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Spring training winners and losers · Tiger Territory: A Detroit Tigers Podcast

0:09
Speaker 1: And welcome in and doing that episode up Tiger Territory,
0:11
Speaker 1: part of the Foul Territory Network, the Troit Tiger's Podcast.
0:13
Speaker 1: I am here Stekley with me as always a man
0:15
Speaker 1: who can brag to pretty much anybody he meets. I've
0:18
Speaker 1: seen more tattoos than you have, he is, Cody Savenhagen.
0:20
Speaker 2: How you doing, Hey, doing right? I don't work on
0:23
Speaker 2: a tattoo parlor or anything, but I guess if you
0:25
Speaker 2: count some of the athletes I've covered and been around, sure.
0:29
Speaker 1: Well, the numbers aren't small. And I don't know how
0:31
Speaker 1: else to describe when guys will literally just kind of
0:34
Speaker 1: show him to you, you know, randomly, which happened earlier
0:39
Speaker 1: last week. So let's kind of get to some business here.
0:42
Speaker 1: We had the Prospects Breakout Spring Breakout games. Had to
0:48
Speaker 1: get that out there, and part of the story is
0:50
Speaker 1: Max Clark. Max Clark is the highest rated prospect from
0:54
Speaker 1: the Tiger's side that partook in that game. And he's
0:57
Speaker 1: also somebody who's kind of having to take a lot
1:00
Speaker 1: in stride, and he now is going to carry a
1:04
Speaker 1: reminder of the twenty twenty six spring training experience with
1:08
Speaker 1: him everywhere, and he is proud of it, Cody, He's
1:10
Speaker 1: proud of it. So I will say I will say
1:13
Speaker 1: this about Max. There is nobody is going to change
1:17
Speaker 1: Max Clark. Like Max Clark is going to be who
1:19
Speaker 1: he is, and it's got him this far. Chances are
1:23
Speaker 1: it's going to take him, you know, to greater heights too.
1:26
Speaker 1: But even with what I would say is fair to
1:30
Speaker 1: describe as a disappointing spring, Max Clark is gonna take
1:35
Speaker 1: it as as only Max Clark could.
1:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think once again, Max Clark came
1:40
Speaker 2: up and said the right sort of things talking about
1:43
Speaker 2: his demotion and kind of what's happened since then. Yes,
1:47
Speaker 2: he got a tattoo. Every fall is a chance to rise.
1:51
Speaker 2: Said he was pissed for twenty four hours after getting reassigned,
1:54
Speaker 2: not pissed the team, pissed out himself for not having
1:57
Speaker 2: a great spring. But then our number two overall listener
2:01
Speaker 2: kind of reset took it in stride, you know, obviously
2:04
Speaker 2: realizes he could have been better, felt like he didn't
2:06
Speaker 2: put his best foot forward. Sounds like he went out
2:09
Speaker 2: and crushed on the backfield in minor league games for
2:12
Speaker 2: a few days. We saw him in the spring breakout,
2:15
Speaker 2: which was the limited roster I think did show up
2:20
Speaker 2: because it was a little bit of a snowball fight
2:23
Speaker 2: of a baseball game. But yeah, I mean, look, words
2:27
Speaker 2: and actions are different things. We kind of talk about
2:30
Speaker 2: that in different contexts all the time. But I think,
2:34
Speaker 2: you know, again, for those people who view Max Clark
2:37
Speaker 2: as arrogance or like he doesn't get it, I don't
2:40
Speaker 2: know if you look at what he said about getting
2:44
Speaker 2: reassigned and how he handled it, you know, I asked
2:47
Speaker 2: just kind of how do you reset it? How do
2:48
Speaker 2: you reset how do you remind yourself, Hey, this is
2:51
Speaker 2: part of the process. He said, Well, that's kind of
2:53
Speaker 2: the hardest thing is knowing that this is part of
2:55
Speaker 2: the process. But yes, it has happened to other guys before.
2:58
Speaker 2: That is how these things tend to go, so that
3:01
Speaker 2: that's where we're at with that one.
3:06
Speaker 1: Yeah. So it was announced on Saturday that he will
3:09
Speaker 1: start the season in Toledo, and you know, I I
3:13
Speaker 1: kind of took that for granted, but then I was
3:14
Speaker 1: talking to my wife and she was like Toledo, like
3:17
Speaker 1: you know, she was like curious about it, and I
3:18
Speaker 1: was like, well, actually, I guess it wouldn't have been
3:22
Speaker 1: that crazy if he went to Erie. He only spent
3:24
Speaker 1: forty three games in Erie last year, so like it
3:27
Speaker 1: wouldn't have been that crazy to kind of just get
3:30
Speaker 1: him there, to get you know, his feet underneath him
3:32
Speaker 1: and then kind of you know, moving up to Toledo.
3:34
Speaker 1: But but probably the right move to start a mount
3:37
Speaker 1: in Triple A. And I think it's pretty certain that
3:41
Speaker 1: we'll see him at some point this year, probably later
3:44
Speaker 1: in the year. Like these things happen, He's going to
3:46
Speaker 1: be one of the guys that people will be clamoring
3:48
Speaker 1: for to see. The organization is gonna want to know
3:50
Speaker 1: what they have in him, and you know, at this level,
3:54
Speaker 1: so we want, well not the last time we'll be
3:58
Speaker 1: hearing from Max Clark, that is pretty certain. And and
4:02
Speaker 1: then obviously the other kind of big name from and
4:06
Speaker 1: you know, kind of re emergence into the public eye
4:09
Speaker 1: would be one Bryce Rainer. So somebody who I think
4:13
Speaker 1: like everybody just loves, like from his draft process, like
4:18
Speaker 1: you know, and then you know the fact that he
4:20
Speaker 1: fell like it was like this like great fortune that
4:23
Speaker 1: the Tigers were able to to draft him, come to
4:25
Speaker 1: an agreement with him, and and he kind of has
4:28
Speaker 1: burst on the scene. Weirdly like twice in this in
4:32
Speaker 1: the breakout setting, as most people first time they saw
4:34
Speaker 1: him was in last year's Breakout Game, and then the
4:36
Speaker 1: first time we saw him this year because of the injury,
4:40
Speaker 1: was this year's Breakout Game. I know I like to
4:42
Speaker 1: give out nicknames, so I'm gonna get I'm gonna start
4:45
Speaker 1: a couple here for Bryce Rayner. I have two possibilities.
4:48
Speaker 1: Is it? Could it be mister Breakout or Breakout Bryce?
4:52
Speaker 1: What do you think?
