As Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene thrive in Double-A, it's tempting to think about Detroit. But Tigers GM Al Avila said Wednesday the club is unlikely to advance its top two prospects any further this year, not even to Triple-A Toledo.
Why not?
Why not send Torkelson and Green to Detroit when the rosters expand in September? Why not give them a taste of the majors? They'd gain valuable experience against big-league pitching and they'd get a feel for their future home.
What's the downside?
"The downside is two parts," A.J. Hinch said Thursday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "One is, you gotta get rid of somebody on your current team in order to get those guys up here. I know that sounds valuable for the young guys, but you’re also making decisions on players that you don’t have to make a decision on. You don’t get to bring them up for free and just add them. I know we get to expand the rosters, but we’re going to need pitching in September for those extra couple of slots."
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Extra arms are always important toward the end of the season. They'll be even more so this year with pitchers re-adjusting to the workload of a 162-game schedule. And the Tigers have to take this into particular consideration with three young starters facing innings limits. September could get dicey if they try to squeeze two bats onto the roster.
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"The second part of it is, it does clog your roster," said Hinch. "If you’re not right when you bring them up and they’re holding down a couple of spots on the 40-man roster when they're in Triple-A or in Double-A, there's a downside to that. You lose guys all over the place. One of the problems we had at the beginning of the season is we had (Alex) Faedo and (Joey) Wentz and unusable guys on our 40-man that were not able to come up when we needed. If you clog your 40-man and don’t keep them up here, it can get a little messy with what guys you have available to use."
To Hinch and Avila, Torkelson and Greene are just fine in Double-A. They're part of a tight-knit team featuring the Tigers' next wave of prospects that's in the thick of a playoff race. It's a healthy environment for development for two cornerstones of the club's future.
"Obviously at-bats are important," said Hinch. "I think in today’s industry and certainly in today’s world, we race to want to get these guys to the big leagues. A good solid Double-A season for Riley Greene can do just as much as coming up and dabbling in the big leagues and not quite being ready to arrive. It’s a slippery slope if you go too quick."