In the home dugout at Comerica Park Thursday morning, Al Avila was discussing the Tigers' depleted starting rotation and the respective recoveries of Jordan Zimmermann and Tyson Ross when he pivoted to the farm.
"Even more importantly, Kyle Funkhouser is back on the mound," Avila said. "He pitched in Lakeland (Tuesday) and pitched very well. We’re going to give him one outing in Erie and then, if all goes well, bump him up to Toledo. Following right behind him will be Beau Burrows.
"My hope is that those two guys get back to Toledo doing what they’re supposed to do, what they’re capable of doing, and if that’s the case you’ll probably see those two guys up here at the Major League level later in the summer. That is our plan. I don't have any exact timeline, but that’s what we're looking for."
As Avila noted, they're both on the mend at the moment.
Funkhouser, recovering from a shoulder impingement, returned to action Tuesday at Class-A Advanced Lakeland and threw five scoreless innings with four strikeouts. He struggled at the start of the season in Triple-A Toledo, where he finished in 2018, posting a 7.64 ERA over six starts. He had 25 strikeouts, but 18 walks, over 17 2/3 innings.
Burrows, sidelined since April with shoulder inflammation, also started the year in Toledo. He pitched well over his first few starts, before regressing and winding up on the IL. He had a 5.32 ERA with 26 strikeouts against 11 walks in 23 2/3 innings.
MLB Pipeline pegs both of them to be middle-of-the-rotation pitchers in the big leagues.
Elsewhere in Toledo, shortstop Willi Castro, Detroit's No. 7 prospect, is raking to the tune of a .335 average. With the Tigers missing their entire starting infield, it would seem like a good time to give Castro a shot. But Avila said he has to improve his defense first.
"He’s been doing very well offensively. Our worry, obviously, is defense. If you’ve been following Toledo, you’ll see that he’ll make some defensive mistakes here and there and we’re trying to clean that up," said Avila. "Offensively, arguably he might be able to come up. Defensively, I talk to our minor league guys all the time time and he does need a lot more work.
"He’s at shortstop, but he could also move to second base if needed, so we’re really working hard on trying to clean up the defense. In particular at that position, it’s a very important aspect of it."
Despite their cautious approach with Castro, the Tigers remain focused on moving players through the system.
"At this this point we’re committed to giving opportunities to young players in the minor leagues," Avila said. "We’re trying to promote guys systematically as they do well, and you’ll be seeing some promotions. ... You’ll see some of those guys in Erie eventually get to Toledo. Right now, from the minors to the big leagues, our whole focus is to give opportunities to young players and see who's going to be our next stars at the Major League level."