Metro Detroit’s United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL) is kicking off their season Friday at Jimmy John’s Field, and JJ the Field General is ready to show off his skills.

The Detroit Tigers are having some trouble with the starting rotation at the major league level, but in the minors, many of their top prospects are off to strong starts this season.

Lloyd McClendon, a longtime Detroit Tigers coach under Jim Leyland and Ron Gardenhire, is returning to the organization as manager of the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.

CHATHAM, Va. - Minor League Baseball player Blake Bivens wrote a heartfelt message to his wife, son and mother-in-law, who were found dead in a home in Virginia. The bodies of Joan Denise Jefferson Bernard, 62, Emily Bernard Bivens, 25, and Cullen Micah Bivens, 14 months, were discovered Tuesday morning. Matthew Thomas Bernard, the brother of Bivens' wife, has been arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, authorities said. Bivens spoke out about the loss in an Instagram post Thursday. To his mother-in-law, Bivens expressed gratitude for the love she had for her family and the woman she raised.