The Detroit Tigers‘ bats had a resurgence in their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but that did not carry over to the series opener against the Kansas City Royals. Detroit’s bats were kept quiet, except for Kerry Carpenter’s opposite-field blast. The Tigers suffered an 8-3 loss that set them back to a full game out of third, six games out of second, and 7.5 games out of first. The worst news to come from the game was Reese Olson‘s premature exit after taking a line drive off of his hip. The team called it a hip contusion that forced Olson to retire from the game.
In better news, an outfielder who started the year with the Tigers but was recently sent down is resurging with the Toledo Mud Hens.
Parker Meadows’ adjustments in Triple-A are working
Sometimes, when a hitter is struggling and gets sent down to Triple-A, it works. Sometimes, it doesn’t. It seems as though it’s paid off for Parker Meadows. The 24-year-old younger brother of former Tiger Austin Meadows was expected to be one of the key contributors for the Tigers this season with both his glove and his bat. Unfortunately, his bat never woke up this season, and breakout star rookie outfielder Wenceel Perez forced Meadows out of his center field spot, which led to Parker getting sent to Toledo. Despite his struggles in the Motor City, Meadows hit the ground running with the Mud Hens and has been an electric addition to Toledo’s lineup.
Meadows was just named player of the week by going 8-16 with two home runs, six extra-base hits, and six RBIs last week. He’s only played 10 games with Toledo, but his bat has been consistent since his first day with the Mud Hens this season. Meadows is batting .324 with a .447 OBP, .622 slugging percentage, and 1.068 OPS. He has two home runs, six extra-base hits, six RBIs, seven walks, and already has four stolen bases. Meadows is just an injury away from getting called back up, but the Tigers won’t rush his return to the big league lineup with Perez making himself an AL rookie of the year contender.
Akil Baddoo is another outfielder who could be in line for a callup. After a brief return to the Tigers, Baddoo was sent down to Toledo to make room for Matt Manning. Baddoo has had a fantastic season with the Mud Hens. In 35 games, Baddoo is slashing .248/.353/.466 with five home runs, 15 extra-base hits, 18 RBIs, 21 walks, and an impressive 11 stolen bases.
Jace Jung is also performing well enough to get his first call-up to the major leagues if the Tigers need help with their infield. The former first-round pick is almost guaranteed to get an opportunity at some point this season if he stays healthy. He leads the Mud Hens in just about every hitting category. Jung is slashing .277/.387/.520 with eight home runs, 19 extra-base hits, 31 RBIs, 28 walks, and a stolen base.
