Detroit Tigers: 2018 minor league awards
Detroit Tigers Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Matt Manning
Level(s): low-A West Michigan, high-A Lakeland, AA Erie
Stats: 7-8, 22 GS, 117 2/3 IP, 3.29 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 51/154 BB/K
The son of a former NBA player, Matt Manning has the stature to intimidate batters on the mound at 6’6″ with a blazing fastball, but 2018 was a huge season for Manning in taking strides in harnessing his electric stuff.
Manning rocketed up the system this summer as his stuff was able to play with a more consistent delivery and better control. While he still walked over 10% of hitters he faced, Manning’s better mechanics should allow that number to continue to come down moving forward.
Manning will open 2019 in the upper minors, likely with AA Erie and could finish 2019 in AAA before factoring in the 2020 rotation.
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Runners-up
In his second season in the Dominican, long, lanky lefty Rodolfo Fajardo had an absolutely dominant year, making 14 appearances, 13 of them starts, tossing 59 innings, with a 1.07 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and a 10/67 BB/K ratio. He should come stateside next season to continue his development.
An 11th round selection out of Mississippi State in 2016, Zac Houston has been a dominant force in the bullpen all the way up the chain in the Tigers system. In 2018, he split the year between AA and AAA, making 46 appearances, tossing 55 1/3 innings, saving 10 games, and posting a 1.63 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and a 25/80 BB/K ratio. He could factor into the Detroit Tigers 2019 bullpen plans with a strong spring.
A guy who was selected in the 6th round out of Missouri State as a senior sign type, Matt Hall wasn’t really expected to jump up the farm quickly, but there he was in 2018, making short work of AA, and then moving to the rotation in AAA without missing a beat in his performance. His major league debut was forgettable, but by then, Hall had made a big impression, making 37 appearances combined in the minors, 14 of them starts, tossing 114 1/3 innings with a 2.13 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 45/135 BB/K ratio.
A pick out of small Western Oregon University in the 30th round in the 2014 draft, Spenser Watkins has taken his time working up the farm system. In 2018, he jumped up three levels with significant success, making 27 appearances, 18 of them starts, posting a 2.76 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 45/113 BB/K over 137 innings.
dark. Next. Marlins minor league awards
Detroit Tigers fans will enjoy seeing some of the fruits of a rough couple of seasons begin to phase into the major league club in 2019, but the strength of the farm system is still a few years away.