Five Detroit Tigers prospects explain lessons, developments during MLB spring training

The Detroit Tigers invited several prospects to major league spring training as non-roster invitees.

A lot of those prospects could make their MLB debuts in the 2024 season, including outfielder Justice Bigbie, left-hander Brant Hurter, right-hander Jackson Jobe, infielder Jace Jung and right-hander Ty Madden.

Jobe is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Tigers' No. 3 prospect, followed by Jung at No. 4, Madden at No. 5, Bigbie at No. 12 and Hurter at No. 15. Nationally, Jobe and Jung rank No. 24 and No. 56, respectively, among the top-100 prospects in baseball.

All five players learned a lot in spring camp.

Justice Bigbie

Position: Outfielder.

Age: 25.

Bats/throws: Right/right.

Acquired: 19th round, 2021 draft (No. 555 overall).

Affiliate: Triple-A Toledo.

MORE ABOUT HIM: How Tigers' Justice Bigbie went from 19th-round pick to doorstep of MLB debut

The buzz: Bigbie put himself on the Tigers' radar while climbing three levels in the organization last season. He hit .335 with 20 home runs, 52 walks (9.2% walk rate) and 87 strikeouts (15.3% strikeout rate) across 135 games in 2023, including .275 with one homer in 15 games with Triple-A Toledo. Bigbie worked closely with bench coach George Lombard and first base coach Anthony Iapoce in spring training to improve his outfield defense. He returned to the Mud Hens in search of becoming an option for the Tigers in both right field and left field, but his bat plays because he hits the ball hard and makes healthy swing decisions. For an idea of Bigbie's upside, he had a better in-zone contract rate and a better average exit velocity than Tigers second baseman Colt Keith last season. But he can't be a liability in the outfield.

What Bigbie said: "There's always something I can improve on defensively. I think really having a focus on that each day is really important, whether it be with ground balls, pop flies, first jumps, everything like that. We've been working a lot each day in early work and in our defensive segment after stretch. It's been really important to me and something I've had a lot of focus on."

Brant Hurter

Position: Starting pitcher.

Age: 25.

Bats/throws: Left/left.

Acquired: Seventh round, 2021 draft (No. 195 overall).

Affiliate: Triple-A Toledo.

MORE ABOUT HIM: Tigers' under-the-radar prospect not so anonymous after championship season

Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.

The buzz: Hurter is a dark horse to make his MLB debut this season, especially if the Tigers need a left-hander in the bullpen. In 2023, Hurter posted a 3.28 ERA with 33 walks (6.6% walk rate) and 133 strikeouts (26.7% strikeout rate) across 118 innings in 26 starts with Double-A Erie. After his first spring bullpen, assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves informed him that he was tipping his changeup. When throwing his changeup, the bottom of his glove would come set at the bottom part of his belt, but when throwing his other pitches, the bottom of his glove would come set at the top part of his belt. Along with fixing that issue, Hurter worked on throwing more four-seam fastballs and developing an effective changeup to accompany his nasty sinker-slider combination.

What Hurter said: "The biggest thing is my four-seam usage. I've been upping it. Since all my pitches go down, it's not a good metrics pitch, but it's very effective because all my pitches go down. The four-seamer is something I can throw at the top of the zone. It doesn't even have to be painted, it just has to be straight. It'll change how hitters approach me. … My changeup, it doesn't have a great zone rate, the velocity on it is a little too hard, and it sinks maybe 2 inches more than my sinker, so it kind of blends too much. It's not exactly the same, but it's too similar."

Jackson Jobe

Position: Starting pitcher.

Age: 21.

Bats/throws: Right/right.

Acquired: First round, 2021 draft (No. 3 overall).

Affiliate: Double-A Erie.

