This is the third in a series of posts looking at the rosters of the Tigers' minor league squads. I was hoping to get all four finished before the minor league Opening Day tomorrow, but you may have to wait an extra day for the look at the Toledo team. As for Erie, read on.

Catchers

Max St. Pierre
Jeff Kunkel

These are two light hitting catchers who had to this point made their careers as backups with excellent defensive skills. Seeing the two of them on the same squad would usually force me to look at the lower level catchers to see who could seize an opportunity for a promotion. However, John Murrian is the only one I settle on and he's already skipping a level to land in Lakeland.

Infield

Michael Bertram
Justin Henry
Santo De Leon
Cale Iorg
Shawn Roof
Cesar Nicolas

Brandon Douglas - DL
Audy Ciriaco - DL

The active group here is pretty short on pizazz. There is likely to be some sort of rotation of Bertram, De Leon and Nicolas at the corners until Ciriaco gets back from what Nick Underhill called a wrist injury that's “nothing serious”. I wouldn't consider any of them to be in the discussion as a serious prospect, but Bertram and Nicolas could conceivably offer some production at the plate. Justin Henry's 2009 season in Lakeland was a disaster that saw him hit for no power and a low average. He maintained good control of the strike zone, but not enough to remain productive. To be honest, his being in the organization and promoted were two surprising developments to me but his defense at second is probably a welcome attribute for his pitchers. We'll see where he lands once Ciriaco and Hamilton emerge from the disabled list.

The other middle infielders are the players in this group who offer any excitement in terms of value as prospects. Iorg could use 2010 to re-establish himself as more than just a defensive specialist and Ciriaco could continue a long growth process that has seen him improve each of the past two seasons. Added intrigue comes in anticipation of how Ciriaco and Iorg will be used. Will they split time at short or will Ciriaco be making a long anticipated move to third base? However, they are used their improvement as prospects would go a long way toward making up for a roster that is a little lacking in upside.

Let's not sell Brandon Douglas short as a prospect, though. He was making a push for the Midwest League batting crown before an injury last season, and even upon his return ended the season with a perfectly respectable line of .322/.384/.374 and about as many walks as strikeouts. He's already 24, which is what led me to guess this promotion was coming, but good defense as a middle infielder and a bat with potential could leave him as an interesting subject this season.

Outfield

Andy Dirks
Wilkin Ramirez
Deik Scram
Josh Burrus

I don't mean to be a downer here, but the outfield offers a story similar to the catching and infield situations. Dirks, Ramirez and Scram have all been here before so anything less than sharp improvement from past performance isn't going to catch anybody's attention. That said, the word is Ramirez is going to be moving to center field. If he can make that defensive adjustment, it will add some intrigue to what he offers as a prospect. It should help that Dirks and Scram are likely to flank him and each has spent time as center fielders themselves.

Speaking of Scram, his situation this year has gone largely unmentioned but he's been impacted by Toledo's glut of outfielders at least as much as Ramirez. He had a perfectly respectable 2009 season in Erie, his second at the Double A level, and spent a good amount of time as the team's center fielder. This season, he's spending a third season in Erie and is apparently not going to spend any more time than he did in center than last season. His fringy chances of cracking a major league roster as a fourth or fifth specialist outfielder seem to be dwindling fairly quickly.

As for Dirks, he seemed to be on the rise last season when he tore up the Florida State League for a month before earning a speedy promotion to Erie. That ascent seemed to hit the ceiling pretty quickly, however, when he reached Erie. The speedy outfielder with good on-base skills but little power saw his strikeouts rise and his batting average drop to a level unacceptable for a corner outfielder. I don't hold out much hope for Dirks and Scram as major leaguers, but something else I find concerning about the upcoming season is the possibility of Dirks' and Scram's defense in the outfield giving the appearance of progress for Ramirez in center. If that happens, it won't be terrible for the 2010 SeaWolves or their pitchers but it may not be the most healthy development for the Tigers' system.

As for Burrus, he's spent the past two seasons in independent ball after a six year stay in the Braves' organization. Before he left the Braves, he had taken 786 trips to the plate at the Double A level and compiled a line of .215/.289/.321. It's possible there's been something of a breakthrough here, but I would take any significant playing time he gets as a serious hit to the prospect standing of whomever he's replacing.

