Detroit Tigers: Forecasting The Best Prospects At Each Position

Catcher Jake Rogers was selected in the third round of the 2016 Amateur Draft by the Houston Astros before being traded to the Tigers in the Justin Verlander trade. Rogers finds himself with the big league club for an MLB stint after some great numbers with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.

After joining the big league club for the first big league stint of his career, Jake Rogers has shown why he is one of the Tigers renowned prospects. Rogers is known for defense and has certainly put on a show for the fans, especially after canning a runner who was stealing and back-picking a runner at first during a game against the Seattle Mariners. Rogers is getting his chance to develop at the big league level and grow into a true MLB caliber catcher during his first stint at the big league catcher, and he has shown little spurts of MLB style of play.

If the Detroit Tigers get the best case scenario out of Rogers; they are looking at one of the best defensive catchers in the game of baseball who could also become an above-average hitter. The wildcard with Rogers is his inability to hit. With the big league club, he has managed only seven hits with four of them being home runs through forty-six at-bats. If Rogers can all-around improve his hitting, he could very quickly be someone like Jonathan Lucroy or JT Realmuto if the hitting comes around.

A defensive-minded catcher who will hopefully get his hitting under control would become a real token for the Tigers and make the Verlander deal a little easier to remember. But back in reality, as it stands now, Rogers will be a defensive asset, and that is all. With some real pop in his bat but that is it, making him someone like Wilin Rosario (offensively) whose strength was the longball. The future of Tigers catching is Rogers, and if things were to go south someone like Joey Morgan is still in the minors developing and could save the day.