Notes: Prospect updates; Haase headed to IL

The Tigers have two of the top seven prospects on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, and three in the top 50, after its midseason update.

Tigers top prospect Spencer Torkelson dropped a couple spots to No. 4 on the list, but outfielder Riley Greene jumped to No. 7. Both were promoted to Triple-A Toledo this week thanks to a midsummer tear at Double-A Erie.

The other ranked prospect promoted from Erie to Toledo, shortstop Ryan Kreidler, is now in the top 10 in the midseason update of Tigers prospect rankings, jumping up from 19th.

Tigers top Draft pick Jackson Jobe debuts as the No. 3-ranked prospect in the system, Detroit's top pitching prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 50 prospect overall. His slider received a 70 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale.

Fellow first-rounder Ty Madden debuts at No. 5 in the Tigers' system, while second-rounder Izaac Pacheco debuts at No. 6 and third-rounder Dylan Smith at No. 7.

The other recent Draft pick on the list is fifth-rounder Tanner Kohlhepp. The former Notre Dame right-hander checks in at 27th.

Haase heads to IL
What was hoped to be a day-to-day injury for Eric Haase has landed the slugging catcher/left fielder on the 10-day injured list. The Tigers placed him on the IL Thursday morning with a right abdominal strain.

Haase suffered the injury while working out in the outfield before a game last homestand, manager A.J. Hinch said. The hope was that a couple of days off would be enough to get him back in the lineup, but the injury lingered longer than hoped.

“We just don’t want to play short,” Hinch said. “We have capable guys, and we can get him right over the next seven or eight days and hopefully reinstate him as soon as his 10 days are up. Going into a [weekend] series in Toronto, we want to have a full team, and it was uncertain whether or not he was going to be able to play.”

Haase caught Tigers pitchers in bullpen sessions Thursday morning. While Detroit is in Toronto, he’ll go to Triple-A Toledo, where he’ll take batting practice and potentially go on a rehab assignment next week.

Cameron’s return restores athleticism
The athleticism and speed that had become the Tigers’ identity this summer took a major loss when outfielders Akil Baddoo and Derek Hill went on the injured list last week, but Detroit regained some of that facet of its game with the return of Daz Cameron from the 10-day IL. He started in center field for Thursday’s series finale against the Angels.

Cameron had been on the IL since the first week of July with a sprained right toe. It’s still not 100 percent, and he might not be able to play at full speed, but he can be athletic enough to bring back that aspect of the Tigers’ game.

“It hurt a little bit of our athleticism, our style of play,” Hinch said. “That’s not to say anything bad about the guys that replaced them, but those are elite athletes that can put a lot of pressure on the opponent. And I think that’s one of the things we’re excited about. Hopefully by the time we get to St. Louis [next week], we’ll have potentially all three of them.”

Garneau returns to organization
Dustin Garneau wasn’t expecting a trade when the Rockies player development director called him on Tuesday, so he thought it might be a joke. Garneau was with the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, playing in Sugar Land, Texas.

The Trade Deadline passed on July 30, but that was only for Major League players. Minor Leaguers can still be dealt as long as they’re on Minor League contracts. That’s what happened with Garneau. But instead of bouncing to what would’ve been his third organization this year, he returned to the Tigers, where he began the season.

“Back to where I started,” Garneau said.

Better yet, he was going straight to Detroit, the call he’d been waiting to receive all summer before opting out of his contract with Triple-A Toledo last month when it seemed unlikely to happen.

Garneau’s first start as a Tiger came Thursday. He caught Matt Manning, who he caught for the first couple months of the season with Toledo.

“I’ve gotten used to being able to show up and just catch guys I don’t know,” Garneau said. “But to be able to step in and know a guy from before, especially this year, it makes it a lot easier.”