Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers hosted the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in their first home game since Aretha Franklin died Aug. 16 at the age of 76.

Prior to the interleague showdown, the Tigers paid tribute to the Queen of Soul, who called Detroit home, with a moment of silence that featured her image as well as the words "Respect" and "Forever Our Queen" on the videoboard.

Fittingly, a rainbow appeared over Comerica Park at that moment:

Some pictures say it all. pic.twitter.com/abFKT7gsQM

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 21, 2018

Last week, the Tigers honored Franklin by using titles of her songs in their game notes:

Tigers game notes today feature Aretha Franklin song titles. Even the DL section has been changed to “It Hurts Like Hell”. Well done, @DetroitTigersPR. pic.twitter.com/xdj0tA0Uzc

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) August 16, 2018

Respect, indeed.

Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Kyle Funkhouser will miss the remainder of the 2018 season after suffering a foot injury.

The Tigers announced Tuesday that Funkhouser fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot while walking on an uneven sidewalk.

Funkhouser will have surgery and is expected to return for spring training next year.

The 24-year-old Funkhouser was Detroit's fourth-round selection in the 2016 MLB draft. He started this season in Double-A with the Erie SeaWolves, posting a 3.74 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 89 innings.

Detroit promoted Funkhouser to Triple-A on July 10. In two starts with the Toledo Mud Hens, the right-hander allowed six earned runs with 10 walks and seven strikeouts in 8.2 innings.

The Tigers could have given Funkhouser an audition for their 2019 rotation with a September call-up. Instead, the former Louisville star will show up to camp next season hoping to earn a spot on the 25-man roster after rehabbing his injury.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Mike Fiers and Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez are good friends, but Fiers suggested Saturday that Martinez didn't want to face him.

After Fiers allowed seven hits, three walks and no runs while striking out six over 6.1 innings in a 5-0 win over Boston on Saturday, he badgered his buddy, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press: "He ducked me today. He had been talking about that all year and I think he told [Red Sox manager Alex] Cora to get a day off against me."

MLB.com's Jason Beck confirmed that Fiers was simply teasing his former college teammate.

Fiers and Martinez both attended Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before enjoying success in Major League Baseball.

Martinez, who is in the midst of his first season with the Red Sox, is putting up MVP-caliber numbers with a .325 batting average, 29 home runs and 80 RBI.

Meanwhile, Fiers has been solid in his first season with the Tigers, as he is 7-6 with a 3.49 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 111 innings.

Per Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket, the career matchup between Martinez and Fiers is decidedly one-sided, as Martinez is 7-for-14 with two home runs and two doubles.

It is possible that Martinez and Fiers could be reunited in the coming weeks, as ESPN's Buster Olney reported that the Red Sox were among the teams evaluating Fiers as a potential trade acquisition ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Fiers did not make the Houston Astros' postseason roster in 2017 after struggling during the regular season, but he could be a good option for the back end of Boston's rotation heading toward the playoffs by virtue of his bounce-back year.

For now, the Red Sox will focus on ensuring Martinez is 100 percent, as his off day came after he crashed into the wall during Friday's win over the Tigers.

Chris Bosio's tenure as pitching coach of the Detroit Tigers reportedly came to an end after he directed a racial slur at a clubhouse attendant. 

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Katie Strang, Bosio called the attendant, who is an African-American man, a "monkey" when the employee was collecting towels in the coaches' room after a Tigers loss.  

The Tigers said in a statement Wednesday that Bosio was fired for making "insensitive comments that violated Club policy and his Uniform Employee Contract."

Bosio told USA Today's Bob Nightengale he was using the nickname of one of Detroit's relief pitchers and it got taken out of context: 

"Someone in our coaches' room asked me (Monday afternoon) about [Daniel] Stumpf. And I said, "Oh, you mean, 'Spider Monkey.' That's his nickname. He's a skinny little white kid who makes all of these funny faces when he works out.

"The kid thought we were talking about him. He got all upset. He assumed we were talking about him. I said, "No, no, no. We’re talking about Stumpf.'"

