The Detroit Tigers called up outfielder Ben Malgeri on Tuesday, sending utilityman Trei Cruz back to Triple-A Toledo. To open a 40-man roster spot for Malgeri, RHP Burch Smith has been moved to the 60-day injured list. They also announced a lot of promotions throughout the farm system on Tuesday. Typically, the Tigers start moving prospects from around this point in the year until the post-draft, post-trade deadline part of the calendar, so we should see a fair amount of movement over the next 5-6 weeks. The big moves today were the promotion of outfielder Brett Callahan and infielder John Peck from Double-A Erie to Triple-A Toledo.
Cruz didn’t get much of a look at the show, but he wasn’t really swinging the bat to his best ability in Toledo when initially called up. Let him try and heat up and he should be back at some point. Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Malgeri was long thought as just an org outfielder but has really improved his game over the past two seasons. A right-handed hitter who can play center field but is much better suited to the corners, Malgeri hits lefties well but has balanced out his splits more this season. He’s been a popular choice to replace Jahmai Jones, but the Tigers still aren’t there yet. Congrats to Malgeri on making it to the Show.
You can find more on Callahan and Peck on our midseason farm system update on the front page at Bless You Boys. Callahan in particular has been on a tear and the 24-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder is clearly ready for the next challenge. Peck still has a little more work to do in terms of his plate discipline, but the right-handed hitter can play anywhere on the infield including shortstop. The duo are an athletic, well-rounded pair of players on track to give the Tigers some bench and utility options next year, and if they break out further with the bat they could become future regulars.
Reliever Moises Rodriguez, who throws a hellacious sinker that gets up to 100 mph, though more commonly 98, with a pretty good breaking ball, has been placed on the 7-day injured list. He generally throws strikes when he needs to, but still needs to command the sinker at least more consistently to push his way into conversation for the Tigers bullpen. Hopefully it’s a minor injury.
There were plenty of other promotions as right-handed starter Hayden Minton and first baseman Garrett Pennington were promoted from High-A West Michigan to Double-A Erie. Infielder Max Burt will also move up with them to help backfill Peck’s role.
From Lakeland, right-handed starter Charlie Christensen and reliever Eliseo Mota were promoted from Single-A Lakeland to West Michigan. Christensen’s big extension, low arm angle, and nasty slider-changeup combination have given young hitters fits in the Florida State League. He feels like a future reliever, as his sinker is underpowered and relies more on deception than raw stuff, but the 22-year-old out of Central Arkansas, the Tigers’ 13th rounder last summer in the draft, looks like another bargain that is paying off so far. Mota is a 23-year-old right-handed reliever who is underpowered, but has been punching tickets left and right in Lakeland.
Finally, outfielder Patrick Lee has been reinstated to West Michigan from his rehab assignment in the Complex League.
Presumably we’ll get more corresponding moves in the days to come, although some of it may simply be the release of some minor league veteran players brought in to fill out depth roles in the system. News keeps emerging today, and we’ve updated this article twice already as new news rolls in. Apologies for any confusion.
