Detroit Tigers - From Worst to First
 

Welcome to the Detroit Tigers Rebuild!!

In 2019, the Detroit Tigers were a MLB worst 47-114 (tied for 16th worst since 1900 based on win percentage).

So I am going to re-sim the 2019 season and see how much more competitive I can make the Tigers and rebuild them going forward.

I should mention, I am going to be GM only, but I will use "player strategy" to force starts at certain positions (especially for promising prospects).

I am using challenge mode and here are few of the "game settings" I like to use.
-I set scouting reports monthly
-I set rating>max to yes
-I set potential<actual to yes
-I keep all the box scores and game logs
-I keep all the news, injuries and transactions
-Turn on "show personalities on profile page
-Turn off suspensions (personal preference)
-Talent change randomness to 125 (for added difficulty)
-I keep all career L/R split, fielding stats and postseason stats
-AI lineup selection to "Sabermetric"
-"Trading of recently drafted players" to "Next offseason"
-AI trading frequency to Low
-I turned off expansion/relocation/team changes for 2019, but will turn on prior to start of 2020 season
-Turned off Rainout (personal preference)
-Set international amateur free agents to "few" (even though in 2019 it will generate over 300 players regardless
-Turn off internation scouting discoveries (personal preference)
-Set international establishes free agents to "few"

Thanks for clicking on the thread! If you like what I am doing please leave a comment and I'll keep posting.

Next post will be an update of the team before I start the sim.

So after reviewing the team I went hunting for early upgrades and below are the initial few moves I made.

So here is the lineups/pitching before I start the simulation. When I start, I keep an eye on waiver wire and trading block as I go day by day. I will update at the end of April.

Almost forgot, here is a quick snapshot of some of the prospects I will be keeping an eye on. I used a combination of my scout, OSA and the top prospects listing to build this group. They are split it to batters and pitchers.

After the draft, I add picks that receive a bonus to this list to follow their progression. It helps to have them on a "player shortlist" so they show up in all caps on the rosters & transactions page.

Here is a quick look at the full minor league system. You can see some all caps for prospect I am keeping an eye on.

Also, you will see some players with the red position for players I have forced a game strategy for their position.

Preseason Prediction!
 

The preseason prediction has been released and the Tigers are projected at last in the AL Central. My goal will be to finish ahead of Royals and White Sox for 2019.

Rotation Update!
 

Late April and Matt Boyd has gone down with a triceps injury (expected to miss 6-7 weeks).
Promoted Tyson Ross from AAA after 3 good starts in Toledo.

Ouch!
 

Tyson Ross pitches in to the 8th in his first start (vs Boston) ... then goes down injured.
Herniated disc (neck) and he is out 6-7 weeks also.
Calling up Matt Hall, who has had 3 good starts in AAA after a poor first outing.

Prospects Update!
 

Below is a few of the player developments from the update report.

May 1 Update
 

Small sample size aside, below are the stats after a 15-15 March/April
Rough start for Castellanos, Candelario and Gurriel Jr.
Pitching has carried the Tigers to an excellent start to the season!

Rout of the Royals
 

Thought this was worth sharing. Routed the divisional foes by a 27-3 score!

End of May Update!
 

Another solid month for the Tigers! Now sitting at 28-29!!
The AL player of the month award belongs to Spencer Turnbull!

Below is the player development update on a few guys.

Will post updated player stats when we get to the draft!

Jake Rogers and Sergio Alcantara to AAA!
 

After good starts to their seasons in AA, both Rogers (C) and Alcantara (SS) have been promoted to AAA.
Bobby Wilson (C) and Pete Kozma (SS) have been released opposed to demoted.

June 4 Stat Update!
 

Pitching has stayed unbelievably steady!
Need to make some changes for the hitters, might send down Candelario for a little bit

Also, the draft is today! Will make a separate post for possible choices at pick #5!

Tim Hill for Dan Jennings
 

Wasn't sure why Gardenhire wouldn't use Tim Hill (faced 6 batters in 2+ months) so I decided to try a different lefty for a bit.
Atlanta will pay all of the remaining salary for Dan Jennings too.

Rutschman!!!
 

So... the Orioles took "Daniel Espino" (SP) with 1st overall pick (he went 24th overall in real life).

