Tigers wishing Casper Wells progresses

As mentioned a time or two before, the Tigers should get a surprise from one of their young outfielders during 2010 spring training.

Maybe more than any of them, Casper Wells could shake up next year's roster in the same fashion as pitchers such as Rick Porcello and Ryan Perry did this year.

Wells already might have made his dent on the roster had he not had a bad elbow in Florida followed by a fractured bone in his wrist, which happened last April at Double-A Erie, where Wells was off to a fabulous start.

He is 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, with muscles as tight as snare drums. He turns 25 next month. He bats right-handed, plays outfield with enough speed and finesse to handle either corner, or center field, and has bat speed the scouts love.

That's why he isn't a half-bad bet to make a move next spring. One peek at what he has been doing this month in the Arizona Fall League adds a bit more petrol to the fire.

Wells is hitting .371 in nine games for the Peoria Javelinas with three homers and 14 RBIs. He has an .800 slugging percentage and .439 on-base average.

Wells also has struck out 13 times. It explains why the Tigers were keen on him getting his tail to Arizona this autumn. He needs to get better, much better, at figuring out the strike zone.

It's the same relative problem faced by another potential firebrand outfielder, Wilkin Ramirez, who is hitting .444 in the Dominican Winter League. Ramirez still is trying to recognize and handle breaking pitches, and if he does, he has the brand of raw talent that could make the deepest mark in 2010.

Prospect or pretender?

But figuring out how to cross the threshold there is why Wells and Ramirez will remain, for now, talented prospects. They'll either ascend to the next level, and soon, or be stuck in that never-never world of talented prospects to which a prospect like Brent Clevlen belongs.

Wells, though, is the one to watch when camp convenes in 100 or so days. The Tigers were keeping an open mind when he showed up at Lakeland, Fla., last February, looking to do what Clete Thomas and Matt Joyce had done in crashing onto Comerica Park's field a year earlier.

But a tender elbow sabotaged Wells' spring camp, and that was it for 2009 -- until he made it back to Erie at midseason to hit 15 home runs and rack up 41 RBIs in 86 games for the SeaWolves. He hit .260 with 103 strikeouts.

Can a 14th-round draft pick (2005) from Towson University become trustworthy enough to make the team next year?

Don't bet against it. Players who have bat speed and game-breaking power on Wells' level, and who can play all the outfield spots, have a way of offsetting strikeouts as they gain experience and discretion at the plate.

Sometimes, it doesn't work out, and the guy with talent and tools gets carved up by savvy big league pitchers.

But something says this won't be Wells' fate.

Something says he'll be playing in the big leagues in 2010, and maybe as early as April.

By the numbers

24 Wilkin Ramirez's age (Oct. 25)

26 Casey Fien's age (Oct. 21)

27 Jeremy Bonderman's age (Oct. 28)

34 Placido Polanco's age (Oct. 10)

They're a hit!

Vote for your all-time "Tigers 9" at detroittigers.com (it's based on single-season hitting). Here's the ballot:

Catcher (1)