4:53
Speaker 2: Hmmm, well, those seem pretty good. They might not be
4:55
Speaker 2: as applicable one day when he's no longer playing in
4:58
Speaker 2: spring breakouts, but yeah, he's been kind of a star
5:01
Speaker 2: of these things two years in a row. I'll just
5:03
Speaker 2: say I'm not liking his swinger right now. He's always
5:06
Speaker 2: had a bit of a leg kick. Right now he's
5:08
Speaker 2: got this huge flag hike and kind of a big
5:11
Speaker 2: hand movement, almost like an arm bar movement. I was
5:14
Speaker 2: watching BP and I was like almost started laughing. I
5:18
Speaker 2: was like, who is that? And I was like, wait,
5:21
Speaker 2: that's Rainer. This kid's really good. His swing seems to
5:26
Speaker 2: have become a more exaggerated version of what it once was,
5:29
Speaker 2: and he had a base knock, you know, kind of
5:32
Speaker 2: right off the bat, so what do I know? But
5:35
Speaker 2: also looks like something that is not going to play
5:37
Speaker 2: well against velocity or even elite spin. So interested. I
5:42
Speaker 2: think there's some videos of it out there on social
5:45
Speaker 2: media if you want to see the new Bryce Rayner swing.
5:48
Speaker 2: It has me a little worried, but probably the more
5:50
Speaker 2: important thing, Hey, this kid is back on the field.
5:52
Speaker 2: He is healthy. Remember he was not initially listed on
5:56
Speaker 2: the spring breakout roster. He was. He played thh Talking
6:00
Speaker 2: to Ryan Garko, the Tigers had a player development. Rayern
6:04
Speaker 2: has been playing shortstop on the backfield. They're kind of
6:06
Speaker 2: building up the workload, like start with three innings, then
6:09
Speaker 2: five innings, and soon he'll be at nine innings. They
6:12
Speaker 2: expect him to be cleared to play fully in the
6:14
Speaker 2: field one opening day. He'll probably start in Class A Lakeland.
6:20
Speaker 2: I wouldn't be surprised if it's a short stay there
6:22
Speaker 2: and then get him bumped up to West Michigan. Remember
6:24
Speaker 2: he had shoulder surgery last season. Seems like that's come
6:28
Speaker 2: along well. The arms feeling normal. The Tigers are encouraged that,
6:31
Speaker 2: you know, they think the arm action is the same
6:33
Speaker 2: there's the same zip on the throws. So that's the
6:36
Speaker 2: most important thing with rayn Or good to just to
6:38
Speaker 2: see him back in action.
6:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, I commend you for just flawlessly spitting out shoulder surgery.
6:46
Speaker 1: That was that was great. That was great. That it's
6:49
Speaker 1: hard to do. It's hard to do real talk, it's
6:50
Speaker 1: hard to do. Uh yeah. And also to like, you know,
6:54
Speaker 1: the the cool thing about this breakout is we get
6:57
Speaker 1: a little bit glipse into just like the enthusiasm and
7:00
Speaker 1: that the organization has for these guys. And Chris Rodriguez
7:04
Speaker 1: is another one that the organization seems pretty high on.
7:07
Speaker 1: And and I don't know, like there there seems to
7:11
Speaker 1: be a little bit of a knowledge of his flaws
7:16
Speaker 1: more because we've seen a little bit more from him now.
7:19
Speaker 1: You know, it was in the Dominican League. But the
7:21
Speaker 1: Tigers seem to be just kind of betting on tools
7:24
Speaker 1: with him and then getting and then being able to
7:26
Speaker 1: refine those tools. Is that kind of how we should
7:28
Speaker 1: look at Chris right now?
7:30
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, He's he's kind of a fascinating prospect in
7:33
Speaker 2: a way. You know, record Tiger's franchise record for international bonus.
7:39
Speaker 2: They clearly think he's very talented. He clearly is very talented.
7:42
Speaker 2: I mean just looking at him. He's eighteen, and he's
7:45
Speaker 2: kind of got a grown man frame that's only going
7:47
Speaker 2: to keep getting bigger and stronger in a good way.
7:51
Speaker 2: He's posted some pretty absurd exit velocities, you know, throughout
7:55
Speaker 2: his short pro career. Seems like he can play the
7:58
Speaker 2: field pretty well. Is infielder, corner outfielder, we'll see, but
8:02
Speaker 2: big time arm the bat is interesting though, like maybe
8:06
Speaker 2: there is star potential. You can talk to some people
8:09
Speaker 2: who think this dude could be a star, and then
8:13
Speaker 2: it's hard to get over what some of the data
8:15
Speaker 2: from just his stay in the Dominican Summer League suggests
8:18
Speaker 2: a really low contact rate, basically a lot of swing
8:21
Speaker 2: and miss. There's some chase, but even pitches in the zone,
8:25
Speaker 2: he struggled posting a consistent contact rate or a good
8:29
Speaker 2: contact right And if you're doing that in the Dominican
8:31
Speaker 2: Summer League, where he hit over three hundred and had
8:34
Speaker 2: ten homers and double digit steals, but if you're not
8:37
Speaker 2: making consistent contact in the Dominican Summer League, what's that
8:40
Speaker 2: going to look like in high A double, A TRIPA
8:43
Speaker 2: a let alone the major leagues. It is a little
8:45
Speaker 2: bit reminds you a little bit maybe of the Roberto
8:49
Speaker 2: compos profile. I think he's even more talented than compos
8:53
Speaker 2: Ever was. But talking to Garko about it, like, hey,
8:57
Speaker 2: he's eighteen, they want to get him to use the
8:59
Speaker 2: whole felt get out of the pull mentality a little more.
9:02
Speaker 2: They think if they just kind of refine that, like
9:05
Speaker 2: he's still learning the game, you know, he's eighteen years old.
9:07
Speaker 2: They think with some subtle refinements, maybe they can overcome that,
9:10
Speaker 2: and this kid could be a really tremendous player. But
9:15
Speaker 2: there are definitely some red flags in the very limited
9:18
Speaker 2: data sample we have right now.
9:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'll tell you, you know, off the field
9:24
Speaker 1: stuff like I I like it. You know, you put
9:27
Speaker 1: in your story that he did the majority of the
9:30
Speaker 1: interview in English, and.
9:32
Speaker 2: He's learned English really quickly, doing really well, which is
9:34
Speaker 2: not an easy thing to do.
9:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, not an easy thing to do, especially when like
9:39
Speaker 1: he's trying to literally he's eighteen. He's trying to literally
9:42
Speaker 1: learn everything including like how to play baseball and on
9:44
Speaker 1: you know, life stuff in general, and on top of
9:47
Speaker 1: that learning new language and then again feeling comfortable enough
9:50
Speaker 1: to do an interview in that second language, you know,
9:53
Speaker 1: in a different country, like all these things, like we
9:56
Speaker 1: just kind of take a really thirty thousand feet view,
9:59
Speaker 1: like impressive makeup, I would say, in addition to the tool.
