The Detroit Tigers had their second round of cuts on Tuesday. Parker Meadows, Brendan White, Andre Lipcius and Rony Garcia were sent to Toledo. Left-hander Zach Logue was sent to minor league camp. Meadows, Lipcius and White have been impressive and Parker is among Grapefruit League leaders in home runs and batting average.
Hinch on cutting P. Meadows, Lipcius and Brendan White: "When you come to camp as a first-year, 40-man player, you can do a lot of things. You can move your timeline up or you can move your timeline back. I told all of those guys they did nothing but help themselves.
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) March 14, 2023
For Meadows, if he made the team, it would’ve been as a fourth outfielder, and he has been a starter at each stop in the minors. Parker will get regular starts in Toledo, to work on hitting lefties. Last season between West Michigan and Erie, he hit just .196 against them, with just three home runs. While there might be some frustration among Tigers fans, it has been rare that players who were at Double-A the year before that were not a Rule 5 pick to make the Opening Day roster.
Parker Meadows – Detroit Tigers (3)* pic.twitter.com/EgrCtBRqPI
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) March 11, 2023
With Andre Lipcius, he could see at second base to start the season in Toledo. Hinch said early in spring that he was trying to get Lipcius more starts at second. He saw time at both first and third and hit .273/.273/.636 with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 33 at-bats. His ability to play multiple positions will help the Tigers, should an injury occur.
Andre Lipcius with a really nice diving stop to get the force at 2nd base. pic.twitter.com/0iVsuQqtC3
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrown0914) March 8, 2023
For White, this will be a promotion for the right-hander, as he was the primary closer in Erie last season.
The Detroit Tigers turn to the WBC for pitching help.
If you have ever seen the movie “The Natural”, the main character, Roy Hobbs, played by Robert Redford, strikes out “The Whammer” who was based on Babe Ruth. Now, while that is pure fiction, what was reality was watching Nicaragua pitcher Duque Hebbert in the 9th inning, strike out three Dominican Republic players who are among the best players on the planet. Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez and Rafael Devers.
Tras su impresionante actuación en el Clásico Mundial de Béisbol, el nicaragüense Duque Hebbert firmó un contrato de Ligas Menores con los Tigres de Detroit 🇳🇮⚾️🔥
Ante Rep. Dominicana, Hebbert se llevó scone de ponches:
1. Juan Soto
2. Julio Rodríguez
3. Rafael Devers 🥵 pic.twitter.com/3DssFCi62J— El Fildeo ⚾️🔥 readys pal WBC (@elfildeo) March 13, 2023
His outing was so impressive that Tigers scout Luis Molina signed him on the spot after the game. Hebbert is in his first year playing in the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League, playing for Tre Del Norte.
Duque Hebbert did this. He's 21 years old. That's pretty cool. pic.twitter.com/BBUdFL8N1m
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) March 13, 2023
More than likely, you may spot Hebbert down in Lakeland, in the FCL, as the Tigers will work on developing him.
Photo credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports
