Detroit Tigers' 2021 minor league rosters: Here's where top prospects are playing
After a year without the minor leagues, the Detroit Tigers' affiliates are back for the 2021 season.
May 4 the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, Double-A Erie SeaWolves, High-A West Michigan Whitecaps and Low-A Lakeland Flying Tigers will take the field for the first time since 2019.
The Triple-A, Double-A and High-A rosters were released Thursday, with the team's top three prospects starting where many expected: Right-hander Matt Manning in Toledo, outfielder Riley Greene in Erie and infielder Spencer Torkelson in West Michigan.
Torkelson is the Tigers' No. 1 prospect and the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. The 21-year-old was selected No. 1 overall in the 2020 draft from Arizona State. Greene, 20, is the team's second-best prospect. He went No. 5 overall in the 2019 draft out of high school.
Manning is rated as the third-best prospect. The 23-year-old is on the verge of his MLB debut and is often discussed alongside Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal — two young pitchers currently developing in the majors. The Tigers picked Manning at No. 9 overall in 2016.
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Here are the full rosters for the Tigers' minor league teams in 2021. (The Low-A Lakeland roster has not yet been released.)
Triple-A Toledo
Starting pitchers (6): Matt Manning (RHP), Drew Hutchison (RHP), Wily Peralta (RHP), Erasmo Ramirez (RHP), Logan Shore (RHP), Rony Garcia (RHP).
Relief pitchers (10): Nolan Blackwood (RHP), Beau Burrows (RHP), Drew Carlton (RHP), Jason Foley (RHP), Kyle Funkhouser (RHP), Joe Jimenez (RHP), Miguel Del Pozo (LHP), Ian Krol (LHP), Robbie Ross Jr. (LHP), Locke St. John (LHP).
Catchers (3): Jake Rogers, Dustin Garneau, Eric Haase.
Infielders (7): Renato Nunez, Kody Clemens, Zack Short, Isaac Paredes, Brady Policelli, Aderlin Rodriguez, Daniel Pinero.
Outfielders (3): Christin Stewart, Derek Hill, Daz Cameron.
Injured list (3): Andrew Moore (RHP), Joey Wentz (LHP), Danny Woodrow (OF).
Double-A Erie
Pitchers (16): Brad Bass (RHP), Cale Coshow (RHP), Ethan DeCaster (RHP), Angel De Jesus (RHP), Max Green (LHP), A.J. Ladwig (RHP), Mark Leiter (RHP), Billy Lescher (RHP), Henry Martinez (RHP), Gerson Moreno (RHP), Joe Navilhon (RHP), Pedro Payano (RHP), Wladimir Pinto (RHP), Paul Richan (RHP), Elvin Rodriguez (RHP).
Catchers (2): Juan Centeno, Jon Rosoff.
Infielders (6): Yariel Gonzalez, Ryan Kreidler, Josh Lester, Cole Peterson, John Valente, Drew Ward.
Outfielders (4): Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Jacob Robson, Dylan Rosa.
High-A West Michigan
Pitchers (18): Beau Brieske (RHP), Yaya Chentouf (RHP), Sandel DeLaCruz (RHP), Chavez Fernander (RHP), Ruben Garcia (RHP), Zack Hess (RHP), Garrett Hill (RHP), Xavier Javier (RHP), Sam Kessler (RHP), Chance Kirby (RHP), Keider Montero (RHP), Franklin Perez (RHP), Angel Reyes (RHP), Jesus Rodriguez (RHP), Zac Shepherd (RHP), Hugh Smith (RHP), Jared Tobey (LHP), Brendan White (RHP).
Catchers (3): Eliezer Alfonzo, Dillon Dingler, Chris Proctor.
Infielders (6): Trie Cruz, Corey Joyce, Jack Kenley, Andre Lipcius, Rey Rivera, Spencer Torkelson.
Outfielders (4): Danny Cabrera, Parker Meadows, Bryant Packard, Kona Quiggle.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' minor league rosters: Where top prospects are playing