MORE ABOUT HIM: How Tigers' Jackson Jobe developed into top pitching prospect nearing MLB debut

The buzz: Jobe returns to Double-A Erie in search of advancing to Triple-A Toledo as quickly as possible. Indeed, his sights are set on making his MLB debut in the second half of this season. In 2023, Jobe posted a 2.82 ERA with 11 walks (3.4% walk rate) and 103 strikeouts (31.7% strikeout rate) across 79⅔ innings in 20 starts last season, throwing six scoreless innings in his SeaWolves debut. The high-velocity fastball and nasty changeup are his most-improved pitches since the Tigers drafted him out of high school, but he also implements a high-spin slider and reliable cutter. The Tigers are slowly building Jobe's pitch count this year to keep the door open for a potential big-league arrival, so he appeared in just one spring training game, but he didn't disappoint. He retired all three batters he faced, generated five whiffs on seven swings and maxed out his four-seam fastball at 101.8 mph.

What Jobe said: "The past two years, we've really worked on making my fastball better, and it's gotten a lot better. So now, we can pump the breaks on that, put it all together and mix more offspeed when I'm behind in counts. That will be the biggest emphasis, at least early, and we'll see how that goes. Mixing more offspeed, don't have to worry about getting my fastball usage up, just pitch to how I need to get the guy out. ... I think I was like 80% fastball when I was behind in counts last year, so hitters were geared up for heaters. Part of me had to figure out where I could throw my fastball to give up the least amount of damage. I had to throw the fastball, and I had to figure that stuff out. There was a point where I gave up damn near all my runs on home runs, all on my fastball. I was really frustrated when that was going on, but I learned a lot from it."

Jace Jung

Position: Infielder.

Age: 23.

Bats/throws: Left/right.

Acquired: First round, 2022 draft (No. 12 overall).

Affiliate: Triple-A Toledo.

MORE ABOUT HIM: Jace Jung's intense competitiveness is the superpower behind his rise with Tigers

The buzz: Jung is preparing for his MLB debut, which should happen in the second half of this season, by continuing to work on his defense at third base. He hopes to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, third baseman Josh Jung, who won the 2023 World Series with the Texas Rangers. The younger Jung hit .259 with 29 home runs, 93 walks (14.5% walk rate) and 158 strikeouts (23.9% strikeout rate) across 143 games last season, including .284 with 14 homers in 47 games with Double-A Erie. He spent spring training improving his defensive actions at third base while staying sharp at his natural second base, training under the guidance of third base coach Joey Cora. Beyond defense, Jung worked with hitting coaches Michael Brdar and Keith Beauregard on maintaining the strength in his lower-half, back-leg swing mechanics across a full season.

What Jung said: "We definitely have been working on balance a lot more at the plate with the leg kick. I'm trying to stay more balanced at the plate and just doing damage on your pitch and being on time. ... There's a lot of stuff you have to do in the weight room and in the training room for hip mobility and ankle mobility to make sure you're right every day. I'm trying to get after it in that way."

Ty Madden

Position: Starting pitcher.

Age: 24.

Bats/throws: Right/right.

Acquired: First round, 2021 draft (No. 32 overall).

Affiliate: Double-A Erie.

MORE: Why Tigers' old trio of pitching prospects reminds me so much of new trio

The buzz: Madden is focused on the development of his changeup. He needs a third pitch to complement his fastball and slider if he wants to make his MLB debut as a starter because left-handers hit .267 with a .871 OPS against him last season. His fastball and slider are probably too good for the Double-A level, but there are specific areas of growth the Tigers need to see with the SeaWolves before Madden gets promoted to Triple-A Toledo. He spent all of last season with Double-A Erie, registering a 3.43 ERA with 50 walks (10.2% walk rate) and 146 strikeouts (19.5% strikeout rate) across 118 innings in 26 games (25 starts). He also throws a cutter and a curveball, but he is working on the changeup. Most importantly, Madden needs to locate all of his pitches in the strike zone. If that happens, he will force his way into the Triple-A rotation at some point early in the season.

What Madden said: "I think just splits with secondary stuff and figuring when to throw my pitches. I feel like I got the stuff. I just have to execute in games. I got to get a little tighter in that aspect. ... I think using the cutter a lot more helped protect my slider, and definitely at the end of last season, using the curveball and changeup as well, but the cutter really helped with left-handed hitters. Overall, my fastball is a lot more consistent."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What Detroit Tigers' top prospects are working on in minor leagues