Bosio was in his first season as pitching coach for the Tigers.

 

The Detroit Tigers fired pitching coach Chris Bosio on Wednesday for allegedly making "insensitive remarks to a team employee," but he believes it was a case of misunderstanding. 

On Thursday, a "shocked" Bosio revealed to USA Today's Bob Nightengale that he was fired for using the word "monkey" after an African American clubhouse attendant overheard him. He explained that he did not use it in a racist manner, saying that he was referring to pitcher Daniel Stumpf, who is white, by his "Spider Monkey" nickname:

“Someone in our coaches' room asked me (Monday afternoon) about Stumpf. And I said, "Oh, you mean, 'Spider Monkey.' That’s his nickname. He’s a skinny little white kid who makes all of these funny faces when he works out.

"The kid thought we were talking about him. He got all upset. He assumed we were talking about him. I said, 'No, no, no. We’re talking about Stumpf.'

"And that was it. I swear on my mom and dad’s graves, there was nothing else to it.'"

Bosio attempted to clear up the matter with Detroit general manager Al Avila on Tuesday, although it did not help him keep his job: 

"I didn’t deny it. But it was directed at Stumpf, and the face he makes when he lifts weights. That’s it.

"Al said, we got all of our information, and we’re firing you because of your insensitive comments. I said, 'Comments? There was one comment. And it wasn’t even directed at the kid.'

Al said, "We and Major League Baseball have a zero-tolerance policy. I said, 'Al, I don’t have any issues with anybody. I didn’t cross the line. I’m really sorry, but that’s not my intent. I can’t believe this."

Avila addressed the matter on Wednesday:

Before being hired by Detroit this past offseason, Bosio had spent the previous six seasons with the Chicago Cubs. He was a part of the 2016 team that broke the Curse of the Billy Goat and gave the franchise its first World Series championship since 1908.

He joined the Tigers under new manager Ron Gardenhire. However, he was let go less than a year into his contract.

Now, Bosio told Nightengale that he wants to set the record straight:

"I’ve got protect myself someway, because this is damaging as hell to me. I’ve got to fight for myself. Everyone knows this is not me. I didn’t use any profanity. There was no vulgarity. The N-word wasn’t used. No racial anything. It was a comment, and a nickname we used for a player.

 [...]

"I don’t know what else to say, but I know I don’t deserve this."

The Detroit Tigers announced the firing of pitching coach Chris Bosio over "insensitive comments" that violated a club policy. 

"The organization holds all of our personnel to the highest standards of personal conduct both on and off the field. We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior. The Club will have no further comment on this matter," the Tigers said in a statement.

Bosio, 55, was hired by the Tigers for the 2018 season after six years with the Chicago Cubs. Specifics of the comments he made have not yet been made available.

Bullpen coach Rick Anderson will serve as Detroit's pitching coach for the remainder of this season. Anderson was previously a pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2002 to 2014. 

The Tigers rank in the bottom half of Major League Baseball in nearly every major pitching category. 

Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera will miss the rest of the 2018 MLB season after suffering a ruptured tendon in his biceps during Tuesday's game against the Minnesota Twins.

Evan Woodbery of MLive reported the news, noting the injury will require season-ending surgery.

Following a 2017 season that was the worst of his MLB career, Cabrera had returned to form a little more in 2018. He was batting .301 with three home runs and 22 RBI through 37 games.

Granted, Cabrera's contributions are largely irrelevant for the Tigers as a whole. Detroit started its full-scale rebuild last year when it traded Justin Upton and Justin Verlander, and the team would almost certainly have moved Cabrera as well if it could find a taker for his massive contract.

Because the Tigers, who are 31-37, are unlikely to go anywhere with him healthy, Cabrera's injury probably won't change much for them.

John Hicks filled in for Cabrera when he went to the disabled list with a strained hamstring earlier in the year, and that will likely be the plan once again. Hicks started Tuesday's game behind the plate, which left Detroit with Niko Goodrum coming off the bench to take Cabrera's place in the lineup.

