Kings of the jungle in '05
Detroit may have had the best year of any organization in terms of the success of its affiliates and the progress of its recent top draft picks. The Tigers' Minor League teams combined for the highest winning percentage (.555) of any organization in 2005. Triple-A Toledo won its first International League title in 38 years and had the second-highest winning percentage (.618) of any full-season team in the Minors, trailing only the Tigers' Advanced A squad, Lakeland, which went 85-48 (.639) in the Florida State League. Oneonta, meanwhile, posted the third-highest winning percentage (.640) of any team above Rookie level.
On the prospect front, Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya formed perhaps the top pitching tandem in the Minors, with the former racing all the way from Lakeland to Detroit in his rookie season. A less-heralded pitcher who made a huge impression was 2003 16th-round pick Jordan Tata, who went 13-2 with a 2.79 ERA and was named FSL Pitcher of the Year. And the Tigers' top hitting prospect, Curtis Granderson, turned a test run in Detroit into a starting gig and looks to have a lock on the center field position for years to come.
| 2005 Organizational Record | ||||||
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LEVEL AAA AA A (Adv) A R R |
LEAGUE INT EAS FSL MID NYP GCL |
TEAM *Toledo Erie Lakeland W. Michigan Oneonta Tigers TOTAL: |
W 89 63 85 73 48 24 382 |
L 55 79 48 67 27 30 306 |
PCT .618 .444 .639 .521 .640 .444 .555 |
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| * Won the IL Governors' Cup Championship | ||||||
| 2005 Organizational Leaders | ||||||
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Average Home Runs RBIs Stolen Bases ERA Wins Strikeouts Saves |
.331 28 102 41 1.29 13 199 33 |
Matthew Joyce Mike Hessman Brent Clevlen Juan Francia Justin Verlander Jordan Tata Joel Zumaya Edwin Almonte |
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Complete MiLB statistics | |
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Even though the cream of the 2005 draft crop, Cameron Maybin, didn't take the field, he did provide a pleasant surprise when he ended a seemingly dead-end contract negotiation by signing in September. Third-round pick Chris Robinson didn't do a ton on the field, either, but he did end up on "Jay Leno" for being on the receiving end of a first pitch from a four-ton elephant in West Michigan. And the Tigers' third, fourth and fifth picks -- Kevin Whelan, Jeffrey Larish and Clete Thomas -- all had successful rookie campaigns, led by Whelan, who was about as close to unhittable as a pitcher can be.
Five Faves
At the start of the season, MLB.com identified five prospects to keep an eye on. Here's how they fared in 2005:
Kyle Sleeth, RHP
What was, in April, not thought to be a serious injury turned out to require season-ending Tommy John surgery for the Tigers' 2003 first-round pick. Sleeth was slated to begin the year at Double-A Erie, where he was knocked around (6.30 ERA, .303 average against) in 2004, but he began experiencing tightness in his right forearm flexor before the season started. Rest and rehab didn't do the trick and, in June, the 6-foot-5 right-hander went under the knife. The third overall pick out of Wake Forest was 4-4 with a 3.79 ERA in 10 starts at Class A Lakeland in '04 before going 4-4 in 13 Eastern League starts. He should return to the mound at some point in 2006.
Curtis Granderson, OF
The Tigers' top non-pitching prospect continued his rapid ascent through Detroit's system with another all-around outstanding season, beginning in Triple-A Toledo and ending as the parent club's starting center fielder. After hitting .321 in the Arizona Fall League, Granderson was batting .297 with 13 homers, 59 RBIs and 17 stolen bases for the Mud Hens when he was called up to Detroit for a week in late July. He impressed in six starts, hitting .318 with two triples, two homers and four RBIs, so it was a no-brainer that he was recalled in mid-August, when outfielder Rondell White went on the DL. It took the 24-year-old a few weeks to get acclimated to facing big league pitching every day and he hit just .237 in August. But he batted .287 with four homers and 11 RBIs in September, finishing the season at .272 with eight round-trippers, 20 RBIs and a .494 slugging percentage. Alan Trammell had stated that Granderson was the odds-on favorite to be the Tigers' starting center fielder in 2006, but it remains to be seen what new skipper Jim Leyland has in mind.