10:03
Speaker 1: So if you want to you know, if you want
10:04
Speaker 1: to say, like bet on Chris Rodriguez, it'd be for
10:07
Speaker 1: those reasons.
10:08
Speaker 2: So yeah, a little bit of a magnetic personality. Seems
10:11
Speaker 2: like everyone really likes this guy. Just talking to Jordan Jost,
10:13
Speaker 2: like Jordan jostl like, you know, he he's awesome. You know,
10:16
Speaker 2: we're always talking. At first, I didn't even know if
10:18
Speaker 2: he could understand me, but like he can, he understands
10:20
Speaker 2: it perfectly, and like everybody likes this guy. So that's
10:24
Speaker 2: something you know about Rodriguez. And a quick note on
10:27
Speaker 2: yost Man, who homered in his first big league spring
10:29
Speaker 2: training at bad and it's already getting a little bigger.
10:32
Speaker 2: We've talked about that. He's also gotten faster and that
10:34
Speaker 2: was kind of one display he scored on night. I
10:36
Speaker 2: think it was a rainer single, really wheeled around a
10:40
Speaker 2: third and home. I don't think there was any data
10:42
Speaker 2: on how fast he was going, but Garko said, no,
10:45
Speaker 2: we knew he was fast, but he could have like
10:47
Speaker 2: sixty to sixty five speed on the twenty to eighty
10:50
Speaker 2: scouting scale. So pretty good first glimpse of Jordan Host.
10:57
Speaker 1: That does change how I might even, you know, what
11:01
Speaker 1: my hype level would be over the next you know,
11:03
Speaker 1: couple of years. If he can if he could be
11:05
Speaker 1: sixty sixty five, that that changed that time.
11:07
Speaker 2: They're just starting to be like, wow, did they get
11:09
Speaker 2: this right? Because like I've said, he looks young man,
11:14
Speaker 2: but one day he's going to grow and he's going
11:17
Speaker 2: to fill out. And if he's already, you know, if
11:19
Speaker 2: he's if he has that type of speed, he seems
11:21
Speaker 2: like a good defender. We don't even know what he's
11:24
Speaker 2: going to be as a hitter until he physically matures
11:26
Speaker 2: a little bit more.
11:28
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, a lot of guys, you know, we talked
11:30
Speaker 1: about it was a little thin on that you know,
11:32
Speaker 1: breakout hype stuff, but then we just spent ten minutes
11:35
Speaker 1: like talking about these these names that you know are
11:38
Speaker 1: going to be fun to follow this season and obviously
11:41
Speaker 1: seasons moving forward, all right, trying to pay some bills.
11:45
Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by Seat Geek. You
11:48
Speaker 1: know what, Cody, I am excited for. Of course, you
11:51
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12:22
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Speaker 1: to your account. Thank you seeking All right, coming back here,
13:08
Speaker 1: I think it's fair to call this the end of camp, Cody.
13:10
Speaker 1: I know they got some exhibitions, and I know some
13:12
Speaker 1: roster decisions still, you know, are to be made, including
13:16
Speaker 1: the big one, which obviously we'll talk about.
13:19
Speaker 2: Other teams just make decisions like at the actual end
13:22
Speaker 2: of spring training, the Tigers, like, how can we draw
13:25
Speaker 2: an extra two or three more days out of.
13:26
Speaker 1: This definition of to each their own, right. So so
13:34
Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this the end of camp podcast. So
13:37
Speaker 1: I'll ask you, having followed you know, the team from
13:41
Speaker 1: from day one today, end and again, I guess technically
13:45
Speaker 1: the end, we're gonna call it the end. What are
13:47
Speaker 1: you coming out of camp thinking? What are you coming
13:50
Speaker 1: out of camp feeling? Because this was this was a
13:55
Speaker 1: this was a couple months here of some like big
13:58
Speaker 1: storylines and then just some kind of rudimentary things that
14:01
Speaker 1: happened that we know are gonna like be a big
14:04
Speaker 1: part of this team. But we just didn't even spend
14:06
Speaker 1: hardly any time talking about those guys. So how are
14:09
Speaker 1: you feeling about the Tigers as they venture out of Lake?
14:14
Speaker 2: Camp started on a really positive note, bringing in from
14:17
Speaker 2: Rivaldez and Justin Verlander, thenk Kevin mcgonag will burst onto
14:21
Speaker 2: the scene. I don't think that vibe ever really went away.
14:24
Speaker 2: I think this was in a way kind of the
14:27
Speaker 2: first spring where I was like, oh, like, I cover
14:30
Speaker 2: a good team. Now a lot happened through the course
14:33
Speaker 2: of a season. We will see what happens. But even
14:36
Speaker 2: you know, last year they were coming off a playoff run,
14:38
Speaker 2: but they were still so young. There were just a
14:41
Speaker 2: lot of questions. Turns out they got off to a
14:43
Speaker 2: terrific start. But now this is a battle tested, back
14:46
Speaker 2: to back playoff team, brought in, you know, the best
14:50
Speaker 2: starting pitcher on the market, added the legitimacy of bringing
14:54
Speaker 2: back Verlander. You have one of the most exciting prospects
14:57
Speaker 2: in the game, in addition to other guys who were
14:59
Speaker 2: really productive and like I hesitate to even proclaim this,
15:04
Speaker 2: but like they were really healthy, you know, I mean
15:07
Speaker 2: every camp has this injuries and Troy Melton unfortunately, even
15:11
Speaker 2: at the end of camp, Jake Rogers a mild concussion,
15:13
Speaker 2: although so far, so good, they're still hoping he will
15:16
Speaker 2: be ready for opening Day. A couple other little things,
15:19
Speaker 2: but in terms of guys you were really expecting to
15:22
Speaker 2: be contributors on the major league roster. Everyone made it
15:26
Speaker 2: out of Lakeland alive, you know, which is rarely the case.
15:30
Speaker 2: Certainly was not the case one year ago when you
15:32
Speaker 2: had Parker Meadow's, Matt Vierling, Winsel Perez all go down.
15:37
Speaker 2: You know, your center field depth was just depleted from
15:40
Speaker 2: day one. You hope that there's not like a cost
15:44
Speaker 2: to pay and everyone is injured in May or something.
15:47
Speaker 2: But for right now, I'm taking it as a good
15:49
Speaker 2: thing that they got out of camp healthy and still
15:52
Speaker 2: with a lot of moment I'm heading into this season.
15:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I think there's something to be said
16:00
Speaker 1: about sustaining a level of excitement and enthusiasm, and you know,
16:05
Speaker 1: if we want to say momentum from from the beginning
16:08
Speaker 1: of spring training to you know, as we hear are
16:11
Speaker 1: on the cusp of opening day, and and I think
16:14
Speaker 1: like they're like the twenty twenty six spring training will
16:19
Speaker 1: obviously be looked through the lens of the Kevin McGonagall
16:22
Speaker 1: coming out party, and they're gonna be you know, ten, fifteen,
16:27
Speaker 1: twenty years, people are gonna say he batted six hundred,
16:30
Speaker 1: you know, like like like the big Fish story is
16:33
Speaker 1: going to get larger and larger and larger. But the
16:37
Speaker 1: man has done nothing but perform and kind of like
16:40
Speaker 1: outdo himself and give us more reasons to hype him up.
16:45
Speaker 1: And that included Saturday, you know, the Lakeland finale, when
16:51
Speaker 1: he made a couple diving stops, started a couple you know,
16:54
Speaker 1: five four to three double plays, and you know, I
17:00
Speaker 1: just have to keep saying it because I've said it repeatedly,
17:02
Speaker 1: but then he keeps doing more things where it's like
17:04
Speaker 1: I just the reasons to not bring him up seemed
17:07
Speaker 1: to be fewer and fewer and fewer and fewer. And
17:10
Speaker 1: that's a credit to him, because I don't know what
17:12
Speaker 1: you could possibly say as like, well, this thing, I
17:15
Speaker 1: don't know, man, I passed every test to me, and
17:18
Speaker 1: I don't know what more the Tigers want to see.
17:20
Speaker 1: I guess that's a question only they can answer.
17:23
Speaker 2: Well, what if I told you Kevin McGonagall went four
17:26
Speaker 2: for twenty seven in Grapefruit League play in the month
17:30
Speaker 2: of March. Would that changed your mind at all?
17:33
Speaker 1: No, I'm good, I'm good. I'm good.
17:36
Speaker 2: I might be with you, But it's true Kevin McGonagall
17:39
Speaker 2: was four for twenty seven and as last thirteen Greape
17:42
Speaker 2: Fruit League games. For as much as he's been this sensation,
17:45
Speaker 2: he did cool off. Now that's where it becomes kind
17:50
Speaker 2: of interesting because like, Okay, all we talk about is
17:53
Speaker 2: speiled spring training stats don't matter. So how much does
17:56
Speaker 2: it matter that he was four for twenty seven. In
17:59
Speaker 2: a way, I find it encouraging that he still walked
18:03
Speaker 2: more than he struck out in that time period. He
18:05
Speaker 2: had a three seventy eight one base percentage in that
18:08
Speaker 2: four for twenty seven stretch. So some of the things
18:12
Speaker 2: beneath the service you're evaluating his swing decisions, even you
18:16
Speaker 2: know he's still hit for some power like that didn't
18:20
Speaker 2: really change my eye test evaluation of Kevin McGonagall did
18:24
Speaker 2: not change some of the underlying stuff in terms of uh,
18:28
Speaker 2: it maybe had a couple of bats mixed in there,
18:30
Speaker 2: but I would venture to say the swing decisions, the
18:33
Speaker 2: data there is still really positive. But if the Tigers
18:37
Speaker 2: were looking for a reason to start Kevin McGonagall in
18:41
Speaker 2: Triple A, like if they were looking for even the
18:44
Speaker 2: slightest doubt. I'm not even talking about service time. I'm
18:47
Speaker 2: just talking about it, like the idea of not having
18:50
Speaker 2: him skip an entire level, maybe a four for twenty
18:53
Speaker 2: seventh stretch opens that door just enough that he could.
18:58
Speaker 2: I don't know what's gonna happen. I expect we'll find
19:00
Speaker 2: out probably Wednesday, maybe late Tuesday. It's totally a matter
19:06
Speaker 2: of what they are prioritizing. If they really want to
19:09
Speaker 2: be uber cautious with his development, he could start in
19:12
Speaker 2: Triple A if they are attuned to service time. He
19:15
Speaker 2: could start in Triple A if they really think he's
19:18
Speaker 2: great and could warrant them some draft picks through the
19:21
Speaker 2: prospect promotion incentive. Maybe he starts in the major leagues,
19:25
Speaker 2: or the date to actually retain eligibility for that I
19:28
Speaker 2: think is April ninth. I don't see much point in
19:31
Speaker 2: having him go down for like ten days or something.
19:34
Speaker 2: But you know, he could and still be draft pick
19:37
Speaker 2: eligible if he's up by April ninth. This is a
19:40
Speaker 2: hard decision, I think, you know, after trying to stay
19:44
Speaker 2: on the conservative side of this for so long, just
19:47
Speaker 2: watching him, the way he goes about his business, the
19:49
Speaker 2: way he was in the field, really really exceeded my
19:53
Speaker 2: expectations there. I kind of think this guy should be
19:56
Speaker 2: on the opening day roster. But if he's not, don't
20:00
Speaker 2: think there are gonna be some people who want to
20:01
Speaker 2: act outraged, and I don't think that's really the appropriate
20:05
Speaker 2: spot response. So this kid's gonna get in the big
20:07
Speaker 2: leagues and he's gonna play, and he's gonna be good.
20:10
Speaker 2: There's no doubt about that. If the Tigers want to say,
20:14
Speaker 2: all right, we're gonna at least show him the Triple
20:17
Speaker 2: A level, we're gonna be a little careful because of
20:20
Speaker 2: how talented we think he is. He Even if we
20:22
Speaker 2: happen to get another team, your team control, that doesn't
20:25
Speaker 2: hurt either. If that's the path they choose. Man, I
20:28
Speaker 2: understand it, and I'm okay with it. As much as
20:31
Speaker 2: he had a great spring like he did, finally cool
20:34
Speaker 2: off a little bit so I can see how that
20:36
Speaker 2: door opens. It's a really tough call, and that's why
20:40
Speaker 2: Scott Harris and his staff is making the big bucks
20:44
Speaker 2: to get this call right.
20:48
Speaker 1: I just feel like, you know, if at this point,
20:52
Speaker 1: you know we're recording this early evening Sunday, March twenty second.
20:55
Speaker 1: At this point, they have to have a decision, like
20:59
Speaker 1: like I just feel like, like whether they announce it
21:02
Speaker 1: or not, like what data points gonna come out like
21:04
Speaker 1: here in the next couple of days. That's gonna tilt
21:06
Speaker 1: the scales. So I feel like at this point that
21:09
Speaker 1: a decision has been made, barring something, and maybe like
21:12
Speaker 1: that decision's made, but they got to figure out what
21:15
Speaker 1: the ramifications of that decision are, and maybe that's really
21:19
Speaker 1: what's more at play. I guess that is, you know,
21:21
Speaker 1: theoretically possible, but and also to a certain extent, believe
21:27
Speaker 1: that if he does not break second camp exhibitions whatever
21:33
Speaker 1: with with the team, then I almost would wonder if
21:37
Speaker 1: the decision was predetermined because while you know, there are
21:43
Speaker 1: some data points here and you know, you pointed out
21:45
Speaker 1: like you know, he cooled off and all that stuff,
21:48
Speaker 1: I just I do firmly believe that they went into
21:52
Speaker 1: camp thinking this is the right move for us long
21:57
Speaker 1: term and for him long term, and unless something just
22:01
Speaker 1: absolutely bonkers happens, that's pretty much gonna beat the decision.
22:07
Speaker 1: It's been kind of bonkers, but it's not been absolutely
22:09
Speaker 1: bonkers with Ken mcgonaga. So that's my opinion, decisions made
22:14
Speaker 1: right now. They just aren't telling us because they don't
22:17
Speaker 1: ever want to do anything unless they absolutely have to.
22:20
Speaker 1: So once they absolutely have to, they will let us
22:21
Speaker 1: know and we will react.
22:24
Speaker 2: From I've said before, like why is he still here
22:27
Speaker 2: if they're just gonna option in? But John Peck is
22:30
Speaker 2: still in camp too, and no offense. John Peck, who
22:33
Speaker 2: had a very nice camp and we talked about put
22:35
Speaker 2: himself on the radar a little bit of someone who's
22:37
Speaker 2: eventually going to probably contribute. You know, they're taking them
22:41
Speaker 2: Max Anderson, they're taking some of these guys West and
22:44
Speaker 2: let's just be real, someone like Peck it's not gonna
22:46
Speaker 2: be on the team. So I don't know if McGonagall
22:50
Speaker 2: is related to that, if it's something about keeping those
22:52
Speaker 2: guys together, if it's I don't know. I find the
22:55
Speaker 2: approach interesting. And again, there are a lot of other
22:58
Speaker 2: teams who are not doing it anywhere close to this way.
23:01
Speaker 2: They're making their final decisions this weekend and rolling with it.
23:05
Speaker 2: The Tigers like to take every single second. I would
23:08
Speaker 2: like to think they got to know if this kid
23:10
Speaker 2: is on the team or not, but maybe they see
23:13
Speaker 2: value in continuing to debate it and bounce it around
23:16
Speaker 2: in their own minds.
23:19
Speaker 1: I guess said for the second time on this episode,
23:21
Speaker 1: teach their own All right, we're going to get to
23:24
Speaker 1: some more winners and impressions from spring training, But first
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24:34
Speaker 1: You all right coming back here. Another sort of like
24:42
Speaker 1: repeated storyline, but again worth repeating has been Matt Vierlein,
24:46
Speaker 1: who has done everything possible to like give us positive
24:53
Speaker 1: vibes and quite frankly maybe even like is there something
24:58
Speaker 1: we probably haven't seen before in him? Because he I'm
25:02
Speaker 1: looking at his stats right now. He led the team
25:04
Speaker 1: in hits with fourteen, He had ten, Ribby's two home runs,
25:07
Speaker 1: a triple, five doubles, led the team in total bases
25:10
Speaker 1: with twenty seven, you know in three zero four value average,
25:14
Speaker 1: like oh, you know stats, you know, thring training chats.
25:17
Speaker 1: But still, he was very impressive, and I think we will,
25:22
Speaker 1: like right now, we're probably taking for granted like the
25:26
Speaker 1: fact that he has been this good because there was
25:29
Speaker 1: a very real possibility with all this kind of roster
25:32
Speaker 1: maneuvering that that the Tigers may or may not end
25:35
Speaker 1: up having to do that. Matt Beerley looked like somebody
25:39
Speaker 1: who was a preacher approaching like his physical decline, he
25:43
Speaker 1: had some uncomfortable conversations. Instead we're doing the exact opposite.
25:47
Speaker 1: So he's he he might be the biggest winner with
25:52
Speaker 1: respect to mcgonagles. We don't know what his real role is.
25:55
Speaker 1: We know what Vierling's role is. We know we can do.
25:57
Speaker 1: It's you know, proof positive. Just an amazing spring from
26:02
Speaker 1: Matt Feverley and other winners I have from spring training.
26:04
Speaker 1: Drew Anderson again, another guy who had had this team,
26:09
Speaker 1: looked like it was just right before uh spring training.
26:13
Speaker 1: We would have been analyzing him a lot more in depth,
26:16
Speaker 1: but he he looked, he looked great, justin Verlander. You
26:20
Speaker 1: know the vibes, you know his outings like you know,
26:23
Speaker 1: the classic ramp up like you know, couldn't couldn't do
26:26
Speaker 1: much more than that. And Manuel Dejesuss gets added to
26:30
Speaker 1: the forty man presumably we'll be on the roster, but
26:32
Speaker 1: again we don't bus man. He's been good. Yeah, and
26:38
Speaker 1: just you know, huge winner there. I want to shout
26:40
Speaker 1: out I meant to do it last episode, Cody, but
26:42
Speaker 1: I want to shout out Jase Young, who put together
26:45
Speaker 1: a double digit hit spring training and including a triple
26:49
Speaker 1: fun fact.
26:50
Speaker 4: So.
26:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, make sure I have that right. Yeah, he had
26:54
Speaker 1: a triple more histon Chemcgonagall, Jay Young. This is a
26:56
Speaker 1: guy who, again it was very real possibility he could
26:59
Speaker 1: kind of be like left on the side of the
27:01
Speaker 1: road metaphorically speaking with this roster. I think he has
27:05
Speaker 1: done enough to you know, have a seat at the table.
27:10
Speaker 1: I guess not necessarily the big boys table over here,
27:12
Speaker 1: but like this other table that's gonna be important and
27:15
Speaker 1: you're gonna be called upon for your service, and the
27:18
Speaker 1: defensive versatility aspect of this will certainly help him. And
27:22
Speaker 1: then I want to we didn't really talk so much
27:24
Speaker 1: Riley Green this spring, but he was actually second on
27:29
Speaker 1: the team and hits. So Riley Green just kind of
27:31
Speaker 1: doing his thing, you know, and you know, we didn't
27:34
Speaker 1: have to. We don't have any kind of cliche I
27:38
Speaker 1: did this with my diet thing. It was it was
27:40
Speaker 1: just kind of like spring training twenty twenty six. Riley
27:42
Speaker 1: Green the ballplayer, and he went out there and he raked.
27:45
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, maybe that whole conversation about Riley not having
27:48
Speaker 2: to make any massive overhauls worked out. Se had what
27:50
Speaker 2: to eighty something few homers see what it's like when
27:53
Speaker 2: he starts really getting pitched hard. But yeah, kind of
27:58
Speaker 2: took that for granted. Riley Green had himself a nice spring. Verling,
28:02
Speaker 2: of course, I'm so interested to see what kind of
28:04
Speaker 2: year he's gonna have, even how he's going to be
28:06
Speaker 2: used to the fact he didn't play third base at all.
