DETROIT -- Tigers general manager Al Avila returned from the Draft meetings in Lakeland, Fla., having added some offensive punch to the team's rebuilding effort. He went back to work with questions about when Detroit's advanced prospects will be making the trip to Comerica Park.

Again, Avila preached patience, especially with top prospect Casey Mize.

“I hear people [say], 'Oh, bring up Casey Mize right now.' Well, there's really no purpose in doing that,” Avila said Thursday morning. “All you're going to do is retard the progress that he's made already. And quite frankly, it's not going to make us into playoff contenders this year. It just defeats the purpose. It's just logic.”

Mize, the fifth-best prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, enters his next scheduled start for Double-A Erie on Friday having tossed 20 consecutive scoreless innings over his past three starts, dropping his ERA for his first full pro season to 0.89 over 11 starts between the SeaWolves and Class A Advanced Lakeland. He has allowed just 35 hits over 70 2/3 innings while joining fellow former first-round picks Matt Manning (Detroit's No. 2 prospect) and Alex Faedo (No. 9) to form a star-studded rotation in the Eastern League.

Mize’s days in Erie appear to be numbered, but his next destination is Triple-A Toledo.

“Obviously we have been talking about his next promotion and when that's going to be,” Avila said. “Obviously the next step logically would be Toledo. Matt Manning, the same thing. He's been pitching very well there. Faedo's had some outstanding games also. I can't give you a timeline, but probably at some point this season, you might see if not all three, a couple of those guys in Toledo.”

The reasons for patience, Avila said, are two-fold.

“One, you want to still continue to increase their workload, innings pitched,” Avila said. “You want them to face higher competition. And it's funny to say this, but you want them to face adversity, too, to where they can overcome that.

“Most of you guys [in the media] were here when [Justin] Verlander came up, [Max] Scherzer came up, [Rick] Porcello came up. They all struggled. I remember sending Porcello back to the Minor Leagues, we sent Scherzer back to the Minor Leagues, because they struggled. You're going to go through that process.”

The Tigers could still see a pair of pitching prospects make their Major League debuts this summer. Kyle Funkhouser, their 10th-ranked prospect, returned from the injured list with five scoreless innings at Lakeland on Tuesday. He’ll move up to Erie for a start before likely returning to Toledo, where he began the season. No. 6 prospect Beau Burrows, out since early May with right shoulder inflammation, is expected to resume pitching shortly.

“My hope is that those two guys get back to Toledo, doing what they're capable of doing,” Avila said. “And if that's the case, you'll probably see those two guys at some point up here at the Major League level later in the summer. That is our hope.”

Other topics Avila addressed:

• Though Jordy Mercer’s lingering right quad strain has raised questions about whether top shortstop prospect Willi Castro could fill the void, Avila said the No. 7 prospect still has work to do. "He's been doing very well offensively. Our worry, obviously, is defense,” Avila said. “If you've been following Toledo, you’ll see that he'll make some defensive mistakes here and there. We're trying to clean that up. Offensively, arguably he might be able to come up. Defensively, I talk to our Minor League guys all the time, and he does need a lot more work. And right now, he’s at shortstop, but he could also move to second base if needed. We’re really working hard on cleaning up the defense."

• Though top position prospect Isaac Paredes has been making most of his starts at third base for Erie, Avila said the Tigers haven’t determined a full-time position for him or their other infield prospects. “He’s been playing shortstop a lot, he’s been playing some third, he’s been playing some second,” Avila said. “Right now, I couldn’t tell you where he’s going to end up. At the end of the day, when we’re putting all this together, the guy who we feel is going to be the best defensive shortstop will be at shortstop. The guy who’s going to be the best third baseman is going to be there.”

• Avila confirmed that top pick Riley Greene will begin his pro career in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and will play center field. “He’ll probably start in the Gulf Coast League, and then at some point we’ll move him along,” Avila said.'

• Hitters highlight Tigers' Draft

• Class A West Michigan center fielder Parker Meadows, the Tigers’ eighth-ranked prospect, has been revamping his hitting. “We're got some technology where we're breaking him down from head to toe, and it's a work in progress,” Avila said of Meadows, batting .215 this season but .258 over his past 10 games. “He's making some progress now because of that work. We love the power potential there. We think we have an All-Star on our hands, and we're trying to mold him into that as we move forward. And he's playing at a high level for his age [19]. He's one of the youngest guys in the Midwest League, so you have to give him a lot of credit for that.”

• Though Miguel Cabrera’s chronic knee condition has created a short- and long-term void at first base, Avila said the Tigers have focused their signings on versatile infielders who can play first base, a trend that continued into this week’s Draft. “Every position player in that infield, and some guys in our outfield, can play first base. We have plenty of options at first base,” he said.