Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila was interviewed this evening on 97.1 The Ticket, during which he covered a range of subjects – including the status of the team’s young prospects.
For now, the anticipaation is for No. 1 overall draft selection Spencer Torkelson to begin the year with High-A West Michigan, while Riley Greene could begin with Double-A Erie, while Matt Manning could begin with Triple-A Toledo. However, Avila isn’t making any guarantee just yes.
“I don’t want to be held to that,” Avila explained. “A lot has to do with how we look at it in spring training and the intricacies of how and when minor-league baseball is going to commence.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Major League Baseball recently submitted a memo to all clubs stating that the Class-A and Double-A campaigns are to be delayed.
“They might have to start maybe a month behind us, which is how it’s looking,” Avila said. “Obviously, a lot of that has to do with the vaccine and when we can get that. Right now, there’s not even a minor-league schedule made. But that’s coming. There will be minor leagues, I’m pretty sure of that.”
As far as Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize are concerned, Avila anticipates them battling in camp for a regular spot in the rotation.
“They’re very close to establishing themselves at the big-league level,” Avila said. “We’ll see this spring training how it goes. … They’ll have a chance, and they might need a little bit more time, or they might not. But they’re close, which is an exciting thing for us.”
“We’ll see how it goes,” he continued. “Right now I can’t tell you if both of them will make the club or if one of them. But they’ll have a chance.”
– – Quotes via Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press Link – –
