DETROIT – Detroit Tigers catching prospect Jake Rogers, who was acquired in the Justin Verlander trade two seasons ago, has been promoted to Triple-A Toledo.
Rogers is the No. 10 catching prospect in baseball and the No. 13 prospect in the Tigers' organization.
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He's off to an excellent start this season, batting .302 with five home runs and three doubles in 27 games. He's also posting a .429 on-base percentage thanks to 19 walks compared to 26 strikeouts.
This is the Rogers the Tigers traded for in August 2017 when they sent Verlander to the Houston Astros. At the time, Rogers was considered among the best catching prospects in baseball.
A rough 2018 season dropped Rogers out of the top tier, but his hot start to 2019 has him back in the top 10 catching prospects.
Rogers is considered an elite defender from behind the dish. He has one of the best arms in the minors and can really manage a pitching staff. During his 27 games in Double-A Erie this season, he helped lead top prospects Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Alex Faedo to excellent starts.
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Only one other catcher in the minors -- Oakland A's prospect Sean Murphy -- is ranked as highly as Rogers in terms of fielding and arm talent.
If Rogers continues to contribute offensively, he will be one of the pillars of the team's future and will be asked to handle a very talented pitching staff.
At the MLB level, Grayson Greiner is really struggling for the Tigers, hitting just .200 with a .571 OPS. Overall, he's graded out as a below-replacement level player so far.
John Hicks has been much more effective at the plate, hitting two home runs and six doubles while posting a .757 OPS. He's played seven of his 20 games at first base, though.