Tony Giarratano, SS
Giarratano is good with first impressions. His first hit in a Tigers uniform was a decisive two-run homer in Spring Training, where he batted .333 with two doubles, a triple and a pair of long balls in 42 at-bats. Two months later, despite hitting .253 at Double-A Erie, the 22-year-old shortstop got an unexpected call-up to spell the ailing Carlos Guillen. He arrived in Detroit two hours before the game, was penciled into the starting lineup and went 2-for-3 with the game-tying RBI and go-ahead run in a come-from-behind win over the Rangers. He was just 4-for-39 (.103) over the next couple of weeks and returned to Erie when Guillen came off the DL, but the big league experience seemed to benefit him -- he hit .292 over the final two months of the season. Never confused with a big run-producer, Giarratano had only 10 RBIs over those final two months, and 32 overall while batting primarily in the second spot with the SeaWolves. The switch-hitter fared significantly better from the left side of the plate, hitting right-handers at a .280 clip, compared to just .237 vs. southpaws. He stole a dozen bases in 17 attempts and committed 18 errors in 89 games.
Humberto Sanchez, RHP
Sanchez didn't have the season at Erie that the Tigers hoped for after the big right-hander impressed in two starts with the SeaWolves at the end of the 2004 season. The 22-year-old worked 12 2/3 innings last August, allowing just three earned runs on 10 hits while striking out 15. But he was hampered by a lat strain to start the '05 season and didn't take the mound until June, then went 2-1 with a 5.11 ERA. Unfortunately for Sanchez, that was his best month of the year. He was 1-4 with a 5.71 ERA and a .296 opponents' average in July before missing most of August with a groin injury. Overall, he was 3-5 with a 5.57 ERA, a .283 average against, 27 walks and 65 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings. He also yielded 10 home runs but is making up for lost time in the Arizona Fall League.
Sanchez pulls the string in AFL action
Joel Zumaya, RHP
The Tigers' 2002 11th-round pick already was looking like a steal prior to 2005, but after the season Zumaya had between Erie and Toledo at the age of 20, Detroit might be accused of grand theft. Facing almost exclusively hitters several years his senior, the 6-foot-3 Californian was a combined 9-5 with a 2.74 ERA and 199 strikeouts in 151 1/3 innings -- the strikeout total ranking second in the Minors behind Twins top prospect Francisco Liriano. Zumaya also finished second in all of Minor League Baseball in average against, holding opponents to a feeble .189 mark. And his 11.83 strikeouts per nine innings ranked third. The season didn't get off to a blistering start for Zumaya, who was 2-3 with a 5.66 ERA through mid-May. But starting on May 15, he put together one of the most dominant two-month stints of any pitcher in baseball, going 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings. He racked up double-digit strikeouts four times in that span, including games with 14 and 15. That performance led to a promotion to the International League, where the Futures Game representative was hit hard in his first outing but went 1-1 with a 1.55 ERA in his final seven starts, continuing to mow down hitters at a rate of well over one per inning (54 in 40 2/3 frames).
Audio: Zumaya talks to Jonathan Mayo
Video: A Futures Game strikeout for Zumaya
Cinderella Story
Kelly Hunt, 1B
Hunt followed up his Cinderella season with another good year -- strictly in terms of power -- as he hit 18 homers and finished fourth in the Florida State League with 86 RBIs. But otherwise, 2005 was a struggle for the big first baseman, as evidenced by his .216 average, .265 on-base percentage, .375 slugging percentage and 122 strikeouts. Hard to believe those numbers came from the same player who hit .439 with only 17 strikeouts in his final year at Bowling Green. Hunt also was caught stealing 10 times in 16 tries. But the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder was solid in the field, committing just 10 errors in 125 games, good for the league's best fielding percentage (.992) among full-time first basemen.
