Wednesday, August 06

COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. -- The mob scene at home plate for Izaac Pacheco’s walk-off grand slam for High-A West Michigan on May 25 was just what Whitecaps manager Tony Cappuccilli would have expected from his team. What followed was something he didn’t expect.

“He hit that homer and he’s doing his postgame interview,” Cappuccilli said, “and there wasn’t one person that left to go up. Everybody stayed in there. They wanted to see him. Everybody’s still cheering for him. He comes back in and they mobbed him again. It’s genuine care for one another and pulling for each other’s success.”

The Tigers have built one of baseball’s best farm systems with a group of standout players. But as much as individual greatness means to a team stockpiling young talent, the Tigers are also valuing team success. And this year, they’re getting it in abundance up and down the system, creating a culture of winning.

The Whitecaps have a group of players that have come up the Tigers system together, including 2023 Draft picks and Tigers top prospects Max Clark (Detroit’s No. 1) and Kevin McGonigle (No. 2). But Pacheco comes from a couple Draft classes earlier. He was a second-round pick from the same 2021 Draft that had Jackson Jobe and Ty Madden. Injuries and inconsistencies have slowed his path, and he’s in his fourth season at West Michigan. That made the celebration greater.

“It’s such a good group of guys,” Cappuccilli continued. “They’re genuine about how they pull for each other. They celebrate each other’s success like I’ve never seen from a team before. They’re genuinely excited for each other when other guys have success, which happens, but I think sometimes happens on a more superficial level. These guys are genuinely excited for one another.”

The Whitecaps have had a ton of success to celebrate. By going 5-1 at Lansing last week, they built on the Midwest League’s best record, now 43-20, and extended their league-best run differential to an incredible +155, nearly 2.5 runs per game. They outscored Reds-affiliated Dayton by a 62-21 margin a few weeks ago in a six-game road series sweep that included a three-homer game and a go-ahead grand slam by No. 4 prospect Josue Briceño.

By clinching the East Division’s first-half title, they clinched the Whitecaps’ first playoff berth since 2018. The team’s celebration afterwards showed that it meant something.

“I think the best part about this team is it’s no individual players,” McGonigle said earlier this month. “I think we’re all playing for a team, which is probably pretty rare to find in Minor League baseball knowing it’s just working on your game and trying to move each level. Everyone here has that mindset, too, but the main thing is playing for each other, which is truly amazing. And I think that’s why we’re so successful right now.”

The individual talent on West Michigan is impressive, led by three of the organization’s top four prospects in Clark, McGonigle and Briceño. Some combination of the three could be at Double-A Erie soon, and potentially all by the time the Midwest League playoffs begin. But more than talent, they brought a competitive streak led by the hard-nosed McGonigle.

“He’s probably my favorite teammate to play with,” speedy outfielder Seth Stephenson said, “because I think his mentality rubs off on me. It’s an I’m-gonna-win mentality. Doesn’t matter who’s on the mound or where you’re at in the field, what the score is. He’s a dog.”

Said Cappuccilli: “It rubs off on everybody. That walk-off grand slam, Kevin’s the first one at home plate and there’s a great picture of his face. He’s so excited, and it’s as genuine as possible. And then you see his work ethic, whether it’s in the weight room or the cage or on the field. He goes about his ground balls at a different pace. His work ethic just elevates everybody around him.”

The good news for this group is that in Erie, they could have playoff baseball awaiting them anyway. The SeaWolves, back-to-back Eastern League champions, could clinch the Southwest Division first-half title and another postseason berth in the coming days. They enter the week at 41-22, a half-game up on Guardians-affiliated Akron, and boasting a league-best +141 run differential.

Add in Single-A Lakeland, currently atop the Florida State League’s West Division, and the Tigers -- owners of MLB’s best record -- could have three of their four full-season affiliates in the playoffs later this summer, an incredible combination of present and prospect success.

“It’s unreal,” Cappuccilli said. “It’s cool, too, because as a group of managers, we all have a good relationship. We’ll text each other after games. [Erie manager] Andrew Graham, he’ll check in. He texted me the other day asking how Briceño is doing.

“And for the coaches, it’s exciting because we get an opportunity to coach really good players, and we have such a good group throughout the organization that they’re going to work. They make their daily work a priority. It’s not just show up and go through the motions until 7 [p.m.] and then play. They’re very adamant about coming out, getting their work in and doing quality work and improving, because they know their ultimate goal is to be productive and help the big league team win.”

Riley Greene recorded his 200th career RBI in his four-RBI game Friday against the Reds, reaching the mark at age 24 years, 259 days. Who was the last Tiger that young to record 200 RBIs as a Tiger?

A. Nick Castellanos

B. Travis Fryman

C. Curtis Granderson

D. Spencer Torkelson

Former Tigers player and postseason hero Don Kelly comes to Comerica Park this week for the first time as a manager, bringing his Pirates to town for a three-game series starting Tuesday with a 6:40 p.m. ET matchup. Tarik Skubal is scheduled to pitch Wednesday, also a 6:40 start. Paul Skenes is expected to start for Pittsburgh in Thursday’s series finale, a 1:10 matinee. Tickets are available at tigers.com/tickets.

B. Travis Fryman

Fryman reached 200 RBIs in his age-23 season in 1992.

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