The newest member of the Detroit Tigers organization is a pitcher who could be in their starting rotation in a year and an All-Star soon thereafter.

So, we might as well get to know Casey Mize right now.

He's a 21-year-old right-hander who's spent the last three years turning himself into a college ace with the Tigers of Auburn University. Now he's destined to be the next ace of the Tigers of Detroit after the club chose him with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball's 2018 draft.

Auburn Tigers ➡️ Detroit Tigers

With the first pick of the 2018 #MLBDraft, the Detroit Tigers select RHP Casey Mize from Auburn. pic.twitter.com/MuzjomVLlS

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 4, 2018

Pretty good for a guy who wasn't even drafted out of high school. In fact, Mize is the first player to go from undrafted to No. 1 since the Washington Nationals drafted Stephen Strasburg in 2009.

He's also the first Auburn player to be drafted at No. 1 and the first Tiger to go in the top 10 since Frank Thomas went to the Chicago White Sox at No. 7 in 1989. 

But as far as the Tigers—who secured the No. 1 pick with a dismal, rebuild-launching 98-loss season in 2017—are concerned, more important is that Mize is the franchise's first top-two pick since it took a fellow named Justin Verlander at No. 2 in 2004. He went on to win the American League Rookie of the Year in 2006 and the MVP and Cy Young Award in 2011. He also made six All-Star appearances as a Tiger.

In so doing, Verlander set quite a standard for Mize to live up to. Yet, his capacity to do just that should not be underestimated.

According to Josh Vitale of Opelika-Auburn News, at least one college coach sees a little Verlander in Mize:

Army coach Jim Foster said Auburn ace Casey Mize reminds him of Justin Verlander from his college days at Old Dominion. High praise.

— AUBlog (@AUBlog) June 3, 2018

Another guy who would know enough to compare the two pitchers is Tigers general manager Al Avila, who's been in the team's front office since 2002. As far as he's concerned, Mize may be more of a sure thing now than Verlander was back in '04.

"Verlander was obviously a high pick and an elite pitcher. He threw 100 mph," Avila said, per Jason Beck of MLB.com. "My point was that at this point, I felt Mize was a bit more advanced in that his secondary pitches were a bit more refined than Verlander's at that time. When we took Verlander, when he came here, he moved pretty quickly. But at the same time, there was a lot of work to be done."

This gets at the gist of pretty much every scouting report on Mize: He throws nothing but good pitches, and he throws them well.

Officially, Mize has a four-pitch repertoire consisting of a low-to-mid 90s four-seam fastball, a cutter that touches the low 90s and a slider and splitter that both sit in the mid-80s.

Courtesy of Rob "Pitching Ninja" Friedman, they look like this:

Casey Mize's Stuff.

All from yesterday. pic.twitter.com/LxYLlKMKW9

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 25, 2018

Unofficially, however, Baseball America's (subscription required) scouting report on Mize claims that his four-pitch mix is really more like a six-pitch mix due to the different ways he can throw his slider and splitter. In any event, each pitch is either a plus or a plus-plus.

Further, Mize doesn't lean on any one pitch in particular. In starts chronicled by FanGraphs, he's used only 37 percent fastballs and 32 percent cutters with roughly the same rate of sliders (15 percent) and splitters (16 percent).

If anyone's expecting the catch to be that Mize has an iffy control profile that portends a future with a less dynamic repertoire, here's a spoiler: Nope.

Mize featured pretty good control in walking only 18 batters in 69 innings as a freshman in 2016. He then fine-tuned his mechanics in the Cape Cod League over the summer, and he's proceeded to walk just 21 batters in 193.1 innings over the last two seasons.

"He's more polished than most college pitchers that we've seen in the past few years," one AL scout told Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. "Anybody you would consider in the first round, they usually have velocity and stuff and have performed pretty well. Casey's fastball command to both sides of the plate is way advanced; it's like watching a Double-A pitcher getting close to the big leagues."

