So, anyway, here's a roundup of some of the stories I've been following lately. A disclaimer is that most of these stories are either about the Tigers, or about players I happen to have on my team.
The stars of Detroit Tigers camp so far have been Curtis Granderson, Jeremy Bonderman, Gary Sheffield, and Kyle Sleeth. Apparently Grandy has been hitting rockets all over the yard, and seems poised to have a big year. Jeremy Bonderman has apparently been impressing with his newfound (again) changeup. I tell you, if he gets that changeup working, he's going to be Dominant. Don't sleep on Bondo this year. Sheffield has been impressing everyone with that waggling bat.
The most intriguing guy could possibly be Kyle Sleeth. Sleeth is a deep, deep, deep sleeper, not likely to contribute any sooner than next year, if ever. Sleeth was the Tigers' first pick in the 2003 draft. He went third overall behind Delmon Young and Rickie Weekes, and ahead of fellow first rounders like Nick Markakis and Chad Cordero. At draft time John Sickels summed him up like this:
" Likely the best raw arm in the college ranks, although not as polished as Tim Stauffer (see below). Sleeth will probably be the first college hurler drafted. He is big, throws hard, and has pitched well in college. Hard to go wrong with that package."
He made his debut in 2004 in single A Lakeland and performed pretty well (5-4 with a 3.31 ERA, 60 hits, 65/18 K/BB in 68 innings). After that he was promoted to Double A and struggled the rest of the year. 2005 he missed the first few months before finally having Tommy John surgery in June. He came back late last season to single A, but basically got his brains beaten in.
It appears Kyle is feeling better and starting to make big strides on his way back to prospect status. So, if he's getting his career back, how does he project? Going back to Baseball America again, here was the scouting report of Sleeth from 2003:
"Sleeth has far and away the highest ceiling among Tigers farmhands. He had one of the best fastballs available in the 2003 draft, both in terms of velocity and life. He usually pitches between 92-94 mph and touches 96. His fastball seems even firmer, however, because of its movement. It bores down and in on righthanders. It’s a heavy ball. Sleeth throws both a power curveball and a low-80s slider. The curveball is the better breaking pitch, as he throws it in the high 70s, and it features a lot of depth and bite. His slider improved last spring, though some scouts say it’s a bit slurvy. His changeup has the potential to be an average major league pitch. Sleeth has a strong, projectable frame and was durable at Wake Forest. He’s quiet and confident. When the Demon Deacons struggled behind him last spring, he remained poised. Though not demonstrative, Sleeth exudes competitiveness."
Well, all of a sudden the Tigers have a packed young rotation. Bonderman and Verlander figure to be rotation fixtures for the forseeable future. Andrew Miller is likely to join them, barring injury, next year. Nate Robertson and Mike Maroth are both very serviceable starters, and are in their prime years. Kenny Rogers is still pitching well, but is likely to move on in the next few year or two.
In the short term, I don't know how the Tigers are going to sort out their pitching depth. It's an enviable problem to have too much young pitching, but Jordan Tata, Andrew Miller, Jair Jurjjens, Eulogio de la Cruz, Virgil Vazquez, Wil Ledezma and maybe Kyle Sleeth are all pitching prospects that may be pushing for a rotation spot. Given his draft pedigree, if Sleeth can resurrect his career, and it's not uncommon for a pitcher to have Tommy John before making it to the majors, he'll likely get one of the first cracks at any open rotation spots.
To sum up, keep an eye of Kyle Sleeth, he was the #3 pick only a few years ago and appears to be making a strong comeback from Tommy John surgery. He may be a name to know in the future.
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