Detroit Tigers: Prospect Joe Jimenez Called Up to Bolster Bullpen

The Detroit Tigers have called up top relief pitching prospect Joe Jimenez in an attempt to stabilize the faltering bullpen.

The Detroit Tigers announced that they have purchased the contract of relief prospect Joe Jimenez from AAA and optioned Bruce Rondon to the minor leagues. Jason Beck of MLB.com had the report on Twitter.

Jimenez was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Tigers’ system by MLB Pipeline this offseason. He made the jump from High-A to AA to AAA last season and didn’t see much dropoff in his numbers as he climbed the organizational ladder.

Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Jimenez as the No. 6 prospect in the Tigers’ system and offered this statement about his pitching arsenal as part of his scouting report.

"Jimenez has been sitting 94-97 and touching as high as 100 with a plus-flashing, mid-80s two-plane slider that arguably plays up due to the deception and huge extension in his delivery."

Jimenez combined for 78 strikeouts in 54 innings across the three levels of competition in 2016 while posting a total ERA of just 1.51. He’s made two appearances for the Toledo Mud Hens this season with three strikeouts against two walks (one of them intentional) to his credit.

The Tigers are apparently going to pick their spots with Jimenez early, but they’re not bringing him up to languish in the pen. He is, ideally, the team’s long-term closer of the future, and they’re going to want to test him in high-leverage situations sooner rather than later.

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Rondon had struggled in three outings to start the year. The sample size is small, but seven of eleven batters have reached base against him and his velocity has been a tick or two below its previous mark. He’ll get some time in Toledo to find his command before the Tigers will trust him in high-leverage situations with the major league club.