I think the Tigers would be crazy not to take Adley Rutschman who is surprisingly still available at #5 (since their pick in real life went 4th), but I will review other potential options obviously.

Rutschman wants almost $5million bonus, so that might pinch us in the later rounds.

2nd Round Options!
 

It is too difficult to pass up on Adley at 5, but with the 2nd round pick there is a few very good options. I will post the 4 players I am debating below.

I like the look of the Nick Neal, but I am leaning towards pitching in this round (he also might end up as a DH if he can't play LF since he has no infield skills).

Initially I was leaning to Fitterer, but I don't like the low work ethic and at almost 19 he could be a many year project to get to MLB (barring injuries).
It also might explain his HS stats a bit, as he didn't really dominate until he was an older senior.

OSA is very high on Feole (4.5 star), but he is listed as a reliever and I think he should get a look as a starter.
He could be a quick riser with his age and current skills (Sept. call-up 2020 maybe?).

OSA has Sabouri at a 50 for stamina, so that doesn't scare me off entirely (they also have him with a bit more hitting skills).

Does anyone have any insights on who they think I should take?

In my standard saves I usually grab Feole but my scouts generally like him a lot more then yours. He also tends to fall to at least the 3rd round. Adley is a great pick regardless of how much he's going to cost you.

First 5 Rounds!!
 

Below are the players taken in the first 5 rounds of the 2019 MLB draft!!

Does anyone have a suggestion on whether or not to try Baylor as a 2-way player? OSA has his pitching potential higher than our scout, but he only has the two pitches.

The ratings for Watson are OSA and I didn't really know who else I would take in the 5th round. I think he could maybe play some OF if it doesn't work out at 2B.

If I find any other interesting players worth sharing I will post again before simming until July 1!

Couple extra draft selections!
 

Below are a few late round finds.
Some ratings are OSA and others the Tigers scout.

I will make another post with three other late late round "lottery tickets"!!

Round 25, 27 and 29!
 

I am going to keep an eye on these three guys to see if any of them can develop!

Major 3B Upgrade!!!
 

After receiving a message from the owner "reviewing" the goals he set to start the season (which to this point I had not even thought about) I went looking at the trade block for a 3B upgrade.

Rangers were looking to trade Asdrubal Cabrera so I clicked on "Make this work now!" and one of the players was "Ulrich Bojarski".
I had never heard of this player before (his profile is below, and the OSA isn't much higher on him than our scout).

Rangers somehow will also pay the remainder of Cabrera contract which is a major win!!!

Asdrubal is putting up amazing stats through 76 games (OPS+ of 177).

Jeimer Candelerio has been sent to AAA (.202/.293/.350/.642 in 229 plate appearances in MLB in 2019).

Castellanos?
 

What to do with Nick Castellanos?

When I made the trade to get Gurriel/Biggio from Toronto before the season started my idea was to play Gurriel at 2B until we (inevitably) trade Castellanos, then move Gurriel to LF and callup Biggio to play 2B (who I was playing at 3B in AAA for a bit).

Nick has not had a good start to the year and probably is not worth much around the deadline. I think I might try to move him sooner than later.

Take a look at his stats below and let me know what you think.
He has been a blackhole in LF, so I am going to switch him to DH and put Christin Stewart in LF (his bat has died off too unfortunately).

One option for Castellanos Trade!!
 

So... I was looking around to see what I could get for Castellanos and this trade is available.

Yuli also has 55 OF Range / 50 OF Error / 60 OF Arm (even though he only has one start in LF in MLB career).

Should I pull the trigger? Or wait it out and see if a better option comes around?

What do you think?
 

Still pondering making this trade. Anyone have any insight?

Thinking this might be better option!
 

So the Astros retain 80% of Gurriel for 2019 and 2020, plus we pickup a decent SP prospect who is MLB ready in Perez.

Plus we dump 3 players from the 40 man that we have zero use for.

Rogelio Armenteros!!!
 

So I pulled the trigger and added in Rogelio Armenteros!
I think if he doesn't work out as a starter, he has good upside as a backend bullpen option!

Let me know what you think!!

I will post an update of stats around July 1.

July Development Report and International Amateurs!!!
 

Below is a few of the highlights from the July Development Report!

Also, this is a look at a few of the International Amateurs (334 of them for some reason for 2019).

I will post a team update next!!

July Team Update!!
 

