two clubs pounded out 29 hits between them. The Whitecaps won by crushing four home runs in the contest to Lansing’s two.
Ty Madden was not good in this one. The Lugnuts teed off on his fastball all night, racking up 10 hits and five earned runs in five innings of work. Fortunately for him, only two innings into the game he held a nine run lead. A Bryant Packard two-run blast capped a four-run first inning for West Michigan. They came back for six more in the second. Jake Holton hit his 12th of the year with Carlos Mendoza aboard, and later in the frame Ben Malgeri mashed a grand slam to make it 10-1 at that point. Corey Joyce would later launch a three-run homer in the eighth as part of a five-run inning that snuffed any hopes for the Lugnuts.
The 3rd home run of the day comes from Ben Malgeri, who hits a grand slam in the second. It’s now 10-5 West Michigan in the 6th. pic.twitter.com/r2hGGhHXww
— Tigers Minor League Report (@tigersMLreport) August 3, 2022
Packard: 3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, HR, BB
Crouch: 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, SO
Mendoza: 1-4, 2 R, 2B, BB
Madden (W, 6-4): 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 10 H, 5 SO
Coming Up Next: LHP Joey Wentz will make a rehab start for West Michigan on Wednesday afternoon.
Lakeland Flying Tigers vs. Dunedin Blue Jays (postponed)
They were postponed for lightning in the area on Tuesday. Instead they’ll start a doubleheader at 4:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday.