Detroit Tigers Clips Monday, October 17, 2016 Detroit Free Press Was Tigers' signing of Mike Pelfrey a fall-back to John Lackey? (Fenech) Detroit Tigers' Anthony Gose among eight to play in winter ball (Fenech) The Detroit News Fulmer among Baseball America’s top ‘graduating’ prospects (Staff) MLB.com Jones sets tone for Rafters with three-run homer (Rosenbaum) Tigers' Greiner mashes in Fall League victory (Kennealy) Oakland Press 104-year-old Sylvan Lake fan is a hit with Tigers (Runkle) WXYZ.com 104-year-old Tigers fan named MLB's 'Fan of the Year' (Rose) Daily Transactions 1 Was Tigers' signing of Mike Pelfrey a fall-back to John Lackey? October 17, 2016 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press Last off-season, Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila said he wanted to add two starting pitchers. And before the starting pitching market took hold, Avila signed his first, right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, to a five-year, $110-million deal. Zimmermann, Avila said, was the team’s top target in free agency. Less than a week later, the Tigers added another arm: Righty Mike Pelfrey, on a two-year, $16-million deal. Pelfrey did not perform well in his first season with the team, posting a 5.07 ERA and 1.731 WHIP in 24 games. But perhaps Pelfrey was the team’s fall-back option after missing out on Cubs righty John Lackey. According to a Sunday report by baseball insider Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Tigers tried hard to sign Lackey last off-season. Both Lackey and Pelfrey agreed to deals on Dec. 4. Lackey signed a two-year, $32-million deal. Heyman wrote it isn’t certain the Tigers — or the Diamondbacks, another team that was interested in Lackey — offered more money, but Lackey has said he signed with the Cubs to chase a third World Series title. The Cubs are playing the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series and appear to be a favorite to win their first World Series title in 108 years. They have not reached the World Series in 71 years. Lackey, who turns 38 on Sunday, posted a 3.35 ERA and 1.057 WHIP in 29 starts this season, with 180 strikeouts in 1881/3 innings. The Tigers might not have had the money to match the Cubs’ offer at that point in the off-season, or Lackey might have decided to sign elsewhere, but his pursuit likely did not impact the Zimmermann signing, which came a week earlier. 2 Detroit Tigers' Anthony Gose among eight to play in winter ball October 17, 2016 By Anthony Fenech/ Detroit Free Press They will report at different times, but the Detroit Tigers will send eight players around the world to play winter baseball this off-season. Already a couple of minor leaguers, like right-handers Ruben Alaniz and Tommy Collier, have reported to their bases in Venezuela. Alaniz was recently re-signed to a minor league deal. He posted a 2.69 ERA this past season in a relief role between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo and the Tigers believe there is more progress to be made from the 25-year-old that joined the organization prior to last season. Other notable Tigers playing overseas this winter include centerfielder Anthony Gose and righty reliever Angel Nesbitt, who will play in the Venezuelan Winter League. Gose had a bad 2016 season, after getting demoted from the Tigers to Double-A Erie, where he hit .224 in 40 games. He has been jumped on the team’s centerfield depth chart by both Tyler Collins and JaCoby Jones. Nesbitt was injured to start the season, hurting his ankle in spring training, and posted a 5.68 ERA in 28 games for Triple-A Toledo. Prospect pitcher Paul Voelker will also pitch in Venezuela, and prospects Sandy Guerrido, Dean Green and Jason Krizan will play in the Dominican Republic. Green hit .309 with six home runs and 36 RBI for Toledo this season. Krizan, playing outfield primarily after an experiment at second base in 2015, hit .294 between Erie and Toledo. 3 Fulmer among Baseball America’s top ‘graduating’ prospects October 17, 2016 By The Detroit News Staff/ The Detroit News Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer burst into the majors, compiling a season that has made him a leading contender for American League Rookie of the Year. It also placed him firmly among the game’s top “graduating” prospects from 2016, according to Baseball America. Fulmer ranks No. 9 on the list, published Saturday, which ranks the game’s top players who no longer qualify as prospects after surpassing the rookie major-league minimums in innings pitched (50) or at-bats (130). “Fulmer made the jump to the majors after just three Triple-A starts and quickly became the leading candidate for AL Rookie of the Year,” wrote Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser. “His mid-90s fastball and slider were excellent as predicted— opposing batters hit just .233 and .206 against those two pitches, respectively— but his changeup played much better than expected. That development helped (turn) … him into a front-of-the-rotation stalwart with three strong pitches, including two secondary pitches that miss bats.” The rankings aren’t based on first-season performances, but on their “updated” Baseball America prospect grade, which “mimics the 20-80 scouting scale and includes a risk assessment.” Fulmer’s first season, in which he went 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 159 innings pitched, bumped up his prospect grade from 55 to 60 with “medium risk,” according to Baseball America. A “60” translates into a No. 2/No. 3 starter, according to the publication. Medium risk means there is “still some work to do to turn tools into major-league caliber skills, but fairly polished player.” Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager topped the list with an updated prospect grade of 75 (safe). New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who is expected to be Fulmer’s chief competition for AL rookie of the year award when it’s announced Nov. 14, ranks No. 4 with a 70 grade (medium). 4 Jones sets tone for Rafters with three-run homer October 17, 2016 By Mike Rosenbaum/ MLB.com GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Fresh off of his first taste of the Major Leagues, JaCoby Jones is playing like a big leaguer in this year's Arizona Fall League. The Tigers' No. 9 prospect came out of the gate swinging on Saturday afternoon as he connected on a first- inning home run to help power Salt River in a 9-4 win over Glendale at Camelback Ranch. With one run already in for Salt River and two runners still on base, Jones, who batted fourth and started in center field, belted a 3-2 offering from Glendale starter Chris Anderson (Dodgers) over the wall in left-center field to give the Rafters an early 4-0 lead. "[Anderson] was leaving some pitches over the plate early in the game, so I was looking for something like that to get extended on and drive in more runs," said Jones, who homered on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Jones recorded his second knock of the contest in his second trip to the plate with a double to center field before swiping third base for his second steal of the season. Jones also reached base in two of his final three plate appearances, via a hit-by-pitch and a walk, to finish the game 2-for-3. "I've felt good in the box out here," said Jones. "I'm working on some things in the box, trying not to miss as many pitches over the plate as I have in the past -- just making more contact and driving the ball." Jones, 24, spent much of 2016 in the Minor Leagues, where he batted a combined .257/.327/.407 with 34 extra- base hits and 13 stolen bases in 99 games between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo before joining the Tigers in the big leagues as a September callup. Though he batted just .214 over 13 games in the season's final month, Jones believes his brief time in the Majors around some of the game's top players has helped him get off to a strong start in the Fall League. "I think the biggest thing I learned in the big leagues was how to prepare myself before games," reflected Jones. "Preparation is key, and that's what I learned in the month I was around Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, Justin Upton, Cameron Maybin -- all of those guys. Their preparation is unbelievable, so out here I'm working on having a good routine before games." The Rafters did most of their damage in the top of the first inning, when they pushed across four runs before making an out. Travis Demeritte (Braves' No. 9) opened the game with a triple and scored on Jamie Westbrook's (D-backs' No. 21) RBI single to shortstop. Dawel Lugo (D-backs' No. 11) followed with a single ahead of Jones' home run. Glendale would respond with a run in the bottom half of the frame, courtesy of an RBI double by Drew Ward (Nationals' No. 10), only to see Salt River get it right back in the top of the second on a Westbrook RBI knock. The Rafters extended their lead to 5-1 in the top of the fourth only to give the run back on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth.