24-year old lefty reliever Zach Samuels has really been outstanding in the minors this year for the Tigers. He has pitched in 31 games (1 start) in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 1-2 with 2 saves, a 1.91 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Samuels has now pitched in 71 games (11 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 7-5 with 5 saves, a 2.52 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Coming into this season, Samuels wasn’t a highly thought of prospect, but, it’s starting to get really hard to ignore the numbers he’s putting up in the minors.

35-year old switch-hitting 2B Carlos Guillen is off to a very slow start on his rehab assignment. He has played in 9 games in A+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 6 for 32 (.188 avg, .610 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. The Tigers need help at 2B, but they can’t rush Guillen back into action or he could hurt himself again. Guillen has played in 789 games in his 7 years with the Tigers and he is 870 for 2,913 (.299 avg, .849 OPS) with 461 runs scored, 92 homers, 436 RBIs and 58 stolen bases. The Tigers could really use Guillen’s bat right now but they will have to wait a little bit longer.

26-year old lefty swinging 2B Justin Henry is having a good year in the minors for the Tigers. Henry has played in 68 games in AA-ball so far this year and he is 66 for 217 (.304 avg, .799 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 0 homers, 22 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He has walked 37 times this year while only whiffing 28 times, so he has a good eye. Henry has now played in 482 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 494 for 1,722 (.287 avg, .723 OPS) with 261 runs scored, 3 homers, 171 RBIs and 95 stolen bases. Henry doesn’t have much pop in his bat but his speed is a huge asset that could get him to the majors someday down the road.

The Detroit Tigers picked 22-year old righty reliever Chance Ruffin with the 48th overall pick (1st round) of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft. Ruffin didn’t get to pitch last year in the minors but he seems to be on the fast track to Detroit. Ruffin has pitched in 30 games (0 starts) for the Tigers in AA-ball this year and he is 3-3 with 9 saves, a 2.18 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Ruffin has only allowed 21 hits in 33 innings in the minors so far this year with 41 whiffs, which shows just how nasty he has been. But, he has had some issues with his control as Ruffin has walked 16 batters already this year. Ruffin came into this year as the Tigers’ #7 prospect according to Baseball America and he’s showing why he was ranked that high in the minors this year. He could make his debut with the Tigers this September when rosters expand as long as he keeps pitching like he is right now.

22-year old lefty starting picher Casey Crosby came into this season as the Tigers’ #6 prospect according to Baseball America. Crosby missed all of the 2008 season due to Tommy John Surgery and he missed almost all of last year due to elbow soreness. This year though, Crosby is making up for lost time. He has pitched in 10 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Tigers this year and he is 3-2 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has only given up 44 hits in 54 1/3 innings so far this year but he has also walked 32 batters, so he needs to tighten up his control quite a bit. Crosby has now pitched in 40 games (all starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 13-7 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.