2018 Detroit Tigers: Outlook for 2019
The Tigers are rebuilding, but haven’t yet rid themselves of a couple high priced players. There just isn’t much of a market for an injured and expensive Miguel Cabrera or a below average and expensive Jordan Zimmermann. With Cabrera and Zimmermann still on board, the team’s estimated payroll for 2019 is $113 million, which would rank seventh in the AL.
As things are now, the lineup, rotation and bullpen look like this:
House That Hank Built
C—James McCann
1B—Miguel Cabrera
2B—Niko Goodrum/Dawel Lugo
SS—Ronny Rodriguez/Pete Kozma
3B—Jeimer Candelario
LF—Christin Stewart
CF—JaCoby Jones
RF—Nick Castellanos
DH—Mikie Mahtook
SP—Matthew Boyd
SP—Michael Fulmer
SP—Jordan Zimmermann
SP—Daniel Norris
SP—Blaine Hardy
CL—Shane Greene
RP—Joe Jimenez
RP—Alex Wilson
RP—Louis Coleman
RP—Daniel Stumpf
The Tigers don’t look like even a .500 team yet, but things can change considerably in the months after the World Series and before spring training. And there is some good news down on the farm. According to the farm system rankings at Bleacher Report from August, the Tigers’ minor leaguers rank 10th in baseball.
They have three Tier 1 players, all pitchers, and three Tier 2 players, two of whom are pitchers. Tier 1 players are “prospects who have an elite skill set and All-Star potential” Tier 2 players are “prospects who have a good chance of becoming impact contributors at the MLB level.”
Those three Tier 1 pitchers are Matt Manning, Casey Mize and Franklin Perez. Manning pitched at three levels this season, closing out his year in Double-A. Mize was the number one overall pick in the June Amateur Draft. He had four starts in High-A. Perez didn’t pitch much in 2018 because of an injury.
The Tigers best hitting prospect is outfielder Christin Stewart, who is considered a Tier 2 prospect by Bleacher Report. Stewart spent most of last season in Triple-A, where he hit .264/.364/.480, with 23 homers and 77 RBI. He joined the Tigers in September and hit .267/.375/.417 in 17 games down the stretch, which included a big 2-HR, 6-RBI game against the Royals on September 20. He should get a chance to be the everyday left fielder in 2019.
The best hope for Tigers fans is for the young pitching in the minor leagues to continue to progress. Also, Christin Stewart is someone to watch in the outfield, with Daz Cameron (son of former MLB player Mike Cameron) likely to join him at some point in 2019. Cameron came over from the Houston Astros in the Justin Verlander trade.
Then, of course, there’s future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera. His contract will keep him around for another five years, so it would be great if he could get back to some semblance of his former self. He’s 324 hits away from 3000 for his career and 35 homers away from 500. If he can stay healthy, he should achieve a few significant career milestones in the next few years.
That’s a look back at the Detroit Tigers in 2018. The 2019 season will hopefully see some moves forward in the rebuilding of the Tigers.