[Highlander]

Detroit Tigers

SP1- Bob Welch (28)- The #2 pick for Detroit, Bob seems worthy of the SP1 slot. His career was from 1978-1994 and he had a lot of very good seasons. A good start here for the Tigers.

SP2- Dutch McCall (27)- A 5th round pick, Dutch looks more like a big armed RP of today than a starter. He’s got big stuff but not a lot else and his career only amounted to a 1948 season where he struck out 89 but walked 85. Good thing they have Bob Welch!

SP3- Slow Joe Doyle (28)- Joe’s career was from 1906-1910 and his first 4 years were very good, albeit in not a ton of innings overall. He was an 8th round pick here and might not be bad.

SP4- Jason Jennings (22)- A 22nd round pick, Jennings pitched from 2001-2009. He actually may be a better hitter than pitcher….the result of playing mostly in Colorado.

MR- Rusty Gerhardt (23)- Rusty was a 10th round pick and pitched only in 1974. His numbers were pretty awful, but his import wasn’t bad…other than a 1 for BABIP. That should be interesting!

MR- Yariel Rodriguez (27)- His first year was just in 2024, so it’s hard to know what he will do. His 15th round selection is middle of the road, so that seems about right.

MR-Eric Show (30)- The guy who gave up Pete Rose’s record breaking hit was a 9th round pick here, which looks right for his import. He may end up starting some games if a guy like Jennings is as bad as it seems he might be. Show had a solid career overall from 1981-1991.

LR- Wayne Simpson (24)- I think this is the first team with 4 relievers, but I may be wrong. Wayne was a 23 rounder who pitched from 1970-1977. His rookie year was solid, but then things went south from there. This import is not his rookie year, so take that for what you will.

Reserve- Art Ceccarelli (26), Ben DeMott (22), Kid Durbin (22), Roy Johnson (22), Nick Margevicius (23), Luis Ortiz (23)....the one on the Indians this year, Harley Parker (28), Farmer Ray (23)

C- A platoon will be in place and Adam Melhuse (31) is covering the strong side. He was drafted in the 11th round and played from 2000-2008. He’s not a very good catcher, but can hit some. The other side of the platoon is Martin Maldonado (30) who is a pretty good pitcher, but doesn’t hit well. He was a 28th round pick and has a career from 2011-present.

1B- Chuck Hinton (27)- A number 2 pick for Detroit, Hinton played from 1961-1971. He can hit for average, power and steal bases….not bad for a 1B. He can play OF too. Not a great fielder anywhere, but still seems worth the 2nd rounder.

2B- George Grantham (24)- George was only a 4th round pick. I say “only” because that seems low for him as there isn’t much he can’t do. His career was from 1922-1934 and it was a very good one. Seems like a great leadoff guy for this team.

3B- Ken Oberkfell (20)- Ken was a 6th round pick and played from 1977-1992. He doesn’t hit for power but is solid in the field and can really hit. He should be at 3rd for Detroit for a long time.

SS- Another platoon situation for Detroit. The strong side will be Ian Desmond (29), who is much better at 1B or OF. He will actually play LF against lefties. His bat will definitely play, but his glove will hurt them when he’s at SS. He played from 2009-2019. On the other side of the SS platoon will be Ezequiel Duran (23). He was a 14th round pick and has a good bat and can play all over the field….probably the worst at SS though! His career has been from 2022-present.

LF- Other than Desmond, the other LF will be Tyrone Taylor (27). He was a 13th round pick and has played 2019-present. A solid bat and glove, but nothing special.

CF- Paul Blair (21)- Here’s the #1 pick for Detroit. He’s one of the better fielding CFers you will see and he has a very good bat. He imported well and has time to get even better. His career was from 1964-1980.

RF- Larry Stahl (30)- A 12th round pick, Larry has a very good glove in the OF but an average at best bat. He played from 1964-1973, but was mostly a back-up.

Bench
C- Miguel Ojeda (30)....Round 19….2003-2006
IF/OF- Jolbert Cabrera (27)....Round 18….1998-2008
IF- Junior Noboa (24)....Round 34….1984-1994
OF- Joe Benson (23)....Round 29….2011
1B/OF- JJ Matjevic (26)....Round 21….2022
OF- Darryl Hamilton (23)....Round 16….1988-2001
OF- Delmon Young (21)....Round 20….2006-2015

Reserve- Edwards Guzman (22), Frankie Pack (21), Travis Dawkins (20), Frank Manush (24), Brian Simmons (27), Ed Bruyette (26), Billy Ott (21)