At Tigers camp, there’s no ignoring pitching prospects and their siren songs

LAKELAND, Fla. — They were walking right behind Tigers assistant general manager David Chadd, the future of the franchise following one of the men who helped draft them.

From the back, you could read the names on their jerseys. Mize. Manning. Faedo. The triumvirate that dominated last season in Double-A Erie. A couple of others were in the group, too. When the line snaked around the Tigers’ bullpen and past autographs seekers hanging around a black chain-link fence, you might have mistaken them for baby-faced versions of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello. They stopped and signed hats and cards and programs. Chadd waited, then made fun of them when they were done. Fans cried out, “Thanks!”

Talk about the armada of arms shaping the franchise, and you must also include Tarik Skubal, the ninth-round pick who burst onto the scene last year, joining the other pitchers in Erie last summer. All four pitchers are in major-league camp this spring. And though the Tigers have added veterans to help stop the bleeding from 114 losses last season, it is the young guys who are shaping the hopeful feel of February, progress in blue jerseys.

“It’s just awesome to me, looking at these young ones,” Tigers pitching coach Rick Anderson said. “Even the veterans, you got to be looking back thinking, ‘Oh, they’re coming.’”

This year, the proliferation of young pitchers finally feels tangible. They are no longer names stashed away inside the crystal ball of afternoon practices on the back fields.

One day we might think of them as the four horsemen of the Tigers’ rebuild. For now, though, they are still young pitchers trying to make it. Monday morning, before the Tigers’ first full-squad workout, all the pitching prospects were gathered around the fenceline. They’re practically inseparable, Alex Faedo and Matt Manning especially. Sometimes you remember they are still in their early 20s, entrusted with much because of their ability to throw a seam-wound ball incredibly well.

“When you were creating a player in ‘MLB: The Show,’ what batting stance would you use?” Faedo asked.

Manning went with Derek Jeter. Faedo liked Eric Chavez.

Faedo has a place in Tampa and Manning is living with a few other Tigers prospects in Lakeland this spring, where they like to hang out and play Mario Kart.

Skubal, meanwhile, is living with Casey Mize, 22, and his wife at an Airbnb in Brandon. Each morning, the pitchers huddle on the side of the locker room mostly filled with minor-leaguers.

“It’s cool to have everybody here,” Mize said.

Mize is already becoming a professor of pitching, a hurler who spends his early-season bullpens honing the shape and consistency of each pitch. He threw his first live batting practice Tuesday. You could hear the shutters flick, the crowds gather. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft and is the No. 13 prospect, according to Baseball America. Last year, he admitted he was a little nervous when he threw his first session on the field. This year, he looks composed like a 10-year veteran. His command is a little off — he plunked third baseman Dawel Lugo on the elbow — and he is far from throwing at max effort. Yet when he sizzled his signature splitter low in the zone, Anderson couldn’t help but remark: “Whew!”

This is Mize’s second season in major-league camp. But this year is more than just a courtesy invite. Depending how it all shakes out, he could reach the major leagues by season’s end.

“I know all of us that were in Double A, our staff, is going to really enjoy this time,” Mize said. “I think everybody is pretty committed to preparing for the season, because that’s the biggest thing here, but also learning and seeing what it looks like, preparing for what’s to come.”

Skubal might be the quietest of the bunch. But, man, was there noise Monday, when he threw to hitters live. General manager Al Avila watched from the crow’s nest overlooking the four backfields at the Tigers’ spring training compound. Skubal pumped gas, surely in the low 90s at least. His curveball, though thought to be a work in progress, was dropping off the table, looking like a plus pitch. Cameron Maybin whiffed on a high fastball, then chased a low breaking ball.

Skubal, whose draft stock fell in part because of Tommy John surgery in college, has soared to become Baseball America’s No. 34 prospect. The scary part: He’s a late bloomer who is still learning how to pitch.

“It’s easy to get caught up,” Skubal said of his first big-league camp. “I find myself smiling a lot. I’m excited to be out there and I’m excited to be a part of this organization.”

Monday, Manning was flashing his powerful fastball and his hammer curveball. He’s even tinkering with a slider, too. When the Tigers drafted Manning with the ninth pick in 2016, he was a basketball player still learning to pitch. Now he’s ranked No. 17 by Baseball America, even leapfrogging Mize on some Tigers prospect lists.

One year ago, people were writing off Faedo, the No. 18 pick in the 2017 draft. He had a jerk in his delivery and arm troubles diminished his velocity. But in 2019, Faedo sorted out the kinks. His velocity was back. He had a 3.90 ERA. He’s long and lanky, a downhill thrower with an arsenal that can one day play in the majors.

“You were 91-92,” Manning told him after one bullpen session.

“No way,” Faedo said. He wasn’t trying to throw that hard.

Add all the pitchers together — and that isn’t even mentioning Joey Wentz, a promising arm acquired in last summer’s trade with the Braves, and Franklin Perez, the centerpiece of the Justin Verlander deal who finally looks healthy — and the Tigers have arguably the best collection of young pitchers.

“To be honest, I would not like to face them, at all,” said Isaac Paredes, the third basemen who played with them last season in Erie.

Even Miguel Cabrera, the king of the Tigers’ clubhouse, is aware of what’s coming.

“I think we’ve got great talent here in the minor leagues,” Cabrera said. “I think we’ve got great pitchers. I think we’re gonna be a good team. Hopefully, we can see it in spring training, hopefully we can see it soon in Detroit.”

For manager Ron Gardenhire, the influx of youth is one of the things that makes spring training exciting all over again. Gardenhire knows they are all young players with much to prove. But he also understands how much they mean to the organization. He wants to keep them in big-league camps as long as the front office will let him.

Like Odysseus tied to the mast, his earplugged sailors binding him tighter as the sirens’ songs tantalized in the distance, even the grizzled manager can buy into hype on occasion.

“That’s what the game is all about,” Gardenhire said. “That’s when you know you’re getting close to be able to do some really good things.”

Projecting baseball players, whether art or science, is a skill even those who have spent lifetimes around the game cannot fully master. There are dreaded arm injuries and the harsh reality that many prospects simply don’t pan out. The pitchers could spend a decade in the majors, but that does not mean any of them will be All-Stars or Hall of Famers.

But after workouts are over for the day, after their fastballs pop leather and their breaking balls raise eyebrows, you can see the young guns walk into the afternoon sun. Sometimes you wonder what you are watching. Just maybe, it could be something special.

For now, for everyone in their orbit, it’s a whole lot of fun.

“I don’t think you can get caught up in expectations,” Skubal said. “Just try to be the best us, best version of ourselves we can be. And I think we all do a pretty good job of that.”

(Top photo: Mark Cunningham / MLB Photos via Getty Images)