The future is here in Detroit. The Tigers announced this morning that the organization will promote top prospects Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal en Isaac Paredes this week. The left-handed Skubal is expected to start the game on Tuesday, while the right-handed Mize will take the ball on Wednesday. Paredes will take the place of fellow infielder Dawel Lugo, who is assigned for assignment.
It’s an aggressive play by a Tigers club that dropped five consecutive games to fall below .500 (9-10) after a surprising start to the season. Skubal and Mize will make their MLB debut in major starts against division rival White Sox, who have taken over the Tigers in the standings. Detroit is currently in fourth place – but still just 3.5 games back from the AL Central-leading Twins.
In Mize, the Tigers will get their first look at the no. 1 general choice in the 2018 concept. The former Auburn ace is considered one of the top five pitching prospects in baseball by most accounts, and his results in 2019 – his only full pro season so far – underscore exactly why he is so highly regarded. The 6’3 ″, 220-pound Mize threw 109 1/3 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last year, returning to a combined 2.55 ERA with a 106-to-23 K / BB ratio. Those numbers include a no-hitter in his debut attempt at the Double-A level.
Mize, 23, is currently ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the game on MLB.com’s summer update. Baseball America and the FanGraphs ranked him 14th on their own summer charts – the same slot in which Kiley McDaniel placed Mize in his rank for preseason for ESPN. Mize draws praise for a 90s heater he can run up to 97 mph, but his split is the scene that generates the most love from scouts. The MLB.com report on him places a 70-class on the field (on a scale of 20-80). The Mize slider and cutter are both also considered as supernatural offerings.
Skubal was later drafted eight rounds in the same draft that the Tigers selected Mize, and his rise should be considered a feather in the cap of the Touts’ scouting and player development teams. Also 23, Skubal himself is widely regarded as a Top 100 prospect. The same publications ranked him 35th (Baseball America), 50th (MLB.com), 54th (FanGraphs) and 79th (ESPN) on their rankings, and The Athletic’s Keith Law established him as high as No. 24 prior to the season.
Just like Mize did, Skubal separated last season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A. The 23-year-old stepped up 122 2/3 innings with an outrageous 179-to-37 K / BB ratio – including a whopping 82 strikeouts in 42 1/3 frames at the Double-A level. Skubal can also run his heater up to 97 mph, and although he has not considered pitch as high as Mize’s splitter, his curveball is still said to be a plus offer accompanied by an average or better slider and shift.
Not to be lost in the shuffle, the 21-year-old Paredes has been a Top 100 farmhand even at Baseball America in each of the past two offseasons (though he fell off her list following the addition of this summer’s top figures) ). He played the 2019 season at 20 years old and was one of the youngest players in the pitcher-friendly Double-A Eastern League. However, Paredes still ran a healthy slash of .282 / .368 / .416 (133 wRC +). Bat-to-ball skills are Paredes’ best ability, as evidenced by the fact that he ran against much older competition about as many times (57) as he did out (61).
May CJ Cron for the year, Jeimer Candelario has moved to the first base. That should pave the way for regular reps on the hot corner for Paredes, which is where he spent most of the 2019 season. Paredes, next to Candelario purchased in the trade that sent Justin Wilson en Alex Avila to the Cubs, played much of his early career in the minor shortstop, so he could also watch it for a while as Niko Goodrum needs a day for free. Alternatively, the club could opt for Paredes and Willi Castro regular time on the left side of the infield, with Goodrum returning to the super-subrol in which he has found success over the past few seasons.
The timing of the promotions is also somewhat noteworthy. Holding the trio for even the first week of the season, the Tigers bought an extra year of team control, and each of Mize, Skubal and Paredes has now been long enough that they could also be ashamed of Super Two status. The promotion of Paredes is the only movement that is official today. Skubal and Mize will select their contracts on the day of their respective start.
If Paredes takes the big leagues from this point on, he will end the year with 116 days of service, which could still leave him on the fringe Super Two status. However, Skubal would only earn 113 days of service, and Mize would just sign up for 110. Both of those brands would have to leave them on the outside in search of regarding Super Two status.
The 25-year-old Lugo, meanwhile, could be on his way out the door at the Detroit organization. Taken over by the Diamondbacks in the trade that sent JD Martinez to Arizona, Lugo just did not find his footing at the MLB level. He has made an even appearance of 400 records in parts of three seasons and saw semi-regular action last year (288 record appearances), but Lugo has only produced a .236 / .270 / .358 output during that time. He has no options for less competition, so it is possible that he will remove exemptions, given that another club will have to carry him on his MLB roster. Then again, Lugo was once a solidly considered prospect and has the ability to play both second base and third base so another club could take a speculative glance at madness.
The Tigers have a week to trade Lugo, release him or pass him by direct exemptions.
