Lakeland, Florida — When the Tigers’ 2023 draft class was showing off its skills in TigerTown a year ago, one often heard how impressed the development team was with a seventh-round pick from Pepperdine:
John Peck, shortstop and right-hander, 6’0″ tall, 185 lbs.
Twelve months later, Peck, who plays three infield positions for Low-A Lakeland, including outstanding shortstop, is receiving reviews that contradict his raw numbers.
Or maybe the numbers aren’t so clear after all.
Over the past month and 18 games, Peck, who turned 22 last month, has a batting average of .328/.453/.557/1.011. Last week, he hit his first two home runs as a pro.
“He’s been swinging really well,” said Flying Tigers manager Andrew Graham. “And every other out he makes, he hits the ball hard somewhere.”
“During spring training, he was one of the best hitters we had. He’s my secret tip. I picked him at the beginning of the season. Everyone was talking about (Kevin) McGonigle and (Max) Clark, and I said, ‘Don’t miss this John Peck,’ and that’s because he can defend, he can play all three positions and he can run.”
Peck has only played 69 professional games. A thigh injury — they seem to have reached epidemic proportions throughout the Tigers chain in 2024 — cost him all of May and limited him to 52 games this season.
His totals during these two 69 games: .254, .366, .362 — a higher on-base average than slugging percentage. Getting stronger will be a key part of Peck’s offseason plan, but his defense is so smooth, his arm so strong, that the Tigers are watching what might be going on with a kind of low-key glee, especially when those two home runs last week and a rising number of 100-mph exit velocities suggest a guy is also putting on muscle.
“Since he came back from his hamstring injury,” Graham said, “he’s probably been knocked out 15 to 20 times. But the good thing about Johnny is he’s never gotten discouraged or angry about anything.
“He always thought, ‘Hey, I know they’re about to fall.'”
Castillo collects
In relation to his age and the high temperatures of the pitches, nobody in Lakeland is currently throwing much better than the right-handed, 20-year-old Roberto CastilloIt seems that the sinking two-seam fastball he throws at up to 98 miles per hour can hurt hitters.
Castillo, 6’4″ and 225 pounds, has made 13 starts between Lakeland and the Florida Complex League Tigers in 2024 and has a 2.82 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. He has thrown 54.1 innings. He has been crisp: just 41 hits, with 21 walks and 45 strikeouts.
This includes an August 3 duel against Tampa in which he lasted only two-thirds of an inning. He had reached the 30-pitch limit that is sacrosanct in the Tigers’ farm system.
Graham said the launch on August 3 was not as bloody as the numbers suggested.
“The referee missed a call,” Graham said, announcing that video replays — They are not used in low single-A games — confirmed an umpire’s error on a play at first base.
Then he (Castillo) made an opponent swing twice with two strikes on a checked swing and the umpire said no, he did not swing.
“Well, there’s two outs. They scored three runs. I finally had to take him out at the 30-pitch mark. That’s almost the only time he hasn’t pitched five innings since he returned (from FCL’s Lakeland in May).
“But for a 20-year-old (he turned 20 on June 30), he has good stuff.”
There is another reason why Graham admires Castillo: He seems unaware of the summer temperatures.
“The players won’t say anything, but it’s hot in this league,” Graham said of the summer sauna in Central Florida. “You have to stay hydrated and take care of yourself. But it’s exhausting. Even I’m exhausted at the end of a game. — I’m just full.”
Oh, but Castillo — He doesn’t mind the Florida State League’s ordeal of the dreaded Sunday start when Sunday games, unlike the rest of the week, are played in the afternoon heat rather than on milder evenings.
“Nobody wants to fix Sunday games,” Graham said. “But he (Castillo) will pitch in long sleeves and not shed a damn drop of sweat!”
And indeed, Castillo rebounded on Sunday, pitching five innings against Clearwater, allowing one run on four hits and two walks and striking out two players.
Short hops
▶ Graham, who as a manager never found a base that he did not want to steal or aggressively pursue, was happy — as happy as farm managers can be — to see so many of his best Base Thieves play at various times this season from Lakeland to High-A West Michigan: Clark, McGonigle, Seth Stephenson, Brett Callahan, Patrick Lee — even Luke Gold And Roberto Campos.
Anyone can steal a sack, which was worth a grin when he reported on a phone call earlier this month with Graham’s counterpart in management, Tony Cappucciniin West Michigan:
“I talked to Cappuccilli and said, ‘You better have the most stolen bases in minor league baseball!’
“Everyone in this lineup, except maybe a few catchers, can run and steal.”
Stephenson actually stole 62 bases in 99 games last season — the second most in all minor leagues. This year he has 51 in 88 games for the Whitecaps.
▶ The Tigers’ most impressive draft picks from last month, after the first scouting reports from TigerTown’s backfields leaked: Jack Penneya fifth-round pick from Notre Dame who can play anywhere in the infield and handles shortstop adeptly. Penney, 6-1, 190, is a left-handed hitter who had more walks (39) than strikeouts (34) at Notre Dame this spring. Penney’s all-around talents, including his hitting, have made an early impression on the Tigers’ rookies.
▶ Two gentlemen who consistently deliver at Double-A Erie: Hao-Yu LeeSecond baseman who remains stable at just under .300 and an OPS of .850. And also one of the better pitching stories of the second half in the Tigers system, Troy Meltona 2022 fourth-round pick who has pitched 27 innings, made 34 strikeouts and allowed just four walks in his last five starts — with no walks in his last three starts and 17 innings. Melton, who throws right-handed, has a chance to play pitcher in Detroit in 2025.
▶ A small surprise that Tigers outfielder Jose De La Cruz was not among the eight players eliminated in last week’s roster reduction. De La Cruz, 22, has suffered 136 strikeouts in 96 games in Lakeland in 2024 (35.2%) His strikeout rate in five minor league seasons: 39.75%.
▶ Good start for the big man with a probably big bat, Thayron Liranzoin West Michigan: eight games through Sunday, .280/.438/.520/.928, with one home run and three doubles. Cappuccilli no longer has to let his catcher bