Detroit Tigers Clips Monday, November 21, 2016
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Detroit Tigers Clips Monday, November 21, 2016 Detroit Free Press Arizona Fall League recap: Detroit Tigers' Jones, Stewart stood out (Fenech) Tigers' Andrew Romine named winner of Detroit's Tenth Man Award (Fenech) Detroit Tigers' top 10 prospects: Joe Jimenez left off list (Fenech) The Detroit News Tigers add RHP Sandy Baez to 40-man roster (McCosky) MLB.com Tigers add prospect Baez to 40-man roster (Beck) Romine wins Tigers' Tenth Man Award (Beck) Daily Transactions 1 Arizona Fall League recap: Detroit Tigers' Jones, Stewart stood out November 21, 2016 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press The off-season finally is here for a number of Detroit Tigers prospects. After a month and a half in the Arizona Fall League, they're retreating to their off-season habitats. For centerfielder JaCoby Jones, that is the basement of his parents’ house in Mississippi. For outfielder Christin Stewart, that is Knoxville, Tenn., where he will work out at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee. Jones and Stewart were two of the team’s most-talked-about players in the AFL. Jones finished fourth in batting average among players with at least 80 at-bats, hitting .329 for the Salt River Rafters. He hit one home run with 13 RBIs and five stolen bases, walking seven times and striking out 18. “Just simplifying my approach and making more contact,” Jones said last week in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Trying to get on base as much as possible and use my speed. That’s what I’ve been trying to work on the last couple years, and I feel like, right now, it’s going in the right direction because I feel good in the box now.” Barring an outside addition, Jones will compete with Tyler Collins and Anthony Gose to be the team’s starting centerfielder in the spring. Stewart is further away than Jones. After a strong first professional season, he hit .268 in 71 at-bats this fall, with one home run and nine RBIs. Stewart likely will start next season at Double-A Erie, giving him a full season against top competition. “It’s a league you definitely want to be in,” Stewart said of the AFL. “It’s a respected league and it’s got up- and-coming players, and I’m real blessed to be here to perform and have a little bit of success here, so it’s been awesome. And it does give you a little bit of confidence.” Between Class A Lakeland and Erie, Stewart hit .255 with 30 home runs in 2016. He is ranked as the team’s No. 2 prospect by Baseball America. 2 Tigers' Andrew Romine named winner of Detroit's Tenth Man Award November 21, 2016 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press Andrew Romine played eight positions this past season. He played all three outfield positions, all over the infield – filling in for an injured Nick Castellanos during the pennant race – and even pitched an inning. Romine was a glue guy for the 2016 Tigers. On Friday afternoon, he was named the winner of the Bill MacAdam Tenth Man Award, as voted on by the Detroit Baseball Society. Romine will be honored at the 16th annual Detroit Baseball Dinner on Jan. 21. More information on the Detroit Baseball Dinner can be found at detroitbaseballdinner.com. He is the fourth winner of the Tenth Man Award: Don Kelly won in 2011 and 2013, and Quintin Berry won in 2012. The award is named for the Detroit Baseball Society’s founder. In 2016, Romine hit .236 in 109 games, which tied a career-high. Looking back, he was likely not used enough. Early in the season, Romine was often left on the bench for Mike Aviles, who was released near midseason. Romine is one of the Tigers’ six arbitration-eligible players. The team expects to tender contracts to all six. Romine is expected to earn $1.2 million in arbitration, according to MLBTradeRumors.com, the industry’s authoritative source on the topic. Roster move: The Tigers added right-handed pitcher Sandy Baez to the 40-man roster, protecting him from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Baez, 22, posted a 3.81 ERA in 22 starts with Class A West Michigan in 2016. He struck out 88 batters in 113 1/3 innings. He was signed out of the Dominican Republic as a non-drafted free agent in 2011. The Rule 5 Draft is on Dec. 8., 3 Detroit Tigers' top 10 prospects: Joe Jimenez left off list November 21, 2016 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press Baseball America released its top-10 Tigers prospects list last week. Notably absent was right-handed reliever Joe Jimenez. In 2016, Jimenez tore through the minor leagues, posting a 1.68 ERA and 0.80 WHIP between Class A Lakeland and Triple-A Toledo. He struck out 78 in 531/3 innings and displayed future closer stuff. But well-respected Baseball America writer Josh Norris did not list Jimenez, who profiles to play a part out of the Tigers’ bullpen next season. The reason? “The reports on Joe Jimenez’s stuff are not as glowing as his numbers,” Norris said in a Wednesday chat. “The Tigers would like him to continue to make progress on his slider and improve the command of his fastball in the zone. At this point, though the results aren’t the same as (Adam) Ravenelle’s, the evaluations I got made me believe that Ravenelle’s ceiling is a bit higher than Jimenez’s. Thus, I put him above Jimenez on the list.” Ravenelle, a right-handed reliever, was ranked No. 8. The list is headed by 2016 first-round pick Matt Manning. According to Norris, Manning has the ceiling of a No. 2 starter. Manning is followed by 2015 first-round picks Christin Stewart and Beau Burrows, left-hander Tyler Alexander and righty Kyle Funkhouser. Outfielders JaCoby Jones, Mike Gerber, Ravenelle and outfielders Steven Moya and Derek Hill complete the list. The farm system overall, Norris said , likely ranks among the bottom five in baseball. Several trade deadline moves in the past handful of seasons have ravaged the organization of homegrown talent. 4 Tigers add RHP Sandy Baez to 40-man roster November 21, 2016 By Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News Detroit — The Tigers purchased the contract of right-handed starting pitcher Sandy Baez from their Class A affiliate West Michigan. By adding him to the 40-man roster, the Tigers have protected him from the Rule-5 Draft next month. Baez, who will turn 23 next week, was 7-9 with a 3.81 ERA in 21 starts for the Whitecaps. He had 88 strikeouts and a 3.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He is ranked as the club's 16th best prospect by MLB.com. The Dominican-born pitcher has been in the Tigers organization since 2011. In five minor league seasons, two spent in the Dominican Summer League, he’s posted a 19-19 record with a 3.58 ERA. The Tigers 40-man roster is presently at 39 players. 5 Tigers add prospect Baez to 40-man roster November 21, 2016 By Jason Beck/ MLB.com DETROIT -- While the Tigers try to turn their focus on their farm system and build around youth, they added Class A West Michigan right-hander Sandy Baez to their 40-man roster Friday to protect him from next month's Rule 5 Draft. It was one of the few decisions the Tigers had to make with adding prospects to their roster. None of Detroit's top 10 prospects according to MLBPipeline.com's rankings have enough time in the Minor Leagues to be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, including future closer Joe Jimenez (No. 5). The highest-ranked eligible prospect is left-hander Kevin Ziomek (No. 11), who pitched in one game for Class A Advanced Lakeland before undergoing season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in his shoulder. The next highest was Baez, who ranked 16th mainly on the basis of his potential. The 22-year-old posted a 7-9 record and a 3.81 ERA in 21 starts for West Michigan, averaging just under six innings a start. He has developed slowly since signing in 2011, but he has shown signs of progression as a power pitcher. "Late bloomer," one Midwest League scout said while describing Baez. "Coming into his own." The move puts the Tigers' 40-man roster at 39 players with one open spot, allowing Detroit to add a player or select a prospect in the Rule 5 Draft. Players first signed at age 18 must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons, or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $50,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn't stay on the 25-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $25,000. For this year, that means an international or high school Draft pick signed in 2012 -- assuming he was 18 or younger as of June 5 of that year -- has to be protected. A college player taken in the 2013 Draft is in the same position. 6 Romine wins Tigers' Tenth Man Award November 21, 2016 By Jason Beck/ MLB.com DETROIT -- Andrew Romine, who played every position but catcher this season as the Tigers' super-utility player, has been selected as the winner for the 2016 Bill McAdam Tenth Man Award by the Detroit Baseball Society.