Below are some of the player stats as of July 2nd!!!

The "lefty specialist" is a wasted roster spot. So I might just release Dan Jennings (since we owe him nothing) and maybe call up another batter.

Since we traded for Jennings he has faced 2 batters (walking one and striking out the other).

I am going to adjust the "General Strategic Tendencies" (under the "League Settings" / "Stats & AI" tab) to see if maybe the bullpen gets more usage (and maybe the starters don't go as deep).
I had set "hook for SP" to "Default" and "pitcher stamina" to "Normal" before starting. This must be causing the lack of bullpen usage (IMO).

General Strategic Tendencies
 

Decided to leave this as it was, and just adjust our team strategy. Gardenhire's "hook for SP" was just too high and hence lack of bullpen usage.

I went through a lot of the other teams bullpens and didn't look like as large of a discrepancy.

Juan Nicasio!!!
 

Tyson Ross was ready to come back from rehab assignment, so I decided to see what I could get for him (and dump the remainder of his $5.75 million dollar contract).

Phillies had Juan Nicasio on the trading block and they were willing to pay out the remainder of his contract!

Decided to throw in Dan Jennings (we weren't paying him anyways) to free up a spot in the bullpen so I didn't have to send someone down to AAA.

Juan Nicasio is now the closer and Gardenhire is going to use Shane Greene as a middle reliever, so I might dump him near the deadline (not interested in keeping him for 2020 at this point).

Also, Philly was in need for starting pitching help (so I may look to trade with them again sooner than later). They have Craig Kimbrell in the rotation (even though he hasn't started a game yet).
They have Nola near the end of a rehab assignment and Pivetta coming back in less than a week too.

Shortstop Upgrade?
 

So this trade has been presented to the Tigers from the Cardinals...

I went in to the "Discuss Trade" option and it appears they would take 30% of DeJong contract (without adding prospects/players to make them possibly retain more).

Below is his current ratings (from our scout not OSA) / batting stats and a look at his contract (without retention).

Would you take on a soon to be 26 year old Paul DeJong if you knew you'd have to pay him $8.75 million (12.5 x 0.7) in his age 31 season?

I don't plan on resigning Mercer (might try to dump him before deadline anyways) and I had looked at someone like Marcus Semien a couple times this season as a potential trade target.

Also, we have a defense first SS prospect currently in AAA with Sergio Alcantara. He needs Rule V protection this offseason and could be in the 2020 plans.

Matt Boyd is under team control for 3 more season after this one. I think he could be part of the team long term and has been troubled by a high BABIP in 2019.

Let me know what you think!!!

Better Option?
 

Turns out if I remove the prospect they offered, they will retain 85%!!!

I might see if I can give them Jordy Mercer, since I would have no use for him if I pulled the trigger.

This just feels like cheating though ...
 

Before deciding on DeJong I wanted to see what I could get for Jordy Mercer before trying to send him to St. Louis.

I could take Dan Jennings back... and even just release him, since Braves are covering 100% of his contract.

That just feels cheap though. I could just keep Mercer as a backup IF option (though I'd have to send someone down).

Jeimer & Diekman for DeJong?
 

STL retains 60%

Don't have to give up Matt Boyd.
We can replace Diekman with Jennings (who we can get back for Mercer).

Candelario will have no options remaining for 2020. I'd like to keep him since he is very good defensive 3B, but his bat just hasn't been good enough.

Is this a smarter move?

Three trades in one day!
 

So since we were offered DeJong I have decided to go ahead and find a good trade for him.
I had high hopes for Candelario, but sometimes it just doesn't work out.
I am going to hold on to Matt Boyd for now, and had no interest in resigning Matt Moore (was injured and has only made 6 starts so far in MLB this season).

I dumped Jordy Mercer to get Dan Jennings back (since we had to include Jake Diekman to get STL to retain more money).

Also, we had no use for Shane Greene anymore, so we sent him to Washington for a 24 year old 3.5 star potential reliever "Jhon Romero" (who we are sending to AAA).

Matt Hall has been recalled from AAA after 6 starts and a sub 3 ERA (one day after his 26th birthday too).

Also, "John Schreiber" has been called up from AAA. He has yet to play in the MLB, but he has been lights out in AAA to a 1.36 ERA/0.94 WHIP.

Derek Dietrich!!
 

Added a new LF at the deadline.

