For some players in the Tigers' farm system, it's been a positive year. For others, not so much.
MLB Pipeline released its latest prospect rankings over the weekend, and there was some significant shuffling within the
Tigers' Top 30.
The most prominent addition to the list, unsurprisingly, was Riley Greene. The fifth overall pick in this year's draft checked in at No. 3 among Detroit's prospects and No. 49 overall.
Greene, 18, has done nothing but hit since turning pro. He's batting .333 with a .914 OPS over 26 games thus far in the low minors. The future star is still a long way from Detroit, but he's clearly the best hitter on the farm.
The biggest riser for the Tigers was southpaw Tarik Skubal. Thanks to a dominating season thus far in the minors, Skubal jumped from No. 17 among Detroit's prospects to No. 4. Since a promotion to Double-A Erie, he boasts a 2.79 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings.
Skubal is part of a loaded rotation in Erie that also features Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Alex Faedo. Mize kept his ranking as the Tigers' top prospect and the second overall prospect in baseball, Manning remained No. 2 for the Tigers and climbed from No. 32 to No. 29 overall, and Faedo, unranked within the top 100, stayed at No. 9 for Detroit.
Not everything is rosy in the Tigers' top 10. The biggest faller was Franklin Perez, previously Detroit's No. 3 prospect and No. 64 overall. Thanks to several injuries that have kept him off the mound for most of the past two seasons, Perez slipped to No. 6 for the Tigers and fell out of the top 100 altogether.
Isaac Paredes also saw his stock take a hit. Considered the best hitter in the system before the arrival of Greene, Paredes peaked earlier this year as Detroit's No. 4 prospect and No. 83 overall. Thanks to a .735 OPS this season in Double-A, Paredes fell out of the top 100 and now ranks No. 5 for the Tigers.
Others on the downswing include Triple-A pitchers Beau Burrows, who slipped from No. 6 for the Tigers to No. 13, and Kyle Funkhouser, who fell from No. 10 to No. 17.
Burrows and Funkhouser are
expected to debut later this summer in Detroit, but they haven't inspired the most optimism this season in Triple-A. Burrows has a 4.53 ERA over 11 starts, while Funkhouser, who was recently demoted to Double-A, has a 9.00 ERA over 12 starts.
Also cracking the top 10 for Detroit was the Triple-A trio of catcher Jake Rogers (up five spots to No. 7), Daz Cameron (down three spots to No. 8) and Willi Castro (down three spots to No. 10).
Three 2018 draft picks joined Greene in the Tigers' top 30. Nick Quintana (3B, 2nd round) checked in at No. 15, Andre Lipcius (3B, 3rd round) checked in at No. 22 and Bryant Packard (LF, 5th round) checked in at No. 24.
Also entering the top 30 was
international signee Roberto Campos, who slotted in at No. 23. The Tigers signed Campos for $2.85 million, more than half of their international bonus pool.
Overall, the Tigers' farm system ranks eighth overall, according to MLB Pipeline, up two spots from the start of the season.
