Tigers 6, Braves 3: Top prospects produce a win in the Detroit Tigers’ Spring Breakout matchup

The Tigers top prospects built a big early lead and the pitching staff made it hold up.

The second edition of the Spring Breakout series was a pretty good time as the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves farm systems locked up for a televised matchup. You can’t read much into this game, but notably Tigers first rounder Bryce Rainer looked quite good in his two ABs. That matters a little more as Rainer hasn’t even played in the Complex League. The Tigers top prospects put up a healthy lead early on and the Tigers went on to win 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers prospects went quickly in the top of the first inning. Facing a hard-throwing right-hander in JR Ritchie, Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle flew out and Thayron Liranzo swung over a slider for strike three.

Lefty Jake Miller got out to a good start for Alan Trammell’s Tigers squad. Looking like he made sure not to skip leg day this offseason, Miller was throwing 93-96 mph out of the gate and carved up Carlos D. Rodriguez with a slider to start the bottom of the first. Catcher Liranzo called for plenty of fastballs, and John Gil flew out solidly to Max Clark in center field, while Luke Waddell grounded out to Josue Briceño playing first base.

Hao-Yu Lee smacked an infield single to open the second. Briceño followed with a sharp single down the right field line that would’ve been a double if it hadn’t caught the stands and kicked back toward the Braves right fielder. Lee advanced to third, bringing outfielder Brett Callahan to the dish.

Ritchie was up to 99 mph in the inning, and Callahan grounded into a double play that scored Lee from third. 1-0 Tigers. Roberto Campos lined a sharp single the opposite way off a 95 mph heater, and that brought up Bryce Rainer. This was our first look at the Tigers first rounder from the 2024 draft. The shortstop slapped the first heater he saw the opposite way and probably was safe at first. However, he was called out on a bang bang play after a nice throw from third baseman David McCabe, and the inning was over. 1-0 Tigers.

Miller gave up a one out single to McCabe in the bottom of the second on a ball in the right center field gap that looked like Clark and Campos weren’t sure who should really go for the ball. A wild pitch from Miller followed with first baseman Drew Compton at the plate. Compton drilled a solid single up the middle, and the game was tied 1-1.

Miller struck out David Montgomery swinging for the second out, dusting him with back-to-back fastballs. He then got Owen Carey on a soft liner to second to end the inning.

Infielder Franyerber Montilla led off the third, and hitting left-handed he saw the best changeups of his young career from Ritchie and struck out. Max Clark drilled a double the opposite way that the Braves’ left fielder dove for but could only deflect. Clark easily cruised into second base bringing McGonigle to the plate. The Tigers center fielder was dancing off second base and got in Ritchie’s head a bit. McGonigle got a fastball and smoked it at 104 mph for a sharp line drive single the opposite way. Clark had to hold at third, and it worked out as Thayron Liranzo did the job, lifting a sacrifice fly to left center field. Clark tagged and scored to make it 2-1 Tigers. Hao-Yu Lee got a 2-2 slider away and lifted it out to right field for the final out of the inning.

Right-hander Josh Randall, the Tigers third round pick last summer, took over in the bottom of the third, slinging 93-95 mph from a low arm slot and bending a good slider across the plate. He got Luis Guanipa chasing a slider for the first out. Rodriguez flew out to Callahan in left field for the second out.

Randall lost the handle on a breaking ball and nearly plunked John Gil. Gil pulled a bouncer to McGonigle at third behind the bag, but Gil’s speed beat out the throw for an infield single. Waddell lined a single to center field, but Clark hurried to close the distance on the ball and Gil took too aggressive a turn around second base. Clark fired to Montilla who dropped the tag on Gil for the third out of the inning.

Right-hander Garrett Baumann took over for the Braves in the fourth. He promptly walked Briceño on four pitches. Callahan lifted a shallow fly ball to left for the first out of the inning. Campos had a couple of good takes, and Baumann walked him as well. That brought up Rainer for his second AB of the game.

Rainer still hasn’t even played Complex League ball, but he had no issues, driving a deep fly ball to the wall in left field. It was misplayed on the warning track by the left fielder, and dropped for a single. Briceño read it well and scored from second, while Campos tagged and took second base. Montilla fell behind 0-2, and Baumann was up to 99-100 mph, but the Tigers second baseman tightened things up and battled his way to a walk that loaded the bases as the lineup turned over to Clark again.

