DETROIT -- The Tigers’ 2023 home schedule -- for which single-game tickets went on sale Friday -- includes a three-game series in mid-April against the Giants, whose RBI leader last season was infielder Wilmer Flores.

Detroit's prospect list from MLB Pipeline includes Wilmer Flores, the newly awarded 2022 Tigers Minor League Pitcher of the Year. The 6-foot-4 right-hander and Tigers No. 3 prospect is expected to make his Major League debut at some point this coming season.

The two brothers have different middle names and different nicknames, and they’re separated by nine years and eight months in age. Could they soon be opponents, separated by 60 feet, six inches from the pitcher’s mound to home plate at Comerica Park?

“I’m aware of that,” the younger Flores said on a Thursday conference call with reporters. “I don’t think he knows that. We’ll see.”

“You never know,” the elder Flores said when the Giants visited Detroit last August. “He’ll get there eventually.”

Considering Beau Brieske -- last year’s Tigers Minor League Pitcher of the Year -- was in a similar situation, having finished the 2021 season at Double-A Erie and made his debut for the Tigers on April 23 this past season, it’s not all that far-fetched. Brieske’s promotion came sooner than expected due to injuries up and down Detroit’s rotation, and the Tigers have added starters this offseason to build up more depth. Still, at least for fans, it’s fun to wonder.

Flores isn’t thinking too much about it. He’s more worried about putting himself in position to compete in Spring Training -- the Tigers haven’t announced non-roster invites yet -- and lay the groundwork for a callup.

“It’s a challenge for me,” he said. “It will test me as a pitcher, as a competitor. It’s what I want, to [test] myself.”

Flores opened eyes in 2022, his first full season after signing with the Tigers as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona Western Junior College in 2020. Beyond his 7-4 record and 2.79 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) between High-A West Michigan and Erie, he allowed just 81 hits over 103 1/3 innings, walked 23 batters and struck out 130. Ratios of 7.1 hits, 2.0 walks and 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings stand out for a 21-year-old pitching multiple years below the average age of both leagues in which he played.

With a power fastball, sharp slider and buckling curve, Flores kept even older hitters off-balance while showing the ability to get hitters out in the strike zone, a skill that the Tigers value.

“What I remember from him,” Tigers Minor League Player of the Year and Erie teammate Kerry Carpenter said, “is he kind of came in and just started dominating. I know he’s pretty young, and I was like, ‘This guy looks like he could dominate in Double-A right now.’

“I was very impressed with him. He was mature for his age, really good dude, really hard worker. It was honestly exciting to watch someone like him come up and play.”

Still, Flores -- while proud of his improvement in command -- wasn’t completely satisfied.

“It was great,” he said, “but I think it could be a lot better, because during the season, I was dealing with fatigue.”

That showed at times in his velocity; his fastball could hum, but it also sat around 93-94 mph in some starts. The Tigers watched his pitch count, especially in weeks when he started twice in a six-game, six-day Minor League series, but they wanted him to pitch down the stretch and experience the excitement of a playoff race in Erie. The SeaWolves reached the Eastern League finals before falling to Somerset.

“I think in 2021, my fastball was even better and my curveball was better,” Flores said. “I still like it, because on my fastball, they didn’t do too much damage. Curveball [got] a lot of swings and misses and chase.”

Flores is working on fatigue concerns in his offseason workouts by trying to make his mechanics more efficient. He’s also working on his changeup as a more effective secondary pitch.

“I think that’s the piece that I need for my arsenal,” he said.

If Flores can hone the changeup, he’ll have a four-pitch arsenal at his disposal, furthering his case as a starting pitcher rather than a reliever. His ultimate goal, not surprisingly, is to make the big leagues, whether he faces his brother or not.