https://www.freep.com/story/sports/...istons-rebuilding-jamie-samuelsen/4938351002/
All Detroit sports teams are rebuilding, so who'll get it right?
Freep
2. Tigers
At least we can see what the plan is here. Draft and develop as many pitchers as possible and hope for the best. The top of the Tigers farm system is so pitching-heavy that the Toledo starting rotation might not have enough room to accommodate.
But who are the everyday players to accompany these pitchers in the future. Outfielder Riley Greene has been spectacular this spring and had an outstanding summer last year after the Tigers took him in the first round.
But he?s 19 with a lot of seasoning ahead of him.
Al Avila gets some credit for identifying the pitching talent. But when you?re drafting in the top 10 (or the top one), you?re much more likely to hit than miss on prospects.
We need to see evidence that the Tigers are developing talent from the later rounds and we haven?t seen that yet.
Same deal here with Ilitch. He hasn?t spent on free agents yet, but says that he will when the Tigers are ready to contend.
Ilitch did extend Avila?s contract last summer, which made no sense.
Avila has drafted well in the first round (and Tarik Skubal in the ninth).
The rest of the picture remains blurry and certainly didn?t merit an extension.
