Category: Dailies
Castellanos a Rising Star in AFL
The Detroit Tigers top prospect Nick Castellanos went 2-5 in last nights Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game. He batted fourth, and was the DH for the West team. His first hit was a shot to right-center off Twins’ prospect Kyle Gibson, and his second was a rip though the left side of the infield off Mariner prospect left-hander James Paxton. Playing for the Mesa Solar Sox, he’s hitting .239 with one home run and three RBI’s. In Lakeland this season, he hit .405 with three home runs, while in Erie he had an average of .264 and pounded seven homers. He played for the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2011, there he hit .312 with 76 RBI’s. He is joined on the Mesa team by some fellow Tiger prospects and Whitecaps alumni. Catching prospect James McCann is hitting 7 for 26 in ten AFL games. First baseman Aaron Westlake played for the Whitecaps this season, where he hit .249. For Mesa, he’s .220 with three home runs. Pitching prospect Luke Putkonen is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA, while striking out six batters. Relief pitcher Mike Morrison has appeared in eight games, only allowing three runs. Pitcher Matt Hoffman and Tyler Clark also play for Mesa.
Photo property of Minoring In Baseball
Fields back as Minor League hitting coordinator
Fields with his sons back when he coached the Whitecaps. Daniel, right, spent this season with the Erie SeaWolves in Detroit’s system.
Bruce Fields is back with the Detroit Tigers organization as their new Minor League hitting coordinator. He got his start with the Tigers almost ten years ago, and is back after a stint with the Cleveland Indians as their hitting coach. After the change in management, Fields’ contract wasn’t renewed in Cleveland. The change brings him into a familiar situation, though, as he spent a good chunk of his playing career in the Tigers’ farm system. He made his Major League debut with Detroit in 1986. As a coach, he started with Class A Jamestown before being promoted to the Toledo Mud Hens. As manager of the Whitecaps, he coach current Tigers Omar Infante and Ramon Santiago. He sported an impressive 331-220 record in West Michigan, including three season with the league’s best record. Fields was twice voted the Midwest League’s Manager of the Year, and led the ‘Caps to MWL championship in 1998. He was inducted into the Whitecaps Hall of Fame in 2010.
Another perk to his job with the Tigers organization, is the opportunity to work with his son, Daniel, who is a 2009 draft pick of Detroit, and spent last season with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. He’s currently the 7th ranked prospect in the system, behind plays such as Bruce Rondon, Nick Castellanos, and Avisail Garcia. Coaching your own son isn’t always easy, but it can always be very rewarding.
“It’ll obviously be a challenging situation–the father-son, coach-player dynamic,” he told MLB.com. “But our dynamic is strong. Whereas some people I know say they have a hard time coaching their children, my son listens. We might not see eye to eye on everything, but they’ll listen. Both my sons are good that way. There won’t be any issues that way.”
Photo courtesy of Jim Hill
Omar
Former West Michigan Whitecap Omar Infante was the only player to really show up in the World Series for the Tigers (other than the gallant pitchers, who literally had 0 run support…). All he really has to show for this is a broken hand, but, hey, at least he got on base, unlike the rest of his teammates. Maybe he and Sean Casey should start their own little club, or something…
Photo courtesy of the West Michigan Whitecaps
The Tigers win the Pennant
The title pretty much says it all. With such a roller coaster ride in the regular season, it’s very gratifying to see the Tigers win the pennant and go back to the World Series. Although the bats were broke out in game 4, it was the starting pitching that really got this team here. The Yankees are not easy opponents, and two of the three games were won in extra innings. Yes I wanted the sweep, I wanted a route, but not because I’m a Yankee hater or anything. I simply respect the fact that they have the talent that can win, no matter what the score or the series. If the Tigers let up one bit, the Yanks might have extended this series. The 8-1 win gave Tiger fans a chance to relax just a little, and enjoy the road to the World Series in this one game. Of course the Tigers couldn’t have done it without a few former Whitecaps that worked their way up the chain to the big team’s roster. In yesterday’s game Avisail Garcia went 2-5 with an RBI, Omar Infante went 2-5 with two runs scored, and Andy Dirks was 3-5. Granted, without Miggy’s monster shot, Jhonny’s two homers, and the ACLS MVP Delmon Young, Detroit wouldn’t be celebrating tonight, but it’s still fun to see the young guys help out. At this point it looks like another showdown with the St. Louis Cardinals is destined…and remember, it’s the Tigers turn.
Former West Michigan Whitecaps Brennan Boesch and Ramon Santiago celebrate the Tigers winning the American League Pennant!!!
Photos courtesy of the Associated Press(top)/USA Today(bottom)
Whitecaps Alumni play in WBC qualifiers
Ben Guez with the Whitecaps back in 2009. He represented Team Isreal in the WBC qualifier.
Three former West Michigan players cut their teeth on international competition recently. Ben Guez, who played with the ‘Caps in 2009, was invited to play for Team Isreal by former Tiger Brad Ausmus. Guez qualifies because his dad and both grandparents are jewish, though he was born and raised in Houston.