28:09
Speaker 2: Just how will kind of the playing time shake out.
28:12
Speaker 2: How's the Parker Meadows conversation relate to that? But an
28:16
Speaker 2: interesting year for Vierling, who, even though he had a
28:18
Speaker 2: really nice year two years ago, there was kind of
28:20
Speaker 2: always this thought like, well, could there still be a
28:23
Speaker 2: little more in there? You know that the guy who's
28:26
Speaker 2: kind of a stat cast Darling finally had a good year.
28:30
Speaker 2: Could there be even another gear? And then he gets
28:32
Speaker 2: hurt and we had no idea last year and that
28:35
Speaker 2: whole conversation kind of stopped and it was just like, Okay,
28:38
Speaker 2: are we sure he's still on the team, And now
28:39
Speaker 2: it's like keep an eye on Matt Vierling this season.
28:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I agree, I agree, and like it. It's
28:48
Speaker 1: it's a reminder that, like, if the dude's good and
28:53
Speaker 1: then he has like one of these injuries, he should
28:55
Speaker 1: still be good. So like don't like, you know, like
28:58
Speaker 1: count you know, count a out too quickly, which you know,
29:01
Speaker 1: sometimes we're a little bit too forward thinking when when
29:04
Speaker 1: we when we talk about you know, teams and projections
29:06
Speaker 1: and all that stuff, and you know where your feet
29:08
Speaker 1: are is Matt Beverlyan is a really good baseball player.
29:11
Speaker 1: Uh So, Yeah, I also have a category cody of
29:15
Speaker 1: and I'm not gonna use the L word here, but
29:17
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have a category of guys who did not
29:20
Speaker 1: win Spring Training. And since we already kind of mentioned him,
29:23
Speaker 1: like talk about off the top here Max Clark, I'm
29:26
Speaker 1: sure this will be something of an experience that he
29:30
Speaker 1: looks back on and sees that it's valuable and for
29:33
Speaker 1: all the reasons that we previously discussed. But you know,
29:35
Speaker 1: two hits, you know, first time at big league camp,
29:37
Speaker 1: you see like your campadre, and you know, Kevin mcgonag'll
29:41
Speaker 1: do all the stuff that he did, and you know
29:44
Speaker 1: it really probably I'm not gonna say the first taste
29:47
Speaker 1: because I'm sure he's dealt with it as long as
29:49
Speaker 1: Max Clark has been Max Clark, but on a real
29:52
Speaker 1: national scale, kind of the first taste of like the
29:57
Speaker 1: venom that comes your way when you're just a little
29:59
Speaker 1: bit different, you know.
30:01
Speaker 2: So, And I'm gonna say this on Max just I
30:05
Speaker 2: have been thinking about it. I think it's pretty clear
30:06
Speaker 2: we've been kind of Max Clark supporters in a way.
30:10
Speaker 2: I don't care what he wears. I don't care many
30:13
Speaker 2: tattoos he has, I don't care how many chains he wears.
30:17
Speaker 2: Like maybe tone down the Instagram post though, I don't
30:20
Speaker 2: know if we need the cash and the cars and
30:22
Speaker 2: the cigars. I mean, good for you for having that,
30:24
Speaker 2: but like maybe I think you got to prove yourself
30:28
Speaker 2: a little bit more on the field before you start
30:30
Speaker 2: doing that stuff or it could I understand why that
30:33
Speaker 2: one's gonna rub people the wrong way.
30:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I think anybody who's had social media
30:39
Speaker 1: can say, like five years looking back at all posts,
30:42
Speaker 1: like you know what I mean. So, like, I'm sure
30:45
Speaker 1: Max Clerk will probably because again he is a mature
30:48
Speaker 1: minded person, like he will probably look back and be like, yeah,
30:51
Speaker 1: that was kind of silly, And I think that's fair.
30:53
Speaker 1: I think that's uh So, another one that you already
30:58
Speaker 1: mentioned Cody who did not win Spring Training was Troy Melton,
31:01
Speaker 1: who you know obviously got hurt where you know, he's
31:05
Speaker 1: on the stixy day I L So we don't you know,
31:07
Speaker 1: I don't know exactly how this will play out, but
31:10
Speaker 1: we do have some of a timeline when he would
31:12
Speaker 1: be able to, uh to perform in theory. Uh, this
31:17
Speaker 1: is a guy who might have had I'm trying to
31:22
Speaker 1: find the right word. That's not insultings. I just kind
31:24
Speaker 1: of mean it as a status thing, like might have
31:27
Speaker 1: had like as step a decline, as as anybody in
31:32
Speaker 1: Tiger's camp, just because like you know, Tiger's camp starts
31:34
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden from bird Erlander are in
31:38
Speaker 1: and then also you get hurt, so like you don't
31:41
Speaker 1: even have the you just denver had the chance to
31:44
Speaker 1: like show what your stuff is. So I mean, like
31:47
Speaker 1: I'm not riding off Troy Melton or anything. I'm just saying, like,
31:49
Speaker 1: how are we talking about Troy Melton just a couple
31:52
Speaker 1: of months ago versus like the fact that we just
31:54
Speaker 1: don't talk about him now because of because of those things.
31:58
Speaker 1: So I'd like that do ALU, he is somebody who
32:01
Speaker 1: did not win Spring training because you know.
32:03
Speaker 2: He got hurt, So you and hope his throwing program
32:06
Speaker 2: goes well. And he is able to get on the
32:08
Speaker 2: mound this season, that would be a good first step here.
32:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Wentzel Perez. Wentel Perez is somebody that I
32:19
Speaker 1: I believe and we talked about it, but like there's
32:25
Speaker 1: versatility there. I still like there's He's kind of been
32:29
Speaker 1: the victim of the notion of he is what he is,
32:34
Speaker 1: and he is what he is is a valuable member
32:38
Speaker 1: of your team, of your major league team, Wentzel Perez
32:41
Speaker 1: is and could be a valuable member of your team.
32:44
Speaker 1: But when you look at upside, that's where the roster
32:50
Speaker 1: spots probably will be leaned toward, and he might just
32:56
Speaker 1: be on the outside looking in temporarily obviously we don't
32:59
Speaker 1: know that. But and then just performance wise, he didn't
33:02
Speaker 1: do anything to like you know, he was he batted
33:06
Speaker 1: one fifty eight uh in spring so but but I
33:11
Speaker 1: still believe in Winzel Paris. But he just you know,
33:14
Speaker 1: he just didn't win spring training.
33:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, twelve strikeouts, only three walks. Definitely a not a
33:20
Speaker 2: good spring And you can you can kind of see
33:22
Speaker 2: it just through his demeanor, his body language by the end,
33:25
Speaker 2: kind of tough to see such an upbeat guy like
33:28
Speaker 2: Winswell just clearly frustrated. If you want some evidence that
33:32
Speaker 2: he could still have a good year, though, look no
33:34
Speaker 2: further than the fact he hit one oh seven in
33:37
Speaker 2: spring training last year. He was battling a back injury.
33:40
Speaker 2: I kind of think throughout that camp, but he was
33:43
Speaker 2: worse last year than he was this year and still
33:46
Speaker 2: ended up being productive in the regular season.
33:52
Speaker 1: Yeah. And lastly, uh, Cody, I have on here. I
33:58
Speaker 1: gotta say Trek Scoogle, like Tarrek School did not win
34:03
Speaker 1: twenty twenty six spring training. He you know, the momentum
34:07
Speaker 1: was there to be had with with with the arbitration win,
34:11
Speaker 1: and then you know, sort of like an old guard
34:13
Speaker 1: new guard thing that he could do. It mean, you know,
34:16
Speaker 1: is doing with Justin Verlander. But between the WBC stuff,
34:21
Speaker 1: which again this is not us assessing blame or you
34:26
Speaker 1: know anything like that, just what the public reaction was
34:29
Speaker 1: the WBC stuff, And then you know, I would say,
34:33
Speaker 1: just not being as sharp as as as your accustomed
34:37
Speaker 1: to seeing Tarrek School will be. And like, I don't know, dude,
34:42
Speaker 1: Like I was thinking about it today, I was like,
34:45
Speaker 1: could we be entering like the villain era for Tarrek School?
34:49
Speaker 1: Like a sentence I never thought I would say, because
34:52
Speaker 1: it seems like a guy that like has been too
34:55
Speaker 1: good for too long and now people kind of want
34:57
Speaker 1: to see him go down a peg, like nationally speak.
35:00
Speaker 1: Obviously Tigers fans don't feel that way, but nationally speaking,
35:03
Speaker 1: Plus you're throwing the contract drama and all that stuff.
35:06
Speaker 1: So uh so, yeah, I just you know, his last
35:08
Speaker 1: spring training outing and he uses the word lethargic like,
35:11
Speaker 1: I just can't. I just can't say you won spring
35:13
Speaker 1: training when all these factors like come together.
35:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is weird to think of Terreik's skupable as
35:20
Speaker 2: a spring training loser. But just the the PR hit
35:24
Speaker 2: fair not and I again think a lot of it
35:26
Speaker 2: a little bit unfair, but fair not. Dude took a
35:29
Speaker 2: PR hit and then his last spring training outing was
35:32
Speaker 2: not good. The stuff was down across the board almost
35:35
Speaker 2: one point five to two miles an hour. Terrek used
35:38
Speaker 2: the word lethargic. He was not pleased with himself after
35:42
Speaker 2: the outing. Again, I hope we don't lose the authenticity
35:46
Speaker 2: of Errek's scuoble. Part of what makes him part of
35:50
Speaker 2: the you know, the hero narrative of Terrek Scouble is
35:53
Speaker 2: how likable, how accessible he's been. I don't know. I'm
35:57
Speaker 2: not saying this was a great question that I asked him,
35:59
Speaker 2: but I was just kind of trying to see if
36:01
Speaker 2: he would talk about his mindset at the end of
36:03
Speaker 2: camp a little bit, and I said, you know, some
36:05
Speaker 2: of the drama, the WBC stuff is over. Are you
36:09
Speaker 2: looking forward to it just being the regular season and
36:11
Speaker 2: just baseball? And the moment the acronym WBC came out
36:18
Speaker 2: of my mouth, I think he like stared through my soul.
36:22
Speaker 1: I don't know.
36:22
Speaker 2: Hopefully again we're able to just put this in the past.
36:25
Speaker 2: And he had a quick response he had clearly thought about.
36:29
Speaker 2: He said, the WBC it's over. I'm here to play
36:31
Speaker 2: for the Detroit Tigers and try to win eight World Series.
36:35
Speaker 2: Even though he was not happy in the moment, he
36:37
Speaker 2: said that that's are probably a pretty good quote. That's
36:40
Speaker 2: probably about as good of a thing as you can
36:42
Speaker 2: say at this point in time. So again, I'm hoping
36:46
Speaker 2: that Opening Day will be a little bit of a reset. Now,
36:51
Speaker 2: I wouldn't hat of terror just embraced the villain narrative
36:53
Speaker 2: like he'd be a pretty badass villain for lack of
36:55
Speaker 2: a better.
36:56
Speaker 1: Term, right a little bit, yeah, like villain right.
37:03
Speaker 2: The other thing though, like through with that, coming to mind,
37:07
Speaker 2: one thing that will get Treks Schooble people back on
37:10
Speaker 2: Trek Schoobl's side is just watching this stude pitch. He's
37:14
Speaker 2: really good and he is a very exciting pitcher. So
37:18
Speaker 2: let's see what the regular season brings.
37:22
Speaker 1: I will say this is just very random, but it
37:25
Speaker 1: is fun to watch a schoolbl start away from Kamerica.
37:30
Speaker 1: Because you hit you get like two types of fans.
37:34
Speaker 1: Ones that are just like in awe of n because
37:36
Speaker 1: you know how great he is. Like that obviously is
37:38
Speaker 1: a big thing. But then like the the jeering fan
37:42
Speaker 1: that maybe doesn't know enough to think like, oh I
37:45
Speaker 1: could get out of Tek Schooble skin. You know, it's
37:48
Speaker 1: like no, you can't, Like you just can't. You cannot
37:51
Speaker 1: get out of his skin. I mean it's good. Try.
37:53
Speaker 1: I don't mind you trying, because you know that's kind
37:56
Speaker 1: of what we're all here for. But it's just it's
37:58
Speaker 1: not gonna work. Like the school well like chance and
38:01
Speaker 1: a progressive field, it's like, yeah, like that bothers them,
38:05
Speaker 1: you know what I mean?
38:06
Speaker 2: So yeah, I don't think that bothers him. I am
38:09
Speaker 2: worried about the WBC stuff because the criticism just it
38:13
Speaker 2: was just different. It was just on a different level.
38:16
Speaker 2: Who knows what kind of stuff him and his family
38:19
Speaker 2: or yeah, it was more personal. Uh, this dude's a competitor.
38:23
Speaker 2: I don't think it's gonna phase him in the game.
38:25
Speaker 2: But it's like I said, I hope he's hope everyone's
38:29
Speaker 2: just kind of able to move on from that.
38:30
Speaker 1: We'll see, Yeah, I agree, all right. And then you know,
38:34
Speaker 1: so we have the you know who won spring training,
38:36
Speaker 1: we have who did not win spring training, and and
38:40
Speaker 1: I think appropriate fashion Cody with how what the Tigers
38:44
Speaker 1: record was, we have who tied spring training. That's like
38:48
Speaker 1: a list of names here of guys who tied spring training,
38:51
Speaker 1: didn't necessarily win, didn't necessarily not win. Uh. At the
38:54
Speaker 1: top of the list has got to be, in my opinion,
38:57
Speaker 1: Labor Torres, who trying to look at it, he uh,
39:02
Speaker 1: you know, obviously didn't have that many games with the Tigers,
39:05
Speaker 1: but he didn't do anything outrageous. But then he won
39:08
Speaker 1: a gold medal in the WBC. So it's like, you know,
39:10
Speaker 1: I can't like praise his spring training, but you want
39:15
Speaker 1: to gold out the WC, the DC. You're not gonna
39:18
Speaker 1: be a loser. So Labor Torre is up there. Uh,
39:21
Speaker 1: torqu kind of the same thing, very quiet spring even
39:25
Speaker 1: narrative wise, from from from Torque Carpenter, I would throw
39:29
Speaker 1: in there Montero because there was like a little bit
39:32
Speaker 1: of like, you know what, you know, what's the best
39:33
Speaker 1: use for him, and you know he's gonna be a
39:35
Speaker 1: starter stretched out and all that stuff. And and then
39:38
Speaker 1: Casey Mice for the reasons that we've talked about in
39:39
Speaker 1: previous episodes, where you know, I don't think his Hall
39:45
Speaker 1: of Fame resume is gonna lead with the twenty twenty
39:49
Speaker 1: six spring training stats that he put up, but it
39:52
Speaker 1: did seem like everyone got around to like, all right,
39:56
Speaker 1: this is what he's working on, and these are the
39:58
Speaker 1: good things that would translate into the regular sea he's in,
40:00
Speaker 1: like not dismissing the struggles, but like trying to put
40:04
Speaker 1: him in better context. Yeah, a lot of people kind
40:06
Speaker 1: of have in his back, I guess, is what I'm saying.
40:08
Speaker 1: So that's why I'm putting him in the in the
40:10
Speaker 1: tide category.
40:13
Speaker 2: Torklesen's an interesting one. We really didn't talk about him,
40:15
Speaker 2: it's on this spring. It kind of speaks to like
40:19
Speaker 2: for his up and down as he's been Like, I guess,
40:22
Speaker 2: I guess everyone feels pretty good, right. He hit won
40:25
Speaker 2: ninety one, walk nine strikeouts, had a couple homers, stung
40:29
Speaker 2: the ball a little bit better toward the end of camp.
40:31
Speaker 2: Also pads instances where he didn't. That's that's gonna be
40:36
Speaker 2: an interesting to watch, interesting one to watch too. I don't,
40:40
Speaker 2: I don't, I don't know. There could be a higher
40:41
Speaker 2: ceiling for Torque, there could be a lower floor, or
40:44
Speaker 2: it could just be like Suit's gonna go about his
40:46
Speaker 2: business and hit thirty homers and like be a rock
40:49
Speaker 2: solid first baseman. I don't even know where I land
40:52
Speaker 2: on that one. So interesting that that you bring that up.
40:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean there is something to be said, Like, uh,
41:03
Speaker 1: I do believe somewhat of a crucial year for Spencer
41:07
Speaker 1: Torklsen because he is still young, obviously, and he's got
41:13
Speaker 1: two thirty home run seasons to his name. Give him
41:16
Speaker 1: a lot of credit for that, and he's kind of
41:18
Speaker 1: stabilized the you know, one position with one position for
41:22
Speaker 1: the Tigers. But there are a number, you know, a
41:26
Speaker 1: couple of prospects, one big one in particular, who might
41:31
Speaker 1: have a major league bat ready in a not too
41:34
Speaker 1: distant future. And if we're talking about things maybe late
41:37
Speaker 1: this year or into twenty twenty seven, if that ever
41:40
Speaker 1: happens as a season, Uh, there could be some warming
41:46
Speaker 1: of this of the seat at first base, I think,
41:49
Speaker 1: is what I would say. So if he if he is, uh,
41:54
Speaker 1: if he struggles, then things get uncomfortable quickly long term
41:58
Speaker 1: for special talks.
41:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like probably getting a little ahead of ourselves,
42:02
Speaker 2: even though you're not necessarily wrong. Like, yeah, if he struggles,
42:05
Speaker 2: that conversation could change quickly. But let's let's see, and
42:09
Speaker 2: Casey Mai is, like I can already tell if he
42:11
Speaker 2: has a bad first outing, social media is going to
42:15
Speaker 2: be a blaze. I do wonder, like how many starts
42:19
Speaker 2: until we could actually until the team would start having
42:24
Speaker 2: a tough conversation if like Drew Anderson or Dajesus continues
42:28
Speaker 2: to shove out of the pin or if cater Montero
42:31
Speaker 2: is lighting it up in triple A. I don't really
42:33
Speaker 2: know the answer to that. I think the leash, even
42:37
Speaker 2: from the Tigers would be longer. It's not like Casey's
42:39
Speaker 2: been dominant for an extended stretch ever, but he has
42:44
Speaker 2: enough of a track record even just what he did
42:46
Speaker 2: last season, even though the second half wasn't years ago,
42:48
Speaker 2: is the first. Like, I don't think they're in a
42:50
Speaker 2: rush to kick Casey Mice out of the rotation or
42:53
Speaker 2: anything like that, but he's he's high on the list
42:57
Speaker 2: of things we might be talking about a lot in April.
43:01
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's gonna be a good tease for our
43:03
Speaker 1: next episode, which will be the episode that airs right
43:06
Speaker 1: before Opening Day, and we're gonna talk about different scenarios
43:11
Speaker 1: and who who you know, we'll make our annual bold
43:13
Speaker 1: predictions and then you know who's gonna make the biggest differences.
43:17
Speaker 1: All that stuff that will be on our next episode. So, man,
43:20
Speaker 1: I can't believe it. It's Opening week, Cody, it is
43:23
Speaker 1: Opening freaking week. I'm so excited. And again, you guys
43:26
Speaker 1: can follow along at Cody Staven Haagen, I'm at Kieran Underscore,
43:29
Speaker 1: Steckley pot page at Tiger Territory Underscore, Apple, Spotify, YouTube
43:34
Speaker 1: subscribe rate. We appreciate all of you, and welcome to
43:38
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty six MLB season. So for Cody Stavenhagen.
43:41
Speaker 1: I'm Kieran Steckley there. We have great there