Bless You Boys: for Detroit Tigers fans

Today we welcome in BYB prospect writer and draft guru Jay Markle in the aftermath after a modest but productive day for the Tigers' organization. GM Al Avila didn't find the deal he needed for Matt Boyd, but did a solid job collecting some pieces to add to the organization. The Tigers weren't fancy, or particularly aggressive, but results are what matter.

We would've like more from the Braves for closer Shane Greene as he was probably the most valuable reliever traded over the past week. There are some minor injury concerns and a velocity dip with LHP Joey Wentz, but he's also a very nice pitching prospect, and still quite young. And by taking a couple of solid project arms from the Chicago Cubs for Nick Castellanos, the Tigers played to their stronger side in player development and continue to gather a talented and deep crop of pitchers into the farm system. I think the reviews on the return for a rental player with a really limited market have rightly been pretty positive. 

We'll chat about the Tigers moves, the move they didn't make, and take a look at a hectic but somewhat unsatisfying trading deadline.

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We’ve been on hiatus for various reasons, but not because there hasn’t been much to talk about. Al Avila got himself a brand new extension, while the team on the field seems dead set on matching the 2003 team for futility. Host Brandon Day rides solo for this one, and after two weeks off, there is a lot to say. 

There are three sections to this episode, and it’s a long one, so we encourage you to pick the sections you’re interested in because it may be too much to digest in one sitting.

First, an assessment of Al Avila’s extension and a general consideration of the progress in some areas, and lack in others, behind the Tigers front office. Yes, we’d prefer to move on, but all is not lost either and the Tigers have shown some small signs of growth.42:00- Second we’ll talk some farm system. Specifically, the super rotation under construction in Erie. Casey Mize is almost back, Matt Manning is in a reset phase, and Tarik Skubal is dropping jaws.1:14:00-Finally, some thoughts on Riley Greene v. Daniel Pinero, the meaning of batspeed and plate discipline, and some ideas the Tigers should explore to not only catch up, but perhaps innovate in their own right for once.

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The Tigers lost again on Tuesday, their fifth straight. Times are grim, but we thought we’d step back to look at the smattering of things that have gone right this season. Unfortunately that only occupied about 10 minutes of show time.

JaCoby Jones is still hitting and other successes.Hall of Fame conversationRiley Greene and Nick Quintana off to a good start, while Franklin Perez is trapped in a Groundhog Day scenario.Mets merrily MetsingThe Rays’ wild non-plan to not really move to Montreal but only sometimes.

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We kind of wanted to call this episode "The Locus of the Suck" but the Phillip K. Dick reference was too tempting. We consider whether manager Ron Gardenhire is doing a good job or not, and further, whether one can even make an accurate assessment when the talent level on the field is this woeful. The possibility, and maybe even the necessity of a Matt Boyd trade, has to be the pill that is hardest to swallow right now.

-Gardy is generally billed as a good teacher of the game, but the 2019 Tigers have played sloppy baseball. They're flat too often. They don't make the routine play, and they're prone to the big mistake as well. But with the collection of players he's got to work with, it's a pretty tough job to scratch out wins.

-Two weeks ago, Miguel Cabrera seemed in pretty dubious shape, but here he is playing 1B in the National League. Is that good, bad, or probably doesn't matter? I vote the latter.

-Nick Castellanos said his piece, and there isn't much more to say.

-Six weeks to the trade deadline, and the Tigers figure to be up to their ears in rumors. Opinions are already ranging widely as to who to deal and what kind of return to expect. And Brandon can't help wondering what Spencer Turnbull is worth right now. Probably the time isn't yet ripe.

-The farm will be lively soon with new prospects from the draft, and the return of Beau Burrows and Franklin Perez, may he hopefully stay healthy.

-Max Scherzer broke his own nose with a bunt...in batting practice.

-The umpires union issued the hottest tweet of 2019. #umpshow

https://twitter.com/MLBUA/status/1141032325293195268

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In the wake of Casey Mize's injury, everyone's favorite messenger of joy and good tidings, BYB staff writer and co-host of the BYB Podcast, Brandon Day, brings you an angsty look at the situation and what it says about the organizational plans as a whole.

-We'll take a look at what this means for Casey Mize, and why Matt Manning is possibly (no guarantees here folks!) the slightly better bet for durability. 

