Tigers sign a new international class, but can their pipeline finally improve?

DETROIT — Start talking about the state of the Detroit Tigers’ international pipeline, and a few names always come up: Willy Adames. Eugenio Suárez. Avisaíl García.

Yes, the Tigers have produced serious talent from their international crop in the past. Even if none of those players ended up hitting their peaks in a Tigers uniform, the scouting efforts were a success. But here’s the stark truth: Adames signed in 2012. Suárez signed in 2008. García signed in 2007.

Since then, the international talent has been incredibly dry. The Tigers have signed and developed only one positive-WAR international player since those days. That was relief pitcher Gregory Soto. But as director of international operations Tom Moore and Miguel García, the Tigers’ director of Latin American operations, will point out, this is a long, slow game.

A few years back, we began seeing a shift in the Tigers’ international philosophy. Rather than spread their international bonus pool thinly across a wide range of players, they began hunting bigger fish. They signed outfielder Roberto Campos for $2.85 million in 2019. They signed infielder Cristian Santana for a club record $2.95 million in January 2021. So far, that change in philosophy hasn’t produced the desired results. Campos hit .257 last season in High-A West Michigan but hasn’t fully tapped into his power. He can still struggle with pitch recognition. Santana posts elite walk rates but hit only .156 in Class-A Lakeland last season.

Campos and Santana, though, are 20 years old. They are still young and have plenty of time to develop. “In terms of a drafted college junior, they (wouldn’t be) even in professional baseball yet,” Moore said. But other players such as Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio and Rays infielder Junior Caminero — ranked as the No. 2 and No. 5 prospects in baseball — signed in those same classes.

“There’s a lot of players that we think really highly of that we’ve signed in the last few years,” Moore said. “Some players have great success. Cristian Santana had two really good years and he was playing A-ball at 18 years old. So because he took a step back in some regards last year, it doesn’t mean that he’s not a prospect anymore.”

As the Houston Astros have proven, there is no one linear path to success in the international market. While it would be easy to target the biggest names, the Astros instead built a powerhouse by finding older, unheralded international pitchers. Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier are only two examples of their success.

Now with more than a full year under the new direction of Scott Harris and assistant general manager Rob Metzler, we are again seeing changes in the Tigers’ approach.

This year, a 17-player international class is headlined by third baseman Nestor Miranda, who signed for $1.5 million and was ranked No. 45 in the international class by MLB Pipeline. Miranda is a big-bodied infielder whose family prioritized him finishing his high school education. He’s been touted for an advanced plate approach.

The Tigers have signed 3B Nestor Miranda (6-3, 225) from the Dominican Republic to a Minor League contract.

Miranda is ranked as the No. 45 international prospect by @MLBPipeline. pic.twitter.com/RCEnGIxQQX

— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) January 15, 2024

“Certainly very excited about his tools, his ability to impact the ball, bat speed and power potential,” Moore said. “Also a kid that’s really dedicated toward his craft. Works really hard. Great makeup.”

The Tigers also signed outfielder Jesus Pinto, ranked No. 41 by Baseball America, with a $900,000 bonus. The class features other interesting talents such as Venezuelan catcher Armando Lao and Australian pitcher Jack Bushell.

But could any of these names become the ones who turn the Tigers’ international department from weakness to strength? Again, it will take years before we have any verdict.

“It takes a long time for that development process to happen,” Moore said. “I think before we look back and look at every year and development class, where they reach the big leagues, it takes time for those guys to reach the big leagues or not. So is it the person that reaches the big leagues the quickest or the person that had the longest career?”

Currently, the Tigers have two players from their 2016 international class finally nearing the major leagues. Infielder Wenceel Pérez has had an up-and-down trajectory, and though he could debut in the majors at some point in 2024, there’s likely a limit on his ceiling. Right-hander Keider Montero, meanwhile, had one of the most encouraging 2023 seasons of any Tigers prospect last year. He could assert himself as part of the club at some point this season, too.

“Players like that, they’re coming from our 2016 class, and they’re in Triple A,” Moore said. “So I think that just shows the process of development, especially when the entire baseball world lost a year of development in 2020.”

But even as the likes of Santana and Campos, Manuel Sequera and catcher Josue Breceno, continue their long developments, it does not seem as if the Tigers have a Ronald Acuña Jr. or an Elly De La Cruz or a Framber Valdez walking through the door any time soon.

Instead, the long and murky path of international development is still unfolding in the backdrop. The Tigers are investing in a new Dominican Academy. Moore talked of a more integrated process with the rest of the baseball operations. Metzler oversees both the amateur draft and international scouting.

“In that process has been a lot of collaboration among departments,” Moore said, “and we’re really leveraging a lot of experience, not just through our international scouting department (but) through all the departments of player development, analytics and even amateur scouting and whatnot. So I think that that’s been a big piece of the process the last year or two, for sure.”

Exactly how the Tigers are improving their international process or how they might target different types of players remains to be seen. But after another international signing date has come and gone, we now have another handful of players to follow.

One of these days, perhaps the Tigers will finally have another name to trumpet as a symbol of international success.

(Photo of Cristian Santana: Allison Farrand / Detroit Tigers)