Detroit Tigers: Michael Fulmer named Top 100 Prospect by BP

The Detroit Tigers have one prospect ranked inside Baseball Prospectus’ preseason Top 100 list. Starting pitcher Michael Fulmer checks in at No. 87.

The fine prospect writing staff at Baseball Prospectus released their preseason Top 100 MLB prospect list today. The Detroit Tigers had one player make the cut: starting pitcher Michael Fulmer.

Fulmer was drafted by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2011 draft as an 18 year old high schooler. He spent parts of four years in the Mets’ system climbing the ladder — and having a good deal of success along the way — before landing in AA early in the 2015 season. He posted a 1.88 ERA in 86 innings at the level before the trade deadline when he was shipped to the Tigers as the headline piece in the return package for Yoenis Cespedes.

He finished the AA season with the Erie SeaWolves where he put up a 2.84 ERA in 31.2 innings while striking out over 26% of the batters he faced. For his minor league career as a whole, Fulmer has struck out over 22% of opposing hitters while walking 7.7%. For context, major league average rates were 20.4% for strikeouts and 7.7% for walks in 2015.

Here’s what prospect writer Christopher Crawford had to say about Fulmer back in November.

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"The question marks going forward for Fulmer are whether he can show the same stuff and produce the same results at higher levels while handling a bigger workload (he hasn’t topped the 125-inning mark). If he can, he’s a potential no. 2 starter, with high-leverage reliever a more likely possibility if his health and consistency issues persist. As bad as the Tigers farm still is, Fulmer is a legit top-of-the-system option, and represents a strong return for an impending free agent in Cespedes."

I’m betting the Tigers start Fulmer at the AAA level in 2016. There’s a chance he could make his major league debut with the club this year as well, but that would likely be as a spot starter and not a main contributor. If everything goes well this year he could join the rotation full-time in 2017.

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Ranking only one player in the top 100 is a sign that the Detroit Tigers’ system is still rather week (especially at the top), but it’s not weak because they’ve failed at drafting and development. The franchise has been in “win now” mode for the better part of a decade and has consistently used their top prospects as trade bait to fetch productive major league talent.

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Detroit Tigers: Michael Fulmer Named a Top 100 Prospect by Baseball Prospectus

By Matt Snyder | Jan 29, 2016

The Detroit Tigers have one prospect ranked inside Baseball Prospectus’ preseason Top 100 list. Starting pitcher Michael Fulmer checks in at No. 87.

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