Mize's attack hasn't just been good for limiting walks. It's also been good for missing bats and keeping balls in the yard. All told, the progression of his three true outcome rates is a sight to behold:

More so than Verlander, a better comp for Mize at this point is Aaron Nola.

He was widely regarded as a polished, nearly-MLB-ready pitcher when the Philadelphia Phillies took him out of LSU with the No. 7 pick in 2014. Sure enough, he was in the majors the following July. Three years later, he's arguably the front-runner for the National League Cy Young.

Perhaps the only thing that can stop Mize from walking a similar path is health. He's had his run-ins with the injury bug, including a forearm issue that sidelined him for part of 2017.

As long as Mize can continue to avoid major injuries, however, he'll be on a fast track to stardom in The Show. And he can look forward to having some young company in Detroit's rotation.

Following Beau Burrows in 2015, Matt Manning in 2016 and Alex Faedo in 2017, the Tigers have used a first-round pick on a pitcher in four straight years. All three now rank among the club's best prospects. So does Franklin Perez, who the Tigers got when they shipped Verlander to the Houston Astros last year.

What the Tigers are doing with their rebuild looks like a natural evolution of what the Chicago Cubs were doing with theirs several years ago. They stockpiled bats at a time when arms were plentiful and ended up winning a World Series for their efforts. With offense now back in fashion, the Tigers have the right idea if they think that stockpiling arms can lead to a similar result.

At the least, they shouldn't need to wait long before Mize is atop their rotation. It's where he's headed and where he belongs.

    

Mize's college stats courtesy of AuburnTigers.com. Other data courtesy of Baseball Reference.

After dazzling scouts for three years at Auburn, right-handed pitcher Casey Mize will begin his professional career with the Detroit Tigers, who selected him with the first overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft Monday.

Auburn Tigers ➡️ Detroit Tigers

With the first pick of the 2018 #MLBDraft, the Detroit Tigers select RHP Casey Mize from Auburn. pic.twitter.com/MuzjomVLlS

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 4, 2018

Twitter had a lot of things to say about the Tigers' addition of one of the top amateur talents to their farm system:

The moment every baseball player dreams of... Watch Commissioner Manfred announce Casey Mize as the #1 overall pick by the @tigers. #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/SY7S0hgOjR

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 4, 2018

#HOFer John Smoltz breaks down the #1 pick by the @tigers - Casey Mize! #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/pdwoOGgJeC

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 4, 2018

#Auburn RHP Casey Mize is only the second college player to go No. 1 overall and not be first drafted out of high school. Strasburg the other. Speaks to Mize's development and progress. #Denver7

— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) June 4, 2018

Casey Mize is the first pick in the MLB Draft by the Tigers. Only three Auburn players have been taken in the Top 10 - Mize, Gregg Olson (No. 4 in 1988) and Frank Thomas (No. 7 in 1989).

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 4, 2018

The Detroit Tigers select Auburn RHP Casey Mize with the No. 1 overall pick in the '18 MLB Draft. Mize is deemed to be among the most major league-ready draft prospects with a projected short path to the bigs. Will be a key piece in Detroit's large-scale rebuild.

— Eric Fisher (@AEricFisher) June 4, 2018

Mize has been one of college baseball's best pitchers since he put on an Auburn jersey. The 21-year-old had a 2.04 ERA, 66 hits allowed, 109 strikeouts and nine walks in 83.2 innings in his first full year as a starter in 2017.

Though his ERA jumped to 2.95 this season, Mize has improved in a lot of ways as a junior. He currently has 151 strikeouts, 12 walks, a .195 batting average against and all three of the Tigers' complete games.

"He's amazing," a scout told Jon Heyman of FRS Network. "Everything he throws is for a strike, whenever he wants."

Mize is also one of the great development stories in the 2018 MLB draft. The Alabama native went undrafted out of high school, although he acknowledged there was a reason no team pursued him.

"I definitely was not good enough," Mize told John Zenor of the Associated Press in mid-May. "I realized that and I was fine with that. I was just a smaller guy, very raw, didn't know anything about pitching."

