Tigers minor-league report: Boyd’s hot, Rondon’s not
TRIPLE A TOLEDO
Who’s hot …
Matt Boyd, LH starter: Figure on him slipping into Detroit’s rotation, if not regularly in 2016, certainly by 2017. He could pitch for the Tigers now. But it probably won’t hurt Boyd, who in eight starts for the Mud Hens has a 2.06 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, to put some added luster on his four-pitch repertoire. Boyd is 25 and was one of the prizes won from the Blue Jays in last July’s trade of David Price.
Preston Guilmet, RH reliever: The Tigers signed him as a minor-league free agent after some earlier time with the Indians, Rays and Brewers, so he’s not technically a prospect. But a team can’t ignore his Toledo numbers: 0.90 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. The breakdown: 18 games, 20 innings, 19 hits, 16 strikeouts, two walks. Guilmet, 28, is 6-2, 200, and was a ninth-round pick by the Indians in 2009.
And who’s not …
Bruce Rondon, RH reliever: Feel free to wonder if it will ever straighten out for Rondon. His last appearance, Thursday, was an example of Rondon’s confounding ways: two innings, three hits, two runs, three walks, three strikeouts. On the season: 10 games, 10.2 innings, 12 hits, 10 walks, 14 strikeouts.
Alexander, Ravenelle cruising but Tigers will be patient
DOUBLE A ERIE
Who’s hot …
JaCoby Jones, CF/3B: Back at it following his suspension (50 games) for failing a drug test, Jones is looking like the versatile guy with a heavy bat the Tigers thought they were getting last July when they insisted on him as payment from the Pirates for reliever Joakim Soria. Jones was batting .333, with three doubles, after his first five games with the SeaWolves. He turned 24 earlier this month, is 6-2, 205, and was a third-round grab by the Pirates in 2013. Jones played at Louisiana State.
Joe Mantiply, LH reliever: Steady, effective situational left-hander who could easily make it to Detroit. Numbers after 18 games for the SeaWolves: 1.93 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .224 opposing batting average, 18.2 innings, 19 strikeouts, seven walks. Mantiply was a 27th-round pick in 2013 (Virginia Tech). He’s 6-4, 215.
And who’s not …
Dominic Ficociello, 1B: He’ll heat up. But it has not been an easy spring for this switch-hitter, who is 6-4, 200, and who was a 12th-round pick by the Tigers in 2013 (Arkansas). Ficociello is batting .229 in his last 10 games and .233 on the season.
SINGLE A LAKELAND
Who’s hot …
Joe Jimenez, RH reliever: Bags are all but packed for Double A Erie. He still hasn’t allowed a run in 15 games spanning 15.1 innings. The lowdown: five hits, 23 strikeouts, four walks. Jimenez entered the year as one of the Tigers’ very best prospects and burnishes his reputation every trip to the mound. He is 21, and is 6-3, 220.
Grayson Greiner, C: Nice year for a catcher who could shoot his way back into a Top Tigers Prospects slot. Greiner, 23, is batting .353 in his last 10 games and .301 on the year. He is large (6-6, 220), swings right-handed, and was a third-round draft pick in 2014 (South Carolina).
And who’s not …
A.J. Simcox, SS: Cold spell for Simcox: .119 in his last 10 games. Doesn’t figure to last long for a prospect who last June was the Tigers’ 14th-round choice from the University of Tennessee.
SINGLE A WEST MICHIGAN
Who’s hot …
Matt Hall, LH starter: Midwest League batters aren’t enjoying Hall’s blue-chip curveball. He has a 0.69 ERA and 0.94 WHIP after seven starts. Details: 39.1 innings, 27 hits, 43 strikeouts, 10 walks. Hall, 22, was a sixth-round haul last June from Missouri State.
Beau Burrows, RH starter: Rarely walks a batter, strikes out his share, and gives up less than a hit per inning. Burrows, who was last June’s first-round Tigers pick, is doing fine at age 19: 2.70 in seven starts, 0.99 WHIP. He is 6-2, 200.
And who’s not …
Steven Fuentes, SS: His batting stats haven’t made a great deal of sense when Fuentes, a switch-hitter, appeared earlier in his Tigers life to be a potentially hot talent. But in his last 10 games, Fuentes, 21, is batting .030, and .174 for the year.
lynn.henning@detroitnews.com
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