Bless You Boys: for Detroit Tigers fans

Ashley MacLennan's worlds collide in a first ever Bless You Boys/D Rays Bay mashup podcast. It's been a heck of a busy couple weeks getting prepped for the season, so for once, we kept a podcast to a half hour format. We may try to do these short, targeted pods a little more often this year, but our real jobs and running the blogs keep us busy, and I've learned not to make too many promises.

On this one, Brett Rutherford from the DRaysBay podcast network joins Ashley, who writes and edits for both sites, among a million other gigs, and BYB managing editor Brandon Day for a chat about Austin Meadows, Isaac Paredes, and the Rays chances this year in the always tough AL East. Thanks as always for joining us, for reading Bless You Boys, and for being part of the fantastic Tigers' fanbase. We're going to have a fun year, come what may...

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Well it certainly looked bleak the past few weeks, but we got there in the end. Major League Baseball and the MLBPA union have a new collective bargaining agreement, and baseball is back on the menu. Ashley MacLennan joins Brandon Day for a quick reaction pod to the day's events. We'll look back at the contentious negotiations, the tactics and mistakes that led us to the brink of losing part of the season, and the deal that finally emerged as we and our baseball writing brethren and the fans followed along in real time on social media. We'll conclude with a look at where the Tigers stand as free agency re-opens, and consider what work remains to put a real contender on the field in April. Thanks for hanging in there, and thanks for joining us for a little chat after a day that left us both elated and drained.

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Trevor Hooth writes for Prospects Live, one of the best public scouting sites available, as well as for Bless You Boys. He returns to the podcast this week in the wake of our new top 30 ranking of the Tigers' farm system.

This is a fairly long one, as Trevor and I haven't talked other than via chat for quite a while. There is a lot to to discuss. The Tigers system is going to fall off hard when Riley Greene, our number one for the Tigers, and Spencer Torkelson reach the major leagues. However, there are still some talented players with upside, led by 2021 first round pick Jackson Jobe, and then a much better quality of depth pieces than this system has seen in forever. The top shelf prospects may be few and far between if the Tigers can't draft well outside the top ten, but there remains a pretty good supporting cast if the upgrades to the player development leadership and coaches goes as hoped.

We spent the first 40 minutes talking about the league and then the Tigers improved circumstances, overhauled player development system, and recent draft history. Then we get into the Tigers farm system specifically, starting with Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson, at the 50:00 mark. Our individual profiles of Tigers prospects will continue until mid-February, when, with luck and a new CBA, we'll still get a semi-normal spring training.

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Thanks for joining us again. Brandon Day and Ashley MacLennan return to talk Javy Báez, what he means for the Detroit Tigers' future, and how to separate the player from what his contract says about Chris Ilitch and Al Avila's plans. We'll also look at where the Tigers' stand as far as potential playoff contention and why they've arguably had the best offseason of any team. From there, we'll move to far less entertaining matters and talk labor strife between players and owners, the bad blood between the parties after a lot of league shenanigans in recent years, and why these negotiations will look and be reported far differently than the last major battle in 1994.

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John Stolnis, Kris Willis and Ashley MacLennon set the table for the World Series showdown between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros!

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Talent from all around SB Nation come together to preview the MLB AL Playoffs as John Stolnis, Ashley MacLennon and Andrew Mearns debate all the biggest topics and make their predictions!

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Welcome back folks. We're firing up the pod again as the season winds down in preparation for a busy offseason, and we've got some big questions to answer. We got a lot of responses to our call for questions, but four main themes emerged. So rather than going question by question, we're just grouping it all under four main questions, and host Brandon Day will take them all on in turn.

Who is Ryan Garko, the Tigers new VP of Player Development, and does this feel like a good hire?

Who are the Tigers likely to send to the Arizona Fall League in October?

Were the Tigers lucky this year, or just pretty good? Are there players who seem ripe for regression? In short, how stable is this 2021 foundation to build on?

What should the Tigers attitude be toward free agency this offseason, and how would you go about ranking positions of need and then filling them?

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MLB great John Kruk joins Sam Wilson, John Stolnis, Brady Klopfer and a host of community guests from around SB Nation to watch the 2021 MLB Home Run Derby!

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SB Nation’s all-star cast (Sam Wilson, John Stolnis, Eric Stephen and guest Jeremy Brener) breaks down everything that happened in the 1st round of the 2021 MLB Draft!

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