Not sure what we are going to do with Christin Stewart yet.
He has a .720 OPS at the end of July with below average defense.

This "John Valente" doesn't look like someone who will turn in to anything usable.

End of July Update!!!
 

Below is the player development report for a few notable players.

And the stats of our hitters and pitchers.

End of August Update / Sept Callups!!!
 

Couple new adds to the 40 man roster:

Rogelio Armenteros - Came from Astros with Yuli Gurriel and Cionel Perez in our trade of Nick Castellanos. Made 12 starts in Tuledo with decent results. Overall this year he had a 3.89 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, good homerun suppression and doesn't walk too many guys (2.8 BB/9). He's had over 300 innings in AAA, time to see how he does in MLB. I am going to try and get him a few starts in September. Matt Hall has been moved to the bullpen and Cionel Perez is taking his spot in the rotation for September.

Jhon Romero - Came from Nationals in our trade for Shane Greene. He only knows two pitches (65/70 Fastball and 70/75 Slider). Probably could have left him in AAA until next year. But I want to see what he can do in MLB.

Willi Castro - 22 year old switch hitting 2B (maybe backup IF type as he could probably man SS/3B in a pinch). He has hit at every level so far. In about 600 plate appearances at AAA this year he put up a .317/.362/.478/.841 for a 130 OPS+. Right now he might be our starting 2B in 2020, if we move Biggio to 3B. At worst, he is our backup IF.

Ronny Rodriguez - Was on the 40 man all season, but he looks like a "AAAA" kind of player. In 259 plate appearances in AAA he put up a .324/.331/.492/.823 for a 124 OPS+. He still has 2 option years left, but he will be 28 next year.

End of season Stats!
 

Finished regular season at 74-88 (Third in AL Central)!
I am pretty happy with that, we were able to be competitive and led by surprisingly solid pitching all season.

Below are the 2019 MLB Pitching / Hitting Stats!!!

Braves win 2019 World Series!!!
 

Below is glimpse at the 2019 playoff tree!

Game 7 and Atlanta beats Cleveland on the road!!!

Review of Owner Goals!
 

Asdrubal Cabrera was a good pickup.
He was obviously not going to continue the scorching hot start he had to the season, but how does that not satisfy his request? Haha

I assume that a "power hitter" only refers to homers, but he was tied for the AL lead in doubles.

Gardenhire and Avila Retired!
 

So we have to hire a new Assistant GM and Manager.

I have gone through the options and I have settled on:

Gabe Kapler as the new Manager - Even though his "personality & style" and his "managing attributes" don't directly lineup with my personal preferences.
I do appreciate how he will allow me to dictate all of the game strategy.
His "Bad Relationship" with a couple of our good young pitchers does worry me a little, but I think it is worth the risk.

Chaim Bloom as the new Assistant GM - I just really like his overall profile and think he is going to be a very good GM in MLB.

Below is a snapshot of each person.

*Both have been offered contracts and we will wait for their response.

Salary Arbitration!
 

Here is a look at what we are seeing in Salary Arbitration:

There is four guys who will be non-tendered, only two worth mentioning.

John Hicks - I didn't want to "force" Gardenhire to play him more, but maybe I should have. He put up good stats (small sample size) and wants around 3 million. We have Jake Rogers to team up with Grayson Greiner for 2020 and hold down the catcher spot until Adley eventually makes his way up. Hicks is also 30 years old and out of minor league options.

Yolmer Sanchez - Fan of this guy in real life, one reason I picked him up for this team (plus White Sox paid him 100%). Started really good and faded as the season went on. We have lots of guys who we can replace his spot on the team with. He also wants about 6 million, and he would be a backup probably.

Mikie Mahtook - Going in to his 30 year old season. Wouldn't have cost us much, but I have a few other guys I want to play over him. Out of options, so we shopped him around and Oakland will take him. One interesting player we receive is "Alberto Tirado". I think I am going to convert him to a reliever and see how he makes out.

Max Schrock
 

St. Louis added Schrock to their 40 man on July 29th when Kolten Wong got injured, but the optioned him back to AAA on July 30th and recalled Ramos Urias.

Max was recalled from AAA on September 1st and got his first 31 days of MLB service time. He picked up a hit, a single, in his first MLB at bat (on the first pitch he saw) off of Derek Holland.

