Two of the Detroit Tigers top 10 prospects — pitcher Alex Faedo (No. 2) and outfielder Daz Cameron (No. 9) have graduated from Class-A Lakeland up to Double-A Erie.
The #Tigers 2017 first round draft pick and number three prospect Alex Faedo has been promoted to the SeaWolves from Class-A Lakeland. #RoadToDetroit pic.twitter.com/1FuJOVzDMM
— Erie SeaWolves (@erie_seawolves) June 18, 2018
#Tigers number nine prospect Daz Cameron has been promoted to the SeaWolves from Class-A Lakeland. #RoadToDetroit pic.twitter.com/scGJM9sDWl
— Erie SeaWolves (@erie_seawolves) June 18, 2018
Faedo, 22, has been rock solid in his first professional year after the Tigers drafted him 18th overall in the MLB Draft a season ago. Faedo through 12 starts with Lakeland has logged a 3.10 ERA (21 ER in 61 IP) along with a K/BB ratio of nearly 4 to 1. He has allowed one run or fewer in nine of his 12 starts; three runs or fewer in all but one of his outings. Hitters in the Florida State League (High-A) are hitting just .217 off the former Florida Gator hurler.
There has, however, been a noticeable dip in the velocity for Faedo so far this season. That said, Tigers general manager Al Avila does not seem too concerned about it long-term and says he is most encouraged that his top draft pick in 2017 is, first and foremost, healthy.
“I can’t explain it,” Avila said. “In the College World Series, he was in the upper-90s. He’s not hitting that right now. But he’s pitched very well, the way he has pitched is similar to how he pitched in college, but the velocity at 95-97 – that’s not there.”
“If you look at the history of most pitchers, the velocity will fluctuate through the minor leagues,” he said. “Even at the Major-League level. The velocity drops and comes back. He’s in perfect health, so I think it’s just a matter of time before you see that work itself back up.”
Faedo is scheduled to make his first Double-A start on Tuesday at home, with Avila reportedly set to be in attendance for. His promotion to Erie could perhaps lead to movement with some of the other Tigers’ top pitching prospects. West Michigan starter Matt Manning (Tigers’ No. 2) is a candidate to be called up to Lakeland and fill Faedo’s spot in the Flying Tigers’ rotation. Meanwhile, we could see at least one, maybe two, of the SeaWolves’ starters graduate up to Triple-A in the near future.
Al Avila recently hinted at that possibility.
Asked how soon we could see Alex Faedo and Beau Burrows get a bump up to Erie and Toledo, respectively, Al Avila said, “I’d say you should follow very closely.”
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) June 17, 2018
Joining Faedo will be center fielder Daz Cameron, who used a strong month of May (.295 BA/.846 OPS) to find his stroke after a relatively pedestrian start to the season. He has cooled off some since then, posting just a .455 OPS this month, but is going to get an opportunity to get some reps against improved competition at Double-A. There is a small uptick in his walk rate (10.1 percent) this season compared to 2017 (9.2 percent) but there has also been a higher rate of punching out this year (28 percent) for Cameron than a year ago (21.5 percent).
