Here's a look at the Tigers' farm system

LAKELAND, Fla. -- With the notable exception of Justin Verlander, almost all of the prominent players on the Tigers' 2011-14 postseason clubs were imported. They went all in trying to win a World Series for owner Mike Ilitch, and if that meant trading prospects for veterans or sacrificing Draft picks to sign free agents, so be it.

Now that Detroit is coming off back-to-back 98-loss seasons -- the third-worst two-year stretch in the franchise's 118-year history -- it's trying to return to contention via homegrown talent. The Tigers have quietly built a farm system on the rise, cracking MLB Pipeline's Top 10 rankings for the first time this spring.

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MLB Pipeline started rating organizational talent before the 2015 season. Baseball America has been ranking farm systems since 1984, and Detroit has made its Top 10 just once, placing seventh in 1998.

Tigers farm director Dave Owen, who has been with the organization since 2011, concurs that the system is stronger than it has been in years.

"When the big league team is vying for the World Series, sometimes you have to use the guys in your Minor League system to reach your goals," Owen said. "That's what it's here for. It takes some time to restock your system. The scouting department has done a great job and [general manager] Al [Avila] and [assistant GM] David Chadd are making trades.

"We're getting there. The pitching is maybe a little ahead at this point, but we're making progress with position players, too. We're getting guys who will be able to contribute."

All three of the Tigers' prospects who cracked MLB Pipeline's Top 100 are right-handers: first-round picks Casey Mize (2018) and Matt Manning (2016), plus Franklin Perez, the headliner in the trade that sent Verlander to the Astros in August 2017. Detroit also has high hopes for three more first-round righties in Beau Burrows (2015), Alex Faedo (2017) and Kyle Funkhouser (Dodgers in 2015 before signing with Detroit as a fourth-rounder the next year).

The No. 1 overall choice last June, Mize has a rare blend of stuff and polish. He'll likely begin his first full pro season in Class A Advanced and figures to arrive at Comerica Park at some point in 2020.

"We're definitely not going to hold him back," Owen said. "He's very smart, knows what he wants to do and he has a game plan of how to do it. With Casey, we just want to make sure he's able to repeat and be aggressive with his pitches. He already does a good job of it."

While most of Detroit's best arms came via the Draft, most of its top position prospects were secured in trades. Infielder Isaac Paredes was part of a package from the Cubs for Justin Wilson and Alex Avila in July 2017, outfielder Daz Cameron and catcher Jake Rogers came with Perez in the Verlander deal and shortstop Willi Castro was the return from the Indians for Leonys Martin and righty pitching prospect Kyle Dowdy last July.

The Tigers also have some interesting position prospects who are homegrown. Outfielder Christin Stewart, their last first-rounder (2015) who wasn't a pitcher, has the best power in the system and should start in left field for Detroit this season. Toolsy outfielder Parker Meadows got first-round money ($2.5 million) as a second-rounder in the 2018 Draft, and Dominican shortstop Wenceel Perez is the recent highlight of the Tigers' international efforts.

Camp standouts

The son of former All-Star and Gold Glover Mike Cameron, Daz Cameron served notice this spring that he's going to claim Detroit's center-field job in the near future.

After jumping from Class A Advanced to Triple-A and performing well in the Arizona Fall League in 2018, Cameron posted the highest OPS (1.126) of any Tiger in Grapefruit League play, hitting .346/.433/.692 with six extra-base hits in 26 at-bats. He doesn't have a wow tool, but could be close to solid across the board.

"Daz was great, and that was nice to see," Owen said. "To finish him off, he just needs to be more consistent with his at-bats and more consistent with his routes in the outfield. They're good already, but he needs to polish them to compete at the big league level."

Right-hander Spencer Turnbull appears to have won a spot on the big league staff and could open the season in Detroit's rotation. Armed with a 92-95 mph sinker and a hard slider, he has a 1.80 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 15 innings.

The biggest surprise in big league camp has been left-hander Ryan Carpenter, who was signed as a Minor League free agent following the 2017 season. Relying on a low-90s fastball and a sweeping slider, he didn't allow a run in 11 innings while permitting only five baserunners and striking out eight.