Clark put together a solid AB, battling into a full count and lifted a routine fly ball to right center field. Briceño tagged and scored to make it 4-1 Tigers. That ended Baumann’s outing temporarily after throwing more pitches than the Braves would like in an inning. Hard-throwing RHP Rolddy Muñoz took over. McGonigle saw 97-98 mph, lifting a fly ball to left field for the final out of the inning.

RHP Jaden Hamm, the Tigers’ minor league Pitcher of the Year in 2024 took over on the mound. He walked Adam Zebrowski, the first hitter he faced, and looked a little out of sync, sitting 93 mph with his riding fourseamer. Hamm mixed in some breaking balls and changeups to get McCabe to fly out to left field. Compton saw a good curveball and a fading changeup to fall behind 0-2 and eventually lifted a shallow flyout on a fastball. Hamm settled in and got in sync as the inning progressed. Nick Montgomery saw 95 mph before a diet of breaking balls and then a slider tied him up for a swinging strike three to strand Zebrowski.

The six-foot-eight Baumann returned to the mound in the top of the fifth to get some more work in. Liranzo greeted him by roasting a double into the right field corner to start the inning. Lee fought off a few early fastballs, but then worked his way back into the count and drew a walk as Baumann was struggling to find the zone. Briceño was up next and Baumann quickly fell behind 2-0 and then uncorked a wild fastball that advanced the runners 90 feet. Briceño took a 3-0 fastball down the middle, and then fouled off another 97 mph heater over the middle. Baumann missed arm side again, and Briceño walked to load the bases with no outs.

Brett Callahan yanked a few hittable pitches fouled, and in a full count lifted a shallow fly ball to left field that wasn’t deep enough to score Liranzo from third. That was the end of the day for Baumann as Roberto Campos came up to bat again. Luis Vargas took over and froze Campos for strike three on 95 mph right down the middle.

Rainer looked wholly underwhelmed in his first public pro game. He took a pair of fairly close pitches for balls and then smoked a single in left center field for a two-run single that made it 6-1 Tigers. Pretty impressive stuff considering these are his first public at-bats after being drafted out of high school. Vargas is a pretty solid relief prospect who was at High-A last season.

Franyerber Montilla took a called strike three to send this to the bottom of the fifth.

Hamm’s velocity was down to 91-92 mph in his second inning of work. Even so, he got a quick ground out to Briceño at first that he handled himself. A pop out, also to Briceño in foul territory, made it two outs. Rodriguez saw 94 mph and then a steady diet of breaking balls and flew out to Clark in center to end the fifth inning.

Right-hander Elison Joseph took over for the Braves in the sixth. Ben Malgeri entered the game for Max Clark and struck out swinging on a 97 mph heater after getting ahead 3-0. Third baseman Carson Rucker entered the game for McGonigle after a labrum injury in his shoulder cost him most of his rookie season as a pro. He got ahead 3-1, but chased a 96 mph heater away for a full count. Rucker popped out on another heater for the second out of the inning. Liranzo saw a heavy diet of breaking balls and struck out to send us to the bottom of the sixth. Still 6-1 Tigers.

Big lefty Micah Ashman took over from Hamm in the bottom of the sixth. The six-foot-seven southpaw was the Tigers 11th rounder last summer out of Utah. Ashman quickly got a ground ball from John Gil. The teenaged Braves prospect came up lame trying to beat the throw from Jim Jarvis at shortstop with what looked like a hamstring strain.

Ashman looked somewhat interesting late last summer with Lakeland and showed some good breaking balls to go with 92-93 mph fastballs in this one. Waddell dumped an opposite field single in front of new Tigers’ left fielder Nomar Fana to open the frame. Zebrowski worked a full count, but Ashman challenged him with a fastball and got him to fly out to Campos is right field. David McCabe took a fastball down the middle for strike three, though Liranzo dropped it and had to complete the tag. Solid outing for Ashman. On to the seventh.

Teenager Didier Fuentes, a right-hander for the Braves with a firm rising fastball from 93 up to 97 mph, took over for them in the seventh. Hao-Yu Lee continues to struggle with good fastballs, and Fuentes dusted him with fastballs as Lee was repeatedly late. First baseman Jake Holton, who was a key piece for the Double-A Erie SeaWolves last summer before missing the postseason with an injury, was up next in place of Briceño. Fuentes drilled Holton in the left ear flap, but fortunately he was able to stay on his feet and seemed okay. Briceño re-entered the game to run for Holton so he could be evaluated for any signs of a concussion.

