DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers will kick off their spring training schedule Friday against Southeastern University, and three of the organization's top prospects will be on the roster.
No. 1 prospect Casey Mize and No. 9 prospect Kyle Funkhouser are expected to pitch at some point in the game, and No. 8 prospect Daz Cameron could see time in the outfield.
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For fans, who know this will be another season of rebuilding, the young players are the main reason to watch, especially during the exhibition season.
Mize was the No. 1 overall pick in last year's amateur draft and immediately vaulted to the top of the Tigers' prospect rankings. He's the No. 18 overall prospect in baseball and the No. 3 right-handed pitcher.
At 21 years old, Mize is expected to begin the season in the minor leagues, but could work his way up to Detroit at some point in the next two seasons. He's considered a more polished prospect than some of the Tigers' other young right handers.
Funkhouser has been in the Tigers' organization since 2016, when the team selected him in the fourth round. He's sixth-best pitching prospect in the system and, at 24 years old, could break the starting rotation sometime in the near future, if he earns an opportunity.
In 17 starts with Double-A Erie last season, Funkhouser struck out 89 batters in 89 innings, but his walks were high and his WHIP finished at 1.43. He'll get a chance to show improvement this spring.
Cameron is the team's third-best outfield prospect and had a decent season across three minor-league levels last year. He stole 24 bases, racked up 42 extra-base hits and posted a .343 on-base percentage, but struck out 137 times in 126 games and finished with an average .749 OPS.
The Tigers don't have great major league talent at the starting pitcher and outfield positions, so fans will at least get a glimpse of the future during spring training.