Tigers Expected to Promote Top Prospects Jace Jung, Trey Sweeney
A pair of new faces are expected to take the field at Comerica Park on Friday as the Detroit Tigers welcome the New York Yankees to town for a weekend series.
The team is reportedly calling up shortstop Trey Sweeney – acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in last month’s Jack Flaherty trade – from Triple-A Toledo. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel was the first to report the 24-year-old’s promotion.
Detroit also plans to select the contract of infielder Jace Jung, the younger brother of Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung, from Triple-A. The 23-year-old, who’ll turn 24 in October, ranks 64th on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list.
The Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold initially broke the news, and he added that Jung is expected to start at third base in Friday’s series opener against the Yankees.
Both players must be added to the Tigers’ 40-man roster prior to first pitch. They were each pencilled into the Mud Hens’ lineup on Thursday before becoming late scratches, hinting at their impending major-league call-ups.
Amidst another rebuilding season, the franchise – which enters Friday’s slate with a 59-63 record, fourth in the AL Central – has little left to play for this late in the year while on track to miss the playoffs for a 10th straight campaign.
“We have a lot of room to grow. We’re going to get younger,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters post-game Thursday, including MLB.com’s Jason Beck. “We’re also going to get better. And we continue to fight because we know that we can play complete games.”
Sweeney, Detroit’s No. 20 top prospect per MLB Pipeline, spent less than a year inside Los Angeles’ farm system. He was sent to the Dodgers last winter via trade from the Yankees in exchange for left-hander Victor González and infielder Jorbit Vivas.
A few weeks ago, the young shortstop headlined a deadline-day deal for Flaherty in a package that included catcher Thayron Liranzo, a switch-hitting backstop currently assigned to High-A West Michigan.
In 96 games with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, Sweeney hit 13 home runs and 62 RBIs while slashing .254/.334/.427. He also stole 16 bases in 19 attempts. Since joining the Tigers’ system, the left-handed-hitting infielder has gone 16-for-42 (.381) while recording six doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs across 11 games.
Jung, the organization’s No. 5 top prospect, has performed exceptionally well during his first stint at Triple-A this season. The fellow lefty hitter has slashed .257/.377/.454 while posting 14 home runs and 60 RBIs over 91 contests, earning a 117 wRC+.
Controlling the strike zone has been an area of strength for the 12th-overall selection from 2022, as evidenced by his notable walk (16.1 percent) and strikeout rates (22.4 percent).
In the field, Jung has split time between second and third base thus far, logging 152.2 innings and 553.2 innings at each position, respectively.
Detroit’s starting infield of late has consisted of Colt Keith at second base, Javier Báez at shortstop and Gio Urshela at third base, with Andy Ibáñez filling in off the bench when needed.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.