Detroit Tigers: Tyler Collins Over Wynton Bernard is the Right Roster Choice
By Matt Snyder
The Detroit Tigers appear poised to keep Tyler Collins on the opening day roster after optioning Wynton Bernard to AAA.
The Detroit Tigers announced yesterday that right-handed hitting center field prospect Wynton Bernard had been optioned to AAA. Bernard was one of two players vying to make the opening day roster in place of the injured Cameron Maybin (wrist).
The second player in that battle was Tyler Collins who has appeared in the majors with the Tigers in each of the last two seasons. The Tigers aren’t yet saying he’s made the team, but he’s the only player other position player on the roster now that catcher Bryan Holaday has been traded. Jason Beck of MLB.com has manager Brad Ausmus quoted saying as much:
"“I’ll fall short of saying he’s on the roster,” manager Brad Ausmus said Tuesday morning, “but he’s in the driver’s seat.”"
Collins seemed like the obvious choice given the relative experience levels of the two players. Bernard made the jump from A-ball to AA last year while Collins has been playing at the AAA and major league level for the last two seasons.
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But Bernard’s right-handedness and status as a viable defender in center field could have made him a natural platoon partner with Anthony Gose. Gose has been a notoriously bad hitter against southpaws (a career .525 OPS) and the Tigers might have looked to Bernard to make some starts in center field while Maybin recovers from him a broken wrist.
Collins, on the other hand, has played some center field and could fake his way through a game or two, but he would represent a stiff downgrade at the position defensively. He also hits from the left side of the plate and wouldn’t fit any sort of platoon role.
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Collins’ limitations, given the current construction of the roster, might have tipped the scales toward Bernard, but the Tigers could not be confident that he (i.e. Bernard) could make the jump from AA to the majors and be an effective hitter. A slow spring .212/.257/.212 in 35 plate appearances probably didn’t help his cause.
He has hit extremely well in the Tigers’ minor league system the last two years, but only one of those seasons came against advanced-level pitching (AA). There’s a good chance that he wouldn’t be able to out-hit Gose — even against left-handed pitching — in his first stint in the major leagues. That would mean that either Collins or Bernard would be brought north (er, south) after camp in a pure bench role.
If Bernard wasn’t going to be counted on to make platoon starts against lefties, his only role on the big league club would have been to pinch run on occasion. It’s sometimes good to have a quality pinch runner, but it’s incredibly difficult to leverage pinch running opportunities. (Especially since the Detroit Tigers will be without Victor Martinez and the designated hitter position when the season begins in Miami).
Collins, on the other hand, might provide the club with more value off the bench. Or, at any rate, probably wouldn’t provide less value. He’s a average (or better) hitter against right-handed pitching (a small sample size career 102 wRC+) and could pinch hit or spot start in the corner outfield against a righty if the need arose.
The ability to pinch hit is also a nice but not-entirely-useful luxury, but, if you’re going to carry an extra bench bat, it’s better to carry a bat that’s opposite handed of the majority of your starteing lineup.
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Whichever player made the roster was not likely to play much in the majors. Collins doesn’t really need extra at-bats in the minor leagues to develop as a hitter or to prove himself to the front office, but Bernard could use the extra time in AAA (a level at which he’s not yet played).