Detroit Tigers: Jeimer Candelario Spending Time At First Base

With a plethora of the Detroit Tigers most exciting prospects being infielders, Candelario will be taking reps at first base to hopefully expand his versatility. His 2019 season has not been his best, adding versatility may allow him extra time to turn things around for this rebuilding team.

News broke at the end of July that Detroit Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario would begin to take grounders and get reps in at first base. Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire proposed the idea, and since then, Candelario has gotten reps in and been able to see first base during two games. The move only helps Candelario become more versatile on a team that has an overflow of infield prospects they hope will all pan out.

The 2019 season has not been the kindest to Candelario; he has managed a .204/.292/.336 with seven home runs and twenty-four RBI for a terrible Detroit Tigers team. Candelario has had an awful year in terms of analytics as well. For those who value those as well, they are not pretty with his XBA, XSLG, WOBA all being in the 7% of big-league hitters. His exit velocity has not risen from 87 MPH, that being the same for his launch angle, which still sits around sixteen. The simple way to put it, 2019 has not been Candelario’s year at all.

There are other reasons to move Candelario to first base than just being a versatile player, a promotion of a prospect could prompt this move as well. Dawel Lugo is currently stationed with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens and is tearing it up down there. If Candelario moves to first, Lugo will be able to come up to the big leagues and audition himself to stay with the big league club again. Lugo is not the only third baseman prospect that benefits from Candelario growing in terms of versatility.

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Isaac Paredes is a Tigers prospect who has a great power tool which will carry him to the big leagues. If all goes well and he can pick up the power numbers. The Tigers drafted a couple of more third baseman in this years MLB draft, picking up University of Arizona third baseman Nick Quintana as well as University of Tennessee third Baseman Andre Lipcius. These two were both picked in the first ten round picks and had excellent college seasons which hopefully will translate well throughout the minors.

Continuing to think on the best-case scenario as this whole piece has suggested, a move to third does three key things. First and foremost, opens the door to making Candelario a versatile infielder who said he’s open to the idea (maybe try corner outfield too?) and does not mind moving to first.

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Secondly, this switches things up for him, which will hopefully prompt him to pick up the offense thinking positively rather than thinking the alternative (the switch limits his offense even more). Finally, it opens the door for Lugo to come back up to the big leagues and translate his Triple-A Mud Hens success to the next level.

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