If and when baseball returns to Fifth Third Field, Toledo Mud Hens fans are looking forward to potentially watching a foursome of elite starting pitching prospects that will work on their trade this summer.
The buzz is building for future Detroit Tigers aces Casey Mize and Matt Manning as well as super-prospects Tarik Skubal and Alex Faedo.
While the talk of the offseason has been the Tigers' pitching prospects, a four-pack of position players — all in the top 10 of Tigers' prospects — are likely to start the season in Toledo.
The group is headlined by third baseman Isaac Paredes, who is the fifth ranked player in the Tigers organization according to MLB.com. Paredes will likely get his first taste of Triple-A baseball after spending all of last year at Double-A Erie.
Shortstop Willi Castro (No. 6 in Tigers' top 30), outfielder Daz Cameron (No. 7), and catcher Jake Rogers (No. 10) were all optioned to Toledo before spring training was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Castro and Rogers both struggled in their brief taste of the big leagues with Detroit last season and Cameron fell short of expectations after spending the entire season in Toledo.
While Paredes, Castro, Cameron, and Rogers haven't created the same buzz as the young pitchers, each could play a key role in the Tigers' rebuild. Here is a closer look at the four:
Isaac Paredes
Paredes, along with Jeimer Candelario, came to the Tigers organization in a deadline deal in 2017 that sent Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to the Chicago Cubs.
Paredes spent all of 2019 in Erie and flourished. He hit .282, his best single-season batting average since his first professional season when he hit .296 between two teams in the Cubs organization.
Known as a plus hitter with good plate discipline, Paredes walked 57 times and struck out just 61 times at Erie last season. He added 13 home runs and 66 RBIs. He earned a spot in the MLB Futures Game as well.
Paredes has some versatility as an infielder, but with his build he projects as a third baseman with the Tigers.
Willi Castro
Castro came to the Tigers system via trade in July of 2018 as the Tigers sent Leonys Martin and Kyle Dowdy to the Cleveland Indians.
Castro has made the mid-season all-star game at four different levels of the minors the past four seasons. In 2019 he was an International League All-Star for Toledo with a .301 batting average, 11 home runs, 62 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases.
He has plus-speed and a plus-arm in the field and could be the shortstop of the future for the Tigers despite a disappointing cameo last season in September.
Daz Cameron
Cameron and Rogers came to the Tigers organization from the Houston Astros in the blockbuster Justin Verlander trade.
The son of Mike Cameron, Daz has a high pedigree. He has good speed in the outfield and tracks the baseball well especially in center.
He has been inconsistent at the plate in his minor league career with a .247 batting average. He hit just .214 in Toledo last season and hit 13 home runs, drove in 43 runs, and stole 17 bases.
Cameron needs to show better plate discipline and make more contact, but he is 23 years old and some of his inconsistency in the minors can be chalked up to growing pains. He is a talented player that should have a bright future.
Jake Rogers
Rogers had a busy year last year, playing at three levels — Erie, Toledo, and Detroit — as well as the MLB Futures Game in Cleveland. Known as a potentially elite defensive catcher, Rogers will need to work on his consistency at the plate before he returns to Detroit.
MLB.com grades Rogers as a 65 on a 20-80 grading scale for his fielding and his arm strength. However, his hit tool is graded at a 35. After hitting .302 at Erie last season, Rogers hit just .223 for Toledo and then struggled mightily at the plate in his call-up to Detroit.
More time in Toledo could help Rogers better his approach at the plate and make more adjustments in the batter's box.
First Published May 8, 2020, 9:05 p.m.
