The Detroit Tigers are 35 days from Opening Day, and they signed Gio Urshela earlier today to a one-year $1.5 million deal. This Saturday they will play their first Spring Training game against the New York Yankees and then on Sunday they will face the Tampa Bay Rays. The starters for both of those games have been announced. The starter against the Yankees on Saturday will be Reese Olson and then Alex Faedo will get the ball on Sunday against the Rays. Among other news coming out of Lakeland today, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch mentioned that he has told Tigers prospects Jace Jung, Jackson Jobe, and Ty Madden that they will not be on the Opening Day roster to start the 2024 season. Jung has been working on playing third base which is something he will continue to focus on this spring as well as this season when he is sent down to the minors.
News and Notes By The Numbers
Reese Olson
Olson last season pitched at Triple-A Toledo where he made ten starts going 2-3 with a 6.38 ERA, a 1.74 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. He also made his big-league debut with the Tigers on June 2nd against the Chicago White Sox going five innings and giving up two runs on two hits; he walked one and struck out six taking a loss in the Tigers 3-0 loss to the White Sox. He finished last season making 21 appearances, 18 of those came as starts, he went 5-7 with a 3.99 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and 103 strikeouts in 103.2 innings.
Alex Faedo
Faedo in 2023 made 15 appearances for the Tigers with 12 of those coming as starts, he went 2-5 with a 4.45 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and 58 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. He also spent time in Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo making eight starts going 0-2 with a 3.69 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts in 31.2 innings.
Jace Jung
Jung is ranked the 58th overall prospect by ITD and the Tigers fourth-ranked prospect. Last season he played at High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie playing in 128 games and he slashed .265/.376/.502 with a .878 OPS; he had 27 doubles, two triples, 28 home runs, 82 RBI, 74 runs scored, five stolen bases, and 79 walks. In the Eastern League playoffs for Erie, Jung played in all four games going 4-14 with an RBI, five runs scored, and three walks.
Jackson Jobe
Jobe is ranked the 23rd overall prospect by ITD and the Tigers third-ranked prospect. Last season he pitched across four levels appearing with the Tigers rookie league team, Single-A Lakeland, High-A West Michigan, and Double-A Erie. He made 16 starts going 2-4 with a 2.81 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 84 strikeouts in 64 innings.
Ty Madden
Madden is the Tigers sixth-ranked prospect entering 2024. He spent all last season with Double-A Erie making 26 appearances with 25 of those coming as starts, he went 3-4 with a 3.43 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and 146 strikeouts in 118 innings. In the Eastern League playoffs, Madden made one start going 6.1 innings giving up three runs on five hits; he walked three and struck out eight, he also got the win in Erie’s clinching win to advance to the Eastern League Championship.
