Pitching leads midseason prospect rankings

DETROIT -- The Tigers' rebuild is centered around starting pitching. If that wasn't already apparent, the updated MLB Pipeline rankings released Thursday bring the point home, with top overall Draft pick Casey Mize joining Franklin Perez, Matt Manning, Alex Faedo and Beau Burrows at the top of the Tigers' list.
Not only are Detroit's top five prospects starting pitchers, all five are also in MLB Pipeline's top 100 list of prospects across baseball. It marks the first time the Tigers have had five prospects at any position among the top 100 overall on MLB Pipeline's list.
Mize, who made his pro debut on Thursday with two hitless innings and four strikeouts in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, takes over the top spot on the Tigers' list. He supplanted Perez, who missed the first 2 1/2 months of the season with a lat strain sustained in Spring Training. Mize also ranks seventh on MLB Pipeline's rankings of baseball's top 10 right-handed pitching prospects.
Mize is expected to pitch about 20 innings this summer as an introduction to pro ball after throwing a full college season for Auburn, taking those Tigers to the NCAA Super Regionals. He'll ramp up his workload next spring in his first full pro season.
The glut of starting pitching atop the Tigers' rankings is followed by a trio of outfielders, led by Christin Stewart, who rose from 10th in the preseason rankings to sixth following a hot start for Triple-A Toledo. Second-round Draft pick Parker Meadows makes his debut in the rankings at seventh. Daz Cameron, part of the Justin Verlander trade package along with Perez and Jake Rogers, jumps a spot to eighth following a midseason hitting tear at Double-A Erie.
Rogers fell from fifth to 10th as he tries to adjust to Double-A pitching. Shortstop Isaac Paredes fell four spots to 11th despite 12 homers in 84 games at Class A Advanced Lakeland.
Other 2018 Draft picks making their debut on the list are third-round pick Kody Clemens, ranked 14th after opening his pro career at second base at Class A West Michigan, and outfielder Kingston Liniak, the Tigers' fourth-round pick. Though outfielder Brock Deatherage made an early impression in the Gulf Coast League and West Michigan, he did not crack Detroit's top 30.
The highest riser was outfielder Jacob Robson, whose Eastern League All-Star campaign at Erie and midseason promotion to Toledo jumped him from 27th to 15th.
The rankings could get another adjustment or two in the coming weeks if the Tigers add prospects at Tuesday's Trade Deadline and beyond. That said, the top end of the rankings isn't likely to change barring a major surprise of a deal.
Quick hits
• Right-hander Michael Fulmer, who went on the 10-day DL a week ago with a left oblique strain, has resumed physical activity, though he's not close to a return.
"He feels great," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's been out doing a lot of running. We're getting close to that 10-day period where maybe he'll start playing some light catch, and see where he's at."
• The Tigers activated left-hander Ryan Carpenter and right-hander Johnny Barbato from the 10-day DL and assigned both of them to Triple-A Toledo. Carpenter, out since June 1 with a right oblique strain, made three rehab starts, but he will stay in Toledo to serve as depth in case of trades. Barbato went on the DL with rotator cuff tendinitis on June 23.
• Miguel Cabrera continues to rehab in Ann Arbor and in South Florida following season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured left biceps tendon. He could visit the Tigers this weekend ahead of his charity fundraiser event next week.