Tigers' No. 5 prospect racks up 10 K's in four innings

Two starts in for the Tigers’ highly touted pitching prospect duo of Wilmer Flores and Ty Madden at Double-A Erie, and the toughest opponent seems to be the pitch count.

Two days after Flores opened the SeaWolves’ season with four scoreless innings and six strikeouts Thursday night, Madden topped him with four hitless innings and 10 strikeouts on Saturday. Neither pitcher qualified for a win, but both made a statement that their breakout 2022 season was no fluke.

Flores, the No. 92 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list and the Tigers' No. 3 prospect, battled command early in his season debut. He walked back-to-back batters to load the bases with nobody out in the second inning against Akron, Cleveland’s Double-A affiliate. He escaped unscathed with a called third strike on Raynel Delgado and a double-play grounder from Connor Kokx.

Flores retired eight of his final nine batters, four of them by strikeout. He drew 11 swinging strikes over his 74 pitches.

Not only did Madden -- the Tigers’ No. 5 prospect -- hold Akron hitless, he didn’t allow a ball in play until his final out of the third inning. He struck out Akron’s first six batters -- three swinging, three called, none reaching a three-ball count -- before allowing his lone baserunner with a Delgado leadoff walk in the third. Madden regrouped and struck out five of his final six batters. The only ball Akron put in play against Madden was a Bryan Lavastida groundout in the fourth.

Madden threw 40 of 60 pitches for strikes. His fastball topped out at 99 mph on the Canal Park scoreboard, and averaged around 95-96 mph for the game. His slider was a devastating breaking pitch.

Here’s a quick look around the Tigers' farm system:

Triple-A Toledo
Tigers No. 7 prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy has settled in well with the Mud Hens, entering Sunday batting 9-for-26 with four RBIs -- three of them on Saturday at Omaha -- and more walks (10) than strikeouts (six). None of Malloy’s hits have gone for extra bases, but the plate discipline that attracted Tigers officials in the Joe Jiménez trade last winter remains. Worth noting that only one of Malloy’s 17 home runs last year came in the opening month.

Double-A Erie
Beyond the dominant pitching, Trei Cruz -- the Tigers’ third-round pick in the 2020 Draft -- has adjusted well to advanced pitching. He entered Sunday batting 3-for-8 with a pair of walks and doubles. Defensively, he spent his first few games alternating between shortstop and center field, and made a nice running catch in center in support of Flores in Thursday’s season opener at Akron. Colt Keith, the Tigers' No. 4 prospect, entered Sunday batting 2-for-12, but with a double and four RBIs.

High-A West Michigan
Outfielder Ben Malgeri, an 18th-round Draft pick in 2021 out of Northeastern University, homered in each of his first two games for the Whitecaps to open the season. He’s halfway to his home run total from last year in 116 games for West Michigan.

Single-A Lakeland
Tigers No. 9 prospect Wenceel Pérez, who was in Major League camp before a back injury sidelined him to begin the season, is currently on a rehab assignment with the Flying Tigers before likely joining Erie. He went 3-for-8 with a pair of doubles over his first two games.