-The internet pitching mechanics ghouls were out in force so we will take them to task for their self-promoting, conspiracy-ridden nonsense. 

-The Tigers have built their rebuild around pitching thus far, and now plan to deal their best and most durable arm to make up for their inability to find positional talent anywhere in the draft or the international free agent market. None of this adds up very well folks.

-Finally, Nick Castellanos broke his silence and put the Tigers on blast on Friday, and we'll give that a quick look as well.

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Ashley and Brandon return to discuss the rise of JaCoby Jones, and whether this, like so many hot streaks before it, will prove a mirage in the long run. 

We also marvel at Spencer Turnbull’s breakout season, and the sense of everyone turning away from Nick Castellanos within the fanbase. Setting the table for the assignments, promotions, and trade candidates who will be occupying our attention over the next six weeks as we approach the new hard and fast trade deadline.Listener QuestionsFinally, Madison Bumgarner says let the kids play, but let him yell and scream about it, and...we’re good with that.

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Ashley and Brandon return on Day 2 of the MLB draft, but the Tigers matchup with the Rays, and more particularly, the lows and highs of one day with an aging superstar, ended up taking precedence. 

-Miguel Cabrera's knee will never be right, as announced on Tuesday. Of course, he then had a three-hit night with a grand slam for good measure. Still, while the full-time move to DH is finally here, it's hard not to start thinking about his legacy and the different perspectives one has when comparing his baseball career to his personal issues.

-Tigers/Rays tears Ashley apart, and it's fun.

-Day 2 of the draft is where it all starts to blur into a forest of solid tools, athletic builds, and strong makeup game.

-The offseason never ended, and the final two big free agents may finally sign soon.

-Assignments for new draftees, promotions for prospects, and re-evaluations of farm systems are all on the docket between now and the All-Star game.

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Day one of the 2019 MLB draft is in the books, and no the Tigers didn't draft a hard-throwing right-hander. 1B Andrew Vaughn didn't fall to the Tigers, but OF Riley Greene is a nice prospect to add to the mix and immediately becomes the best bat in the farm system. There weren't too many early surprises overall, but the Tigers offered a minor one in the second, selecting 3B Nick Quintana from the University of Arizona. Quintana had a monster junior season though struggles in the Cape Cod League last year continued to keep expectations a little short of first round talent. 

Brandon Day, co-host of the BYB Podcast examines the opening day of the draft. We'll take a look at both players, make the best player available argument, and caution against any hasty assessments of what look like a quality pair of picks for the Tigers in the first two rounds.

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Co-host Brandon Day is joined in last minute, heroic fashion by the host of the Tigers SRD podcast, and friend of Bless You Boys, Roger Martin. What follows is a wide-ranging conversation on the state of the Tigers and some of the other major league organizations trying to rebuild, or having already completed the process. The second half is largely devoted to answering listener questions, so thank you for all the good questions and feedback!

-The Tigers finally won a series, and remain a group of surprising strengths and pretty striking weaknesses.

-The Minnesota Twins appear to have leveled up into one of the better orgs in the game, while the Cleveland Indians are hanging on by a thread.

-We look at the Tigers rebuilding effort, and some of the other struggling franchises around the game.

-From about 48:00 on, we dive into a deep mailbag of listener questions.

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We’re back to find that it’s hard to talk about the Detroit Tigers right now without cursing and yelling. We knew the chance of a true meltdown of a season was far from zero, but it’s hard to look it in the face. It’s also not too much fun to talk about in the middle of a long losing streak. Things won’t stay quite this bleak, but for the moment, we decided to focus on listener questions for this episode because all our topic ideas were sad.

The Tigers have perfected losing, and even Matt Boyd has been showing some cracks in his last two outings.Are the Tigers options to fill out their final two starting spots as bad as they seem?We explore how close Casey Mize is to a call-up (not close), and whether the Tigers are handling his workload well.Thank goodness for Mize and Matt Manning, because Franklin Perez and most of the Tigers top pitching prospects are hurt and the Tigers aren’t saying much of anything about them.JaCoby Jones isn’t going to get the Jeimer Candelario treatment after this many opportunities.We discuss the non-pitching prospects, and who may yet make their MLB debut this year.Briefly we consider whether Isaac Paredes, Daz Cameron, Jake Rogers or Willi Castro has it in them to be plus offensive players in the majors.Niko Goodrum appears to have turned back into a pumpkin, but there is still hope for him.

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