Max chats up Miggy, swipes base in custom kicks

LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Tigers’ inaugural Spring Breakout lived up to the hype, both in terms of the event as well as the Tigers' farm system. Jace Jung put on a show with a pair of homers in a 5-1 win over the Phillies at Joker Marchant Stadium, but he was far from the only one worth celebrating.

Here are four other top moments from the afternoon:

1. Max meets Miggy
Top prospect Max Clark has met Miguel Cabrera before, having visited Comerica Park after he signed last summer. But given the intersection of their respective careers, their meeting behind the cage during pregame batting practice Saturday felt poignant. Cabrera is in camp this week to begin his post-playing role as a special assistant, while Clark is in the midst of his first Spring Training as a pro. The 40-year-old Cabrera and 19-year-old Clark shook hands and chatted for a while.

“It’s actually really funny; we weren’t talking about baseball at all,” Clark said. “We laughed about Comerica [Park] a little bit. He’s like, ‘I’m glad I finally get to see you take BP today.’ And then, we were talking about how he’s going on volleyball trips and baseball trips, and how his son hit six home runs in Texas in his last tournament. We were laughing about that. He just said he was excited to see me get after it.”

Cabrera has a history of welcoming top prospects dating to his playing days. When former top pick Riley Greene took his first batting practice at Comerica Park after signing in 2019, Cabrera jokingly begged the Tigers to keep him in Detroit.

Clark, wearing custom Detroit-themed cleats for Saturday's event, put them to work in the third inning. As soon as he drew a walk from Phillies right-hander Michael Mercado, he was plotting his break for second base.

“As soon as I drew the walk and got to first base, I was thinking,” Clark said. “The guy was super slow to home -- like a 1.55 [seconds] to home. I could walk to second base with that kind of time. I was trying to work on vaulting [to take off for second], which is what they’re having us work on in the organization. I was able to bring it to the game today and I’m loving it.”

Cabrera stuck around in the coaching box in the dugout, and brought out the lineup card before the game.

2. Don’t run on Dingler
As top catching prospect Dillon Dingler showed during his extended look in Major League camp, his combination of a strong arm and athleticism allows him to shut down an opponent’s running game when given a chance.

The Phillies tested him with their speedy lineup, and aside from a low throw in the first inning, Dingler passed. His 85.5 mph throw nabbed Aidan Miller at second for a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play to end the first inning for starter Brant Hurter. Four innings later, Dingler topped that with an 85.9 mph toss to retire TJayy Walton at second, getting an out during a difficult inning for No. 5 prospect Ty Madden.

Dingler also did a good job presenting pitches, drawing a couple key called strikes on pitches that were around the bottom of the zone. While the game featured the ABS challenge system, the only challenge came from Tigers infield prospect Cristian Santana on a called third strike, which replay showed was indeed in the zone.

“I have nothing but great things to say about him,” said Madden, who worked with him for the past season and a half at Double-A Erie. “Dingler is one of my favorite humans on this earth. He’s fun to work with.”

3. Briceno brings it
While Jung and Dingler are familiar faces to those who have followed Tigers camp, and Clark is well-known, Saturday was also a showcase for some prospects just getting onto the scene. Among them is No. 19 prospect Josue Briceno, who crashed into the prospect rankings this offseason after batting .319 with a .931 OPS last year between the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and Single-A Lakeland.

Born in Cabrera’s hometown of Maracay, Venezuela, Briceno hits balls hard. His second-inning double had an exit velocity of 111.7 mph, screaming into right field with just a nine-degree launch angle and rolling all the way to the fence.

“He’s got a really nice swing for a big guy,” said Alan Trammell, who served as manager for the Spring Breakout game. “He can use the whole field, and for a big guy, he really has a shorter swing. The bat is real.”

4. One more 'W' for Tram
The last time Trammell won a game as the Tigers manager was Sept. 27, 2005, when Omar Infante and Craig Monroe homered to help beat the eventual World Series champion White Sox in Chicago. That one did not include a cooler bath like Jung and Clark gave Trammell after Saturday’s win. It shows the reverence these young players have for the Hall of Famer, whose playing career ended before they were born.

“Just happy for the organization,” said Trammell. “I think you know I’m a team guy, always have [been] and always will [be]. Just proud of where we’re at, and it was an excellent performance.”