Breakout year
Jair Jurrjens, RHP
Jurrjens wasn't the most lauded baseball player from Curacao in 2005 -- that honor goes to Atlanta Braves slugger Andruw Jones -- but the 19-year-old hurler was a nice surprise for the Tigers. The 6-foot-1 right-hander was fourth in the Midwest League in wins (12) and seventh in ERA (3.41), walking just 36 while striking out 108 in 142 2/3 innings for West Michigan. He also came up big in his one postseason start, matching a season high with seven strikeouts in six shutout innings against Fort Wayne in Game 1 of the Whitecaps' two-game, first-round sweep. His only off month was June, when he went 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA, otherwise he consistently good. Jurrjens didn't allow a home run in his last 11 starts and yielded only five all year.
Vincent Blue, OF
Vincent Van Blue has to be one of the most nicknameable players in baseball -- especially considering the fact that Vincent Van can definitely "go." The 22-year-old Texan ran Blue streaks around the basepaths with Lakeland, taking the FSL's silver medal with 40 stolen bases. He had the green light all year, attempting 69 thefts. But while he's definitely not yellow about running, a 58 percent stolen base rate may result in coaches giving Blue the red light more often. He's still green, playing just his second full season after spending two years in the Gulf Coast League and one in the New York-Penn League, but he made significant strides in '05, improving his average (.297), on-base percentage (.362) and slugging percentage (.343) from his 2004 numbers with the Whitecaps. He also has Gold Glove potential, rated by Baseball America as the Tigers' best defensive outfielder. He committed just five errors in 123 games.
Video: Blue gives West lead with RBI single
Jordan Tata, RHP
Before the 2005 season, Jordan Tata wasn't even on the radar, as far as top prospects in the Tigers' organization. The 6-foot-6 right-hander was a relatively late draft pick (taken out of Sam Houston State in the 16th round in 2003) who didn't throw very hard for his big build and was considered to have some mechanical flaws. Decent numbers in his first two pro seasons -- 12-14 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and .266 average against -- didn't do much to change scouts' opinions. But a 13-2 mark and FSL Pitcher of the Year honors at Lakeland certainly did. Tata had eight starts in which he didn't allow a run and eight more in which he allowed just one or two earned runs. At age 23, he pitched 155 innings, posting a 2.76 ERA, holding opponents to a .239 average and striking out 134. He also lowered his walks per nine innings from nearly 4.0 to 2.4. For an encore, he tossed 14 shutout innings in the postseason, allowing just five singles, a double and a walk while striking out nine in each of two starts. By year's end, Baseball America tabbed him the 10th best prospect in the FSL, and some were rating him behind only the big two of Verlander and Zumaya among Tigers' pitching prospects.
Video: Tata fans Abreu in FSL All-Star Game
2005 draft recap
1. Cameron Maybin, OF
For a while, it looked like the Tigers weren't going to get their top pick, the 10th overall selection out of Roberson High School in Asheville, N.C. In late August, Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski went so far as to say that negotiations were off. But less than a month later, Maybin inked a deal that included a $2.65 million signing bonus. A former North Carolina basketball player of the year and cousin of NBA first-round pick Rashad McCants, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound outfielder is overflowing with athletic ability. He's drawn comparisons to Ken Griffey Jr. and is said to have hit a home run in high school that traveled approximately 500 feet. He's just the second high school position player taken in the first round by the Tigers in the past 11 years.
2. Chris Robinson, C
Robinson probably would have preferred to make headlines with his bat in 2005, but instead he'll have to settle for the attention he got when he caught the first pitch from an 8,500-pound African elephant at a West Michigan game in August. The third-round pick out of Illinois showed up everywhere from the Tonight Show to Sports Illustrated for his role in that monkeyshine, but he didn't make a whole lot of noise otherwise, hitting just .248 with two homers and 19 RBIs in his professional debut. Good news, though: Robinson batted .339 post-elephant compared to .200 pre-elephant.
3. Kevin Whelan, RHP
The Tigers' fourth-round pick entered his first professional game in June to protect a 5-4 ninth-inning lead for Oneonta. He hit the first batter, walked the second and, after recording two outs, gave up a three-run homer. It must have made him mad, because he hardly allowed another base runner over the rest of his incredible rookie campaign. Whelan was charged with just one earned run over his next 24 games, spanning 23 1/3 innings between the New York-Penn and Midwest Leagues. He allowed just five singles and six walks in that time. The 21-year-old right-hander was 1-1 with four saves and a 2.25 ERA for Oneonta, then posted 11 saves and a 0.73 ERA in 14 games for West Michigan. On the season, opponents his .075 against the 6-foot, 200-pound closer. Making Whelan's performance even more impressive is the fact that he just began pitching full-time within the last year after starting his career at Texas A&M as a catcher.