“I said ‘sure, why not,'” Guez stated. “I was going to tame some time off before I got married in October, so I had a full schedule. But it seemed like a good opportunity. It was really cool, to be able to play in something like the WBC and travel around the world and maybe play in San Fransisco was great. I love to play baseball. It’s something I’ve done since I was a kid and this would have been something different.”
Guez hit .167 for Isreal, who almost qualified before losing a 9-7 heartbreaker to Spain in the championship game. He split time between the Toledo Mud Hens and the Erie Seadogs this past season, going .289 with 24 doubles and 48 RBI’s between the two teams.
Playing for Team Canada are both catcher Chris Robinson and first baseman Jordan Lennerton. Robinson played for the Whitecaps in 2005, while Lennerton played in 2009 and 2010. Canada advanced by outscoring it’s opponents by a combined score of 38-9. Lennerton feels that playing in the minors and representing your country are very different.
“There is definitely a different kids of pressure”, Lennerton stated. “In the minor leagues it’s all about numbers and development. You’re playing for yourself, even though you want to win. The goal for the WBC is to win. It’s all about right now. Whenever you get the chance to play for your country you do it. I would always drop what I’m doing to play.”
Lennerton, a native of British Columbia, had a solid season at Double-A Erie, hitting .269 with 34 doubles, 21 home runs, and 82 RBI’s. I will be difficult for both he and Robinson to crack the Canada line-up next March, though, when the Major Leaguers are added to the roster, though. Good luck to all of these guys, and I hope they get their chance to play.
Photo property of Minoring In Baseball
Whitecaps’ Suarez strikes Gold
The West Michigan Whitecaps shortstop Eugenio Suarez was impressive with his bat this season, finishing 10th in the Midwest League in batting with a .288 average and was second in the league with 147 hits. Oh, by the way, this kid seems to be pretty capable with his glove, too. Suarez became the first Whitecaps player to be honored with the Rawlings Gold Glove Award given out by Minor League Baseball and the Rawlings Sporting Good Company for his defensive excellence. Only nine players in all of Minor League ball are given this honor each season. Suarez played 119 games at short stop for West Michigan with a .971 fielding percentage and was part of 80 double plays. He only made 18 errors in 624 chances as well as going 15 games without an error while played second base. At least us Whitecaps fans can brag about having the best short stop in the Minors this season! The fact that he’s a switch hitter along with his stats and awards, make him one of the top prospects in the Detroit Tigers‘ system. He is only 21, as this was his first full season of professional baseball, after being signed out of Venezuela and splitting time between two short season/rookie leagues. It’s going to be fun watching him move up through the system, especially with the Tigers lack of middle infielders.
Photo property of Minoring In Baseball
Former Tigers, Mud Hens, skipper Larry Parrish to manage Whitecaps
The 2013 baseball season is starting to look a little brighter for us Whitecaps fans, as Larry Parrish was officially assigned to manage the team yesterday. It seems his managing career is coming full circle, though, after managing in the bigs and at the Triple-A level, he’s back in Class A baseball where he started. Parrish’s last job was the hitting coach for the Atlanta Braves, but took off the 2012 season after he was let go in 2011. Lucky he was still available when the Tigers organization called with the West Michigan job offer.
“The Tigers called to give me an opportunity and, for me, I really enjoy the minor leagues and the teaching aspect of it,” Parrish stated in a press release. “I talked to a couple of other clubs, but I’m comfortable with the Tigers. I was with the organization for a long time and was treated well, so it was a feeling coming back to work with your family.”
Parrish started his career with the Tigers organization back in 1992, taking the helm of the Class-A SS Niagara Falls Rapids, leading the team to a NY-Penn League championship. He worked as a roving minor league hitting instructor for three seasons before being assigned to the Double-A Jacksonville Suns in 1996. He also took the Suns to a Southern League championship. A year later, he was in the bigs, as the bench coach in Detroit. He took over the reigns as manager half-way though the 1998 season after Buddy Bell was relieved of duty. He had the privilege of managing the Tigers in their last year in historic Tigers Stadium in 1999, also. He also worked as a scout for the Tigers until he took over as manager of their Triple-A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens in 2003. He was named Minor League Manager of the Year in 2005 by the Sporting News after leading the Hens to the International League championship, a feat he repeated in 2006. Parrish named that Governor’s Cup championship is his favorite coaching achievement, also.
“I would think winning the championship in Toledo after they hadn’t won it in like 40 years. That was neat for the people there and to be a part of it. It’s always nice to win, ” he stated, but also recognizes the differences between the Triple-A and Class-A levels. “There you have guys who’ve either played in the big leagues a little bit or have gone though the system. At the A-ball level, you have to have more patience. They’re going to have some great games and they’re going to have games where you go ‘Oh, Lord’. But that’s part of it. But, to me, being able to coach and hopefully teach will have an impact. Experience-wise, having played and coached in the big leagues, I know what it takes to have to play at that level. That’s the whole idea.”