Nomar Fana got his first AB of the game next. The Tigers signed the switch hitting outfielder as an international free agent back in 2020. Fana hasn’t done too much yet, posting a decent season for Lakeland last summer as a 21-year-old. He struck out swinging, as did Campos, and we were on to the bottom of the seventh.

RIght-hander Joseph Montalvo took over for the Tigers in the inning. 20-year-old catching prospect Enrique Jimenez took over from Liranzo as the Tigers’ catcher in this inning. Montalvo was hitting 94-95 mph, and showed some solid sliders though his changeup was too firm and without significant fade. He got Will Verdung on a pop-out to Briceño to start his inning. Nick Montgomery pulled a single into right field, bringing up 18-year-old Eric Hartman.

Hartman pulled a grounder to Briceño, who fired a strike to second base. Montalvo covered first but they couldn’t quite turn the double play despite an accurate through from Jarvis to first base. A passed ball on Jimenez moved Hartman to second, and Montalvo just missed away with a fastball in a 2-2 count. Another fastball was grounded toward third base by Ethan Workinger, but Rucker couldn’t pick the hot one-hopper and Hartman came around to score. Rodriguez grounded out to Max Anderson at second base for the final out of the inning.

On to the eighth. 6-2 Tigers.

Jim Jarvis grounded out to start the inning, but Max Anderson came up with a single. Malgeri and Rucker both had trouble with Fuentes riding heater and struck out swinging to strand Anderson.

We next got a look at hard-throwing right-hander Troy Melton. Some have Melton above Hamm as the Tigers’ second best pitching prospect, and Melton will tackle Triple-A this season. He’s definitely a name to watch and could help the Tigers later this summer if his command progresses a little more. Melton was pumping 97-99 mph and showed some good sliders in his outing. The changeup was a little too firm in the high-80’s, but with his velocity that’s not too far off from having solid velocity separation. Melton got a ground out to Rucker at third for the first out, then whiffed Waddell on a slider down and in for the second out. Zebrowski fought his way to a 2-2 count but looked overmatched and swung wildly through a 97 mph under his hands for strike three.

With Fuentes still on the mound, Enrique Jimenez grounded out to open the ninth inning. Lee was still late on the fastball and got blown away again. His struggles to barrel up good velocity remains a key issue to watch for him in his age 22 season. Briceño battled into a full count, fouling off some tough heaters, but finally took one for strike three.

Really impressive outing from the 19-year-old Didier Fuentes. The secondary pitches are still crude, but that is a good, firm fastball he’s rocking already.

Right-hander Tyler Owens, set to be one of the top relief options at Triple-A this year, took over to close this one out for the Tigers. Acquired from the Texas Rangers for Carson Kelly last summer, Owens was a big piece of Gabe Alvarez’s Eastern League champion Erie SeaWolves bullpen last summer. He was pretty impressive in spring camp before getting reassigned to minor league camp, and he looks to be one of the Tigers better options if they need relief help this year.

Owens walked Cal Conley to start the inning, missing high with a 97 mph fastball. Will Verdung drilled an opposite field double that one-hopped up against the right field wall, and that scored Conley from first to make it 6-3 Tigers. Mac Gusette flew out to right on a slider for the first out of the inning, and Campos held Verdung at second base. Owens remained a bit wild, uncorking a fastball for a wild pitch up and in which got Verdung to third. Hartman lifted a sinking fly ball to left field and Nomar Fana closed on it and made a nice sliding catch for the second out. Workinger lifted a fly ball to right field for the final out, and the Tigers wrapped up a 6-3 victory.

Overall you can’t too much away from a fun exhibition game. The Tigers top prospects looked good in their ABs. Their pitchers velocity was good. Melton and Miller both looked sharp, while Hamm and Owens were a little off their games.

Bryce Rainer has to get another mentioned for two good ABs and solid opposite field contact including a two-run line drive single to begin his pro career in earnest.

The Braves showed some good young arms. No one impressed more than Didier Fuentes, who struck out seven Tigers in three overpowering innings of work. The teenager has a bright future. JR Ritchie also looked solid and remains one of the Braves best pitching prospects.

You can check the box score right here.