Three years later, Mize has turned into one of the best draft prospects in his class, and he's one step closer to dominating MLB hitters.

Mize is the Tigers' first draft pick since they turned an eye toward the future. They dealt key figures like Justin Verlander and Justin Upton last summer, acquiring future assets that will lead the next wave of talent in Detroit.

The Tigers' last top-five pick was in 2004, when they took Verlander with the No. 2 overall pick. He made his MLB debut the following year, won American League Rookie of the Year in 2006, made the All-Star team with Detroit six times and won the 2011 AL Cy Young and MVP awards.

It's asking a lot of Mize to reach those heights, but he has proved to be a dominant pitcher who could move quickly through the minors. He becomes the most important prospect in Detroit's farm system and will be tasked with bringing the franchise back to prominence in the AL Central.

The MLB draft is here. Over the next three days, over a thousand players will be drafted in the 40 rounds.

Baseball's first-year player draft doesn't get as much attention as the NFL or NBA drafts, but this is the start for your favorite professional team to stock up on new talent.

The lives of many high school kids will change, too. Remember, the MLB draft covers both the college and high school ranks.

Let's look at where the coverage for this draft will be so you do not miss a single thing.

            

Key Event Information

Where: MLB Network Headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey

Schedule: June 4 (Rounds 1-2; 7 p.m. ET); June 5 (Rounds 3-10; 1 p.m. ET); June 6 (Rounds 11-40; 12 p.m. ET)

Watch: MLB Network (Round 1)

Live Stream: MLB.com (all rounds)

         

Round 1 Order

1. Detroit Tigers
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Cincinnati Reds
6. New York Mets
7. San Diego Padres
8. Atlanta Braves
9. Oakland Athletics
10. Pittsburgh Pirates
11. Baltimore Orioles
12. Toronto Blue Jays
13. Miami Marlins
14. Seattle Mariners
15. Texas Rangers
16. Tampa Bay Rays
17. Los Angeles Angels
18. Kansas City Royals
19. St. Louis Cardinals
20. Minnesota Twins
21. Milwaukee Brewers
22. Colorado Rockies
23. New York Yankees
24. Chicago Cubs
25. Arizona Diamondbacks
26. Boston Red Sox
27. Washington Nationals
28. Houston Astros
29. Cleveland Indians
30. Los Angeles Dodgers

       

Compensation Picks

31. Tampa Bay Rays
32. Tampa Bay Rays
33. Kansas City Royals
34. Kansas City Royals
35. Cleveland Indians

         

Competitive Balance Round A

36. Pittsburgh Pirates
37. Baltimore Orioles
38. San Diego Padres
39. Arizona Diamondbacks
40. Kansas City Royals
41. Cleveland Indians
42. Colorado Rockies
43. St. Louis Cardinals

             

What Will Detroit Do With No. 1?

The Detroit Tigers will select first in this year's draft.

After losing nearly 100 games in 2017, the Tigers get the first crack at this crop of player talent.

For a team like the Tigers, they can't mess with one up. Whoever they take with the No. 1 overall pick has to pan out for the sake of this ailing franchise. 

While they're in second place in the AL Central, that division is incredibly weak with four teams under .500, including the Tigers at 28-31.

For the longest time, the Tigers were headed by starting pitcher Justin Verlander. The Tigers should look to get their replacement for him, and they can do that by taking Casey Mize out of Auburn.

There may be some temptation to take catching prospect Joey Bart or fellow pitching prospects Matthew Liberatore or Brady Singer, but Mize is the top guy here.

At 6'3" and 220 pounds, Mize has a repertoire that's somewhat rare for even a college arm, possessing a great fastball and a stellar splitter.

But one of the best things about Mize is his ability to not walk many.

In nearly 110 innings, Mize has just 12 walks to his 151 strikeouts.

Don't get cute, Detroit. Mize is the future of the organization, and he may not need much time in the minors before we see him on the hill on a major league diamond.