Tigers reassign Mize to Minors camp

Casey Mize wore a Tigers uniform for a brief but productive time this spring. Now he'll try to climb through the Minors so he can put it on again.
The Tigers reassigned the 2018 No. 1 overall pick to Minor League camp on Tuesday. Right-handed pitcher Eduardo Paredes was also reassigned while right-hander Eduardo Jiménez was officially optioned to Double-A Erie as part of the three moves Detroit made in Lakeland, Florida.

Ranked as MLB.com's No. 17 overall prospect, Mize made three appearances in big league camp before his reassignment. His debut came on Feb. 22 in an exhibition against Southeastern University. He allowed one earned run on three hits while fanning two in two innings. Mize threw nine pitches, giving up one hit, but did not record an out in an appearance last Wednesday against the Yankees. He also appeared Monday in a 9-5 win over the Cardinals, giving up an earned run on two walks and two strikeouts in a hitless two-inning performance. In that final outing, he hit 98 mph with his fastball and fanned Randy Arozarena with an impressive splitter.
The 21-year-old right-hander only made five pro starts lasting a total of 13 2/3 innings between the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and Class A Advanced Lakeland last season after signing for $7.5 million out of Auburn. He had already pitched 114 2/3 frames in his junior season with the Tigers.
Mize could rise rapidly through the Detroit system thanks to an arsenal that has already made him the second-best right-handed pitching prospect in the game. His fastball is considered plus while his splitter could be even better, receiving a 70 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale from MLB.com. His slider can also be a plus offering. The whole package is enhanced by stellar control -- he averaged 1.3 BB/9 during his final season in the SEC.
Paredes was signed to a Minor League contract back in December, receiving an invitation to Spring Training. He made 32 appearances out of the Angels bullpen in 2017 and 2018, posting a 5.53 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings. Jimenez had 15 saves for Class A Advanced Lakeland last season and finished with a 3.42 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 51 K's in 50 frames. He was added to the 40-man roster back in November 2017. Neither Paredes nor Jimenez are ranked among Detroit's top 30 prospects.

In other moves

After a pair of split-squad games Tuesday, the White Sox reassigned a group of prospects to Minor League camp, including their 2018 first-round Draft pick Nick Madrigal. Joining Madrigal were left-handed pitchers Bernardo Flores and Jordan Guerrero as well as outfielders Luis González and Blake Rutherford.
Madrigal, baseball's No. 47 overall prospect, batted .303 with a .701 OPS across three levels in his debut season last year. Rutherford, the No. 9 White Sox prospect, hit .293/.345/.436 in 115 games for Class A Advanced Winston-Salem last year while Gonzalez, Chicago's No. 10, split 117 games between Class A Kannapolis and Winston-Salem, finishing with a .307/.368/.498 line.