Starting Rotation

Andy Oliver, LHP
Jon Kibler, LHP 
Duane Below, LHP
Thad Weber, RHP
L.J. Gagnier, RHP

As we look at the rotation, we see one of the most significant prospects in the Tigers' system this season, Andy Oliver. Most of the Tigers' starting pitchers in Toledo and Erie are the types of pitchers where you can stomach seeing them fill in as one of your regulars does a stint on the disabled list. However, when their repeated presence is necessary your mind starts to wander as to how you will spend money saved on playoff tickets. Oliver is one of the only pitchers in either Erie or Toledo's rotation with an upside that is clearly higher than such a stopgap role. This season will be his first as a pro, so we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves but sustained success should put him in the conversation for a big league assignment in 2011. Such success will likely come in large part due to a fastball that's in the low- to mid-90s. However, that pitch's effectiveness will be enhanced if he can bring along his secondary pitches, and vice versa. If those pitches don't come along, we'll be subjected repeatedly to the dreaded bullpen speculation.

In the rest of the rotation, you have Duane Below coming back from Tommy John after missing most of last season. There’s also Jon Kibler returning to Double A after what I would call a disappointing 2009 season. He had a respectable ERA (4.06) but 68 walks and only 87 strikeouts would suggest he was nibbling at the strike zone a little too much. He’ll need to show he can figure out a way to get his walks back down without getting pounded for doing so.

Rounding out the rotation are Thad Weber and L.J. Gagnier. Weber is a 2008 draftee who pitched well in West Michigan and Lakeland before finding out Double A batters are a bit of a different species from those levels. Still, he showed some promise and was able to maintain his peripherals for the most part despite the promotion. Gagnier turned the rare trick in 2008 of pitching at all four full season levels and then was a lot more static in 2009. He pitched almost the entire season in Lakeland and did well (134 IP, 126 H, 15 HR, 40 BB, 123 K) even though his main concern of giving up long balls could get worse at the higher levels.

Bullpen

Brooks Brown, RHP
Jared Gayhart, RHP
Luis Marte, RHP
Ryan Ketchner, LHP
Zach Simons, RHP
Brendan Wise, RHP 
Jay Voss, LHP

Cody Satterwhite, RHP - DL

The bullpen has some intriguing arms in it as well. Luis Marte is apparently moving to the later game assignments and that should go well with his two plus pitches and apparent inability to get through a full season as a starter. A stellar season from him out of the bullpen wouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Another hard-throwing right-hander in the pen is Jared Gayhart. His continued development becomes a little more crucial as Scott Green and Cody Satterwhite - fellow 2008 draftees - try to recover from difficult injuries.

Zach Simons is another likely candidate for high leverage situations even though the way he’s viewed as a prospect took a little bit of a hit after he was removed from the 40-man roster and able to pass through waivers. He’ll need to continue to cut down on his walk rate and get away from the gopher balls he served up while in Toledo last year.

His penmate, Brooks Brown, is another pitcher who split the 2009 season between Erie and Toledo last season. After impressing in six starts in Erie (36.2 IP, 32 H, 8 BB, 13 K), he was promoted to Toledo and the fun stopped there as evidenced by a 3-13 record and 55 walks against just 48 strikeouts. He saw a steep drop in strikeouts compared to his previous minor league track record, so maybe the Tigers are hoping he’ll get back some velocity and swings and misses out of the pen. Wise is a similar pitcher to Brown in that he’s going to rely on contact that ends in infielder’s gloves rather than with runners on base.

Finally, coming from the left side will be Ryan Ketchner and Jay Voss. Ketchner was a minor league free agent last season who came in and pitched well in stints in Lakeland and Toledo. He’s 28, though, and is likely to remain in a “slot where needed” role. Voss was the Tigers’ return from the Nate Robertson trade, and has benefited from a move to the bullpen. Part of that is likely due to the fact that he can be used against left-handed batters, who he enjoys more success against. In addition to a potential LOOGY role in the future, he is a pretty successful ground ball pitcher.

Conclusion

I’ve already betrayed my shortage of excitement about the production and star power I expect out of the position players. The good thing about this team, however, is their defense should be excellent. With the possible exception of their corner infielders and center field when it’s Wilkin Ramirez, their defense should be very solid. That’s an important attribute for a team, and it will often earn a better record than people expect when looking at a team on paper.

I’m just not sure it can make up for the other shortcomings such as a lack of pop at the plate and some question marks on the pitching staff. The rotation’s makeup of unknowns and lower ceiling talent is a bit concerning. Weber, Kibler and Gagnier are guys who look to give you solid innings but aren’t likely to carry a staff. Below will be looking to get his feel back after Tommy John surgery and Oliver will be cutting his professional teeth and continuing his search for his breaking ball. Success is certainly not impossible, but the expectation for a lot should be tempered.

The bullpen I’m actually more confident about. There are some guys with proven success at this level and a couple of higher upside pitchers who could look very sharp in late inning roles with small improvements in their game. Add in the long relief guys and you have a good group. The problem is if I’m making a good team, I start with offensive production, move on to starting pitching, then try to button down the particulars with solid defense and a good bullpen. This Erie team’s strengths may go in almost the exact opposite order, so we’ll see how that works for them.

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