Parrish has visited the Grand Rapids area in the past after surgery in 2007 and was doing some roving instruction. He was very impressed with the stadium and fan support of the Whitecaps. The Tigers director of minor league operations is very pleased with their selection, also. As far as the rest of the Whitecaps staff goes, hitting coach Scott Dwyer will return next season, while pitching coach Mark Johnson will be assigned to Class-A SS Connecticut. As a player, Parrish was a two-time Major League All-Star in 1979 and ’87. He had a career batting average of .263 with 256 homers and 992 RBI’s. He played in Montreal, Texas, and Boston, before ending his pro career with two seasons in Japan.
Parrish chatting it up with Tigers manager Jim Leyland in 2008 when he was managing the Mud Hens
I know the Tigers are in the playoffs, which is very exciting, but having a guy with this kind of resume’ taking over has me excited for next season. Hopefully this will not only mean possibly more championships in West Michigan, but better prepared players working their way up to Detroit.
Top photo courtesy of the West Michigan Whitecaps
Bottom photos courtesy of the Associated Press
They did it!!!
West Michigan Whitecaps alumni Omar Infante celebrates with his Tiger teammates after clinching the Central Division Title
Last night the Detroit Tigers clinched the American League Central Division title by beating the Kansas City Royals 6-3. This is the Tigers second Central title in a row, and the 14th division title in their history. As the team picked by most experts and fans from the get-go, the Tigs didn’t make it easy on any of us, and floundered for most of the season around or under .500 before making a final push the last two months of the season. Miguel Cabrera had another big day, going 4-5 with a home run. He’s now batting .329 and is definitely one of the favorites for the MVP. Miggy’s 203 hits, 40 doubles, 44 homers, 137 RBI’s have been equaled only three times in history…twice by Lou Gehrig and once by Babe Ruth. That’s pretty good company, I’d say. It would also be unMIBy of me not to mention the former Whitecaps that are on this championship team, like Alex Avila, Omar Infante, Don Kelly, Andy Dirks, Brennan Boesch, Ramon Santiago, Danny Worth, Avisail Garcia, Brayan Villarreal, Louis Marte, and Luke Putkonen. There. Now all is right with the world for the time being… Good luck to the Tigers in the playoffs!
Photos courtesy of the Associated Press
Featured on Facebook
Whitecaps Facebook photo featuring Brian!
Our youngest staff member, Brian, has been featured on the West Michigan Whitecaps Facebook page. The Whitecaps were posting some photos from though out the season, and Brian is featured on one of the collages. In the one posted, he’s in the bottom left corner. I believe I took this pic back in May, at the final game of our baseball trip that the kids and I attended. You can find this pic on the ‘Caps Facebook above, and here’s the collage:
Collage photo courtesy of the West Michigan Whitecaps/Facebook
Brian photo property of Minoring In Baseball
Flying Tigers soar to FSL Championship
Despite the West Michigan Whitecaps barely missing out on the playoffs the last two seasons, a good handful of players from last years team are celebrating a Florida State League championship as members of the Lakeland Flying Tigers. The Flying Tigers beat out the Jupiter Hammerheads in five games for the title, with every game being decided by two or fewer runs. The Lakeland fans packing Joker Marchand Stadium were treated to a classic game five, as both teams were held scoreless for seven innings. Starting pitcher Warick Saupold and former Whitecaps reliever Melvin Mercedes combined for a four-hit shutout with their team scoring the only runs of the game in the eighth inning. Former ‘Caps players combined for some offense, as second baseman Hernan Perez singled and was sacrificed to second by Michael Rockett. Marcus Lemon, who started the season in West Michigan, drew a walk to put runners on first and second. With Dixon Machado at the plate, the Flying Tigers executed a double steal, but a throwing error by Jupiter’s catcher allowed Perez to score the first, and winning, run. Lemon would score on a single by Tyler Collins to make the score 2-0. Mercedes then entered the game on the mound, and retired three out of the four batters faced to seal the win and the championship. It was a great moment for Mercedes, and for Perez, who led the FSL in fielding this season.
“I’ve had something of an up and down season”, Perez told The Ledger(Lakeland). “Especially hitting, so getting on and scoring a run when we really needed it made my whole season special.
This is Lakeland’s sixth FSL championship overall, and the fourth for manager Dave Hupport. He also has more minor league victories than any other active manager.
“Of all the championship teams I have had the honor of managing, this one has been the most fun to work with because they’re disciplined, they play hard, they believe in each other, and they won and lost as a team not as a bunch of individuals looking out for themselves,” Hupport also told The Ledger.
In a strange twist of fate, the Flying Tigers were the only team not to have a playing on the Florida State League’s All-Star roster. I guess they’ll have to settle for a championship. This is one of the few bright spots for the Detroit Tigers farm system, as the Flying Tigers and the Whitecaps were the on two affiliates with winning records. We wish all these players luck next season, especially the ones who played in West Michigan also. I’m probably one of the few baseball fans already looking to 2013!
Former Whitecaps infielder Hernan Perez scored the winning run!
West Michigan alum Melvin Mercedes earned the save!
Photos courtesy of Michael Wilson/The Ledger
Minoring In Baseball 