There was suspicion Sunday when Colt Keith was missing from Double-A Erie’s lineup against Bowie that the hard-hitting Keith might at last be getting his ticket punched to Triple-A Toledo.
No go.
Keith remains with the SeaWolves, where he will continue to do guest appearances at second base, perhaps before he auditions in the outfield ahead of what is nearly certain to be a Tigers debut in 2024.
Why the outfield?
Because another talented Tigers hitting prospect — they in fact exist — named Jace Jung is being viewed unquestionably as a second baseman and is hot on Keith’s heels as Jung enjoys a big June at Single-A West Michigan.
Why, though, the slow-poke treatment of Keith when he is killing the ball at Double A (.332 batting average, .404 on-base, .597 slugging, 1.001 OPS, with 12 home runs)?
Why not get this over with and ship Keith up the Ohio Turnpike to Toledo? Why not then replace Keith at Erie with Jung, who also bats left-handed and who, at 22, is a year older than Keith?
“Every player is looked at through their own lens,” Ryan Garko, the Tigers’ vice-president of player development, said during a Sunday phone conversation. “We’re very aware of what they’ve done before, Jace coming from a Power 5 college school (Texas Tech) is going to be viewed different from Colt, who was a high-school sign (Biloxi, Mississippi).
“But I think we’re going to be very patient and deliberate with our development. The one thing you can’t do is un-ring the bell — it’s hard to go backwards (farm-team demotion).
“The amount of games played is very important. Experience on the basepaths, in the dugout, defensively — and you have to hit.
“Even in Colt’s case, he’s probably played only about 160 minor-league games (164, to be precise). This is a very data-based, research-based business where we’re looking at really good players in the big leagues and we see that some have gone very fast, with a certain amount of at-bats or innings pitched before they got there.
“We’re always aware of what the numbers are.”
Keith can benefit from overtime at Erie in all ways, the Tigers believe. He soon will begin facing teams for the second time this season — and to pitchers who will have adjusted to his booming bat, requiring an adjustment on his part.
Keith’s defense, of course, is being constantly tutored. It’s part of an overall approach by the Tigers, under new front-office chief Scott Harris, in being deliberate about farm-team promotions. The insist that ample time at any one level is to the player’s and the club’s long-term advantage.
“Stay healthy for a full season,” Garko said, a reference to last year’s shoulder injury that cost Keith his entire summer at West Michigan. “He’s doing a great job of taking care of his body. I think he just needs to play, just needs to play in the dirt (second base, primarily).
“The reps are so valuable in minor leagues. There are things you can’t simulate in practice — game awareness, situational awareness, situational hitting.
“Those are the things in the big leagues — those players always make sure they’re in the right spot. Colt’s good at those things, and he’s only going to get better.”
Melton makes his mark
The first pitcher taken (fourth round) by the Tigers in last summer’s MLB Draft was among the first pitchers promoted this spring.
Troy Melton, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound, right-handed muscleman from San Diego State, was always going to be a short-timer at Single-A Lakeland.
And, indeed he was, drilling through opposing lineups before Melton was shipped last month to West Michigan where, in three games and two starts (9.2 innings) he has a 1.86 ERA, courtesy of allowing six hits, as well as four walks to go with eight strikeouts.
Melton has a fastball that can climb into the upper 90s. He has a slider and a change-up — and an immense amount of talent the Tigers figure they can steadily massage.
O’Loughlin jumps
In a Tigers system, from Detroit to the rookie training fields, that thought it had tons of arms and now realizes it needs help, everywhere, Jack O’Loughlin’s sudden promotion from West Michigan to Triple-A Toledo can better be understood.
O’Loughlin, 23, and a 6-foot-5, 223-pound, left-handed slinger from Adelaide, Australia, was shipped during the Memorial Day break from high-A to Triple A and instructed to hold the fort, as it were, for the Mud Hens.
He has done just that, eating sufficient innings in two starts (9.1) total and allowing more seasoned hitters not as much of a feast (four earned runs, good for a 3.86 ERA) as might have been predicted, despite 12 hits and four walks, which has been offset somewhat by seven strikeouts.
“Sometimes things happen because of need,” Garko said. “We’re thin on arms. But Jack really has performed. He’s physical, and he’s pitched in the WBC (World Baseball Classic for Australia). We just wanted him to develop, get us some innings, but he’s pitched really well.”
Garko concedes the Tigers might be living on the edge with O’Loughlin and that a pitcher who jumped two levels might need that middle rung — Double-A Erie — as summer arrives.
O’Loughlin doesn’t bury hitters with a fastball that runs on the moderate side, 92-94.
“But he has two off-speed pitches he can land,” Garko said. “He knows how to pitch.”
O’Loughlin in nine starts at West Michigan had a 2.17 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, with 39 strikeouts in 37.1 innings.
Short hops
▶ Jackson Jobe, the 2021 third-overall draft pick who has had fans either on edge or incensed the Tigers didn’t instead draft shortstop Marcelo Mayer — now starring in the Red Sox system — is expected to be part of a Tigers medical update as early as this week.
Jobe, a right-handed pitcher, has been on the shelf since March with lower-back ills. It is understood he is on track after a layoff that doctors typically prescribe to last at least three months. Details on when he is to resume baseball activities is expected within the medical update.
▶ West Michigan manager Brayan Pena on Justice Bigbie, the Whitecaps outfielder, 24, who was a 19th-round pick in 2021 (Western Carolina), bats right-handed and in 37 games is hitting .333/.400/.544/944, with six home runs — and who, along with first baseman, Chris Meyers, will this week be moving to Double-A Erie:
“He employs a mature approach at the plate, recognizes good pitches to hit, makes good decisions, and uses the entire field better than most hitters his age,” Pena said of Bigbie. “Justice has a short, compact swing and he doesn’t try to do too much. He prolongs at-bats and wears down pitchers.”
Meyers, 24, was a 13th-round pick (University of Toledo) in 2021, bats left-handed, and will now head for Erie after batting .333 in 40 games for the Whitecaps, with nine home runs, a whopping .429 on-base percentage, and 1.067 OPS.
▶ Pena on Brady Allen, 23, and a right-handed-swinging outfielder the Tigers got from the Marlins in a May trade for outfielder Jonathan Davis (Allen in 15 games for the Whitecaps has a .759 OPS and three homers):
“Good barrel accuracy, hits the ball hard,” Pena said in a text message. “His swing looks nice — easy and under control. We’re confident putting him in any productive spot in the lineup, thanks to a good and mature approach as a hitter. He is a very confident player, defensively, who can play three outfield positions. We love the way he plays the game. Very professional. Great job by our organization to bring here a first-class human being and player.”
▶ Pena on shortstop Danny Serretti, one of the Whitecaps’ steadier souls during an up-and-down spring at Comstock Park:
“He’s been one of our top hitters,” said Pena, noting Serretti’s .288 batting average and .818 OPS. “Has good barrel accuracy, and shows good hand-eye coordination.”
Lynn Henning is a freelance writer and retired Detroit News sports reporter.