In his MLB start on September 18th, Schrock went 3 for 4 with 2 homers and a double while driving in 4 runners and scoring 3 runs.
His first homer was off of Max Scherzer (Max on Max crime right there) in the 2nd inning.
In the bottom of the 8th, with his team trailing by a run, Schrock came up a hit a clutch 3 run homer to put the Cardinals ahead for good.
He was named player of the game.

On September 24th, his last plate appearance of the 2019 season, he drew a 4 pitch walk off Matt Koch.He later came around to score.

For some reason St. Louis decided to DFA Max Schrock at the start of the offseason (they had 3 guys who needed to be activated off the 60 day IL to the 40 man). Since he had two option years remaining, and has just turned 25, I thought he was worth the waiver claim.

If I was Cardinals GM, I would have DFA'd Drew Robinson over Max Schrock. Drew is going to be out of options next season and they probably won't have room for him after spring training (even though rosters will now have 26 players to match real life).

Below is a collection of clips from his player profile. I thought he was worth the waiver claim. He looks like a versatile player with high contact and low strikeouts.

Let me know what you think!!!

Adiaos Derek Dietrich!
 

Derek Dietrich did really well for the Tigers after coming over from the Reds.

In 236 plate appearances he hit .299/.364/.460/.824 for an OPS+ of 113.
He had 13 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers and 29 RBI.

I am looking to play a few other guys in the OF for 2020, so we really didn't need him. He only got 3 million in arbitration, but when I was shopping him around I saw that the White Sox would give us Zack Burdi.

Zack Burdi is a former first round pick and just made his MLB debut in 2019 (see below for player profile page).

Who do you think won this trade?

Ryder Jones!
 

Decided to move on from Christin Stewart. It may be a bit too soon to let him go, but you never know.
I have a different direction for the OF and he is below average defensively and his offensive output was worse than I had expected.

We are able to pickup a lefty 3B in Ryder Jones. He will need to be protected from the Rule V draft.

We are also able to grab a pitcher named Seth Corry. I am going to use him as a reliever (OSA has his control at a 35/50). He does not need to be protected from Rule V draft.

Sandy Baez was a throw-in they wanted to even out the trade (25 movement and 1 option remaining).

Free Agent Filings Day!
 

Here is a look at the Tigers after the pending free agents have hit the open market.

Only one notable "International Free Agent" in this years group. His name is "Teruhide Ubagai".
OSA is very high on this player and our scout has him as a 1.5 star prospect.
We are going to offer him a MiLB contract and see what happens.

Low Spending Offseason
 

Right now the plan for 2020 is to play some of the younger guys and see who can be long term options or not.

We currently have 3 players who have "primary positions" of 2B.

1 - Cavan Biggio - The plan is have him as our 2B (or maybe 3B if Ryder Jones doesn't work out as planned).
2 - Max Schrock - I think I am going to stick him in LF for spring training and see how he does.
3 - Willi Castro - Turning 23, could start the year in AAA if need be. Could be used as a bench option.

I think I am going to try and sign Freddy Galvis to a minors deal with an invite to spring training.
That allows us to potentially shift DeJong to 2B (or maybe look to trade him away).

Galvis did not have a good 2019, but he is a "captain" and above average defensively.
He is also a "Fan Fav" and gives us options in case of injury.

Also, I am going to try and sign Billy Hamilton to be our new CF. He led the league in SB last season with an absurd 89 (15 caught stealing).
Billy is only asking for 1.5 million and he is a "Fan Fav".
He is also not a liability defensively. I do not expect the same offensive output from him, but I think he would be a good addition for one season.

I don't anticipate adding any free agent pitchers, but I am going to monitor trade block for upgrade options through trade.

Rule 5 Draft!
 

The Detroit Tigers were able to pickup another bullpen option for 2020 in the Rule 5 Draft!

Curtis Taylor is a big right hander who hasn't pitched above AA yet in his career.
He has a 3 pitch arsenal that are all graded as above average.

This will be the only player we choose in this years draft.

The Reds picked up a player I personally had success with when I did my Marlins rebuild.
His name is Brian Mundell and he was previously in Colorado system and absolutely killed AAA pitching last year.

The Reds picked Mundell with the pick before ours unfortunately.

I have attached a screenshot from the Marlins team to show you what kind of player he developed in to in that save.