4. Jeffrey Larish, 1B
Larish had a massive year as an Arizona State sophomore in 2003, leading the nation in hitting (.372) and walks (78) for an unreal .528 on-base percentage while mashing 18 home runs. A significant dropoff in his junior year caused his stock to fall precipitously, and he was taken in the 13th round by the Dodgers instead of being the first-round pick he was expected to be after his '03 season. Larish, a Scott Boras client, declined the Dodgers' $650,000 to return to ASU for his senior season, at the end of which he became just the third player in College World Series history to hit three home runs in a game. After a short six-game stint in the Gulf Coast League, the 6-foot-2 first baseman moved on to Oneonta, where he went deep in each of his first three games and five of his first eight. Overall, he hit .297 with six homers and 13 RBIs in 18 games with Oneonta. He also continued to show a keen batting eye, drawing 13 walks compared to only six strikeouts.
5. Clete Thomas, OF
Thomas signed quickly and was in Oneonta for Opening Day, going 2-for-5 to set the pace for an excellent run through the New York-Penn League. The 5-foot-11 outfielder hit safely in 11 of his first 12 games and 15 of 18 before being promoted to West Michigan, where he also acquitted himself well. At Oneonta, Thomas hit .386 and stole nine bases in as many attempts. In 51 games in the Midwest League, the sixth-round pick hit .284 with eight doubles, five triples, 11 RBIs and 11 more steals, giving him 20 in just 69 games.
2004 draft recap
How the top three from 2004 fared in their first full season of pro ball.
1. Justin Verlander, RHP
Mike Drumright, Seth Greisinger, Matt Anderson, Matt Wheatland, Kenny Baugh, Kyle Sleeth ... the Tigers' first-round draft pick history is littered with right-handed starters who haven't paid dividends in Detroit. It's still early, but if this year is any indication, Justin Verlander may just put an end to that trend. His rookie season was nothing short of spectacular, starting in Class A Lakeland, peaking with two starts for Detroit and ending at Double-A Erie, where he went 2-0 with a 0.28 ERA and a .103 opponents' batting average. Verlander blew away the Florida State League, going 9-2 with a 1.67 ERA, a .230 average against and 104 strikeouts in 86 innings. All told, the 6-foot-5 fireballer with a killer curveball was 11-2 with a Minor League-best 1.29 ERA and a .197 average against. He walked just 26 while striking out 136.
Audio: Verlander talks with Jonathan Mayo
Video: One pitch, one out for Verlander at Futures Game
2. Eric Beattie, RHP
Ah, the irony. Verlander was taken first in '04 despite a perceived lack of command; Beattie because of his command. Fast forward to 2005: Verlander walks 26 in 118 2/3 innings between Lakeland and Erie, earning two Major League starts; Beattie walks 30 in 10 2/3 innings -- in the Gulf Coast League, at that -- seriously stunting his progress. The Division II leader in wins at Tampa University in 2003, Beattie walked just 22 in 104 innings as a junior in 2004. But the 6-foot-3 right-hander walked at least one in each of his 10 GCL outings, none of which lasted more than two innings. He walked at least four in half of those games. Beattie will begin the 2006 season as a 23-year-old with no experience above Rookie ball.
3. Jeff Frazier, OF
The Tigers' 2004 third-round pick bounced back nicely from a broken forearm that ended his rookie season after just 20 games, hitting .287 with a league-leading 45 doubles and 61 extra-base hits for Class A West Michigan. His 154 hits ranked third in the league, and he stole 16 bases in 19 attempts, calling into question claims that he doesn't run well. The Rutgers product hit 12 homers and drove in 81 runs while walking 46 times for a .349 on-base percentage.
Jason Ratliff is a contributor to MLB.com.