Detroit Tigers rank No. 6 in Baseball America's midseason prospect report
The Detroit Tigers moved their top pitching prospects Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal to the big leagues in 2020. Embarking on their first full MLB season, the arms of the future are no longer considered prospects.
But the organization's farm system hasn't missed a beat.
The Tigers are ranked No. 6 in Baseball America's midseason rankings, which stacks up all 30 teams. Since the preseason list put the Tigers at No. 4. Since then, we've had the MLB draft, trade deadline, prospect graduations and in-game evaluations.
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The Tigers have four prospects on Baseball America's top 100 list: first/third baseman Spencer Torkelson (No. 4), outfielder Riley Greene (No. 5), right-handed pitcher Matt Manning (No. 62) and righty Jackson Jobe (No. 90), the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 draft.
Baseball America gave it reasoning for putting the Tigers at No. 6: "The Tigers' system is now led by a pair of high-ceiling bats at Double-A in 1B Spencer Torkelson and OF Riley Greene who could be ready to help in 2022. A promising 2021 draft led by RHPs Jackson Jobe and Ty Madden helps restock the arms in the system."
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Torkelson and Greene were promoted Sunday from Double-A Erie to Triple-A Toledo, while Manning is starting to get comfortable in the Tigers' starting rotation.
Torkelson, 21, has played 81 games this season, hitting .282 with 19 home runs, 64 RBIs, 54 walks and 78 strikeouts combined for High-A West Michigan (31 games) and Double-A Erie (50 games). To reach Toledo, he hit .263 with a .373 on-base percentage for the SeaWolves.
Greene, 20, logged a .298 batting average, .381 on-base percentage, 16 home runs, 54 RBIs, 41 walks and 102 strikeouts over 84 games in Erie. He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft, while Torkelson went No. 1 overall in 2020.
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The 23-year-old Manning, however, is already in Detroit.
He has a 6.10 ERA, 13 walks and 25 strikeouts over 48⅔ innings in 10 starts. The Tigers picked him No. 9 in the 2016 draft.
Midseason top 30, in order
1. Seattle Mariners
2. Baltimore Orioles
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. San Francisco Giants
6. Detroit Tigers
7. Tampa Bay Rays
8. Cincinnati Reds
9. Boston Red Sox
10. Toronto Blue Jays
11. Texas Rangers
12. Miami Marlins
13. Arizona Diamondbacks
14. Atlanta Braves
15. Los Angeles Dodgers
16. Minnesota Twins
17. San Diego Padres
18. Cleveland
19. New York Yankees
20. St. Louis Cardinals
21. New York Mets
22. Milwaukee Brewers
23. Washington Nationals
24. Chicago Cubs
25. Los Angeles Angels
26. Colorado Rockies
27. Oakland Athletics
28. Philadelphia Phillies
29. Houston Astros
30. Chicago White Sox.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' prospects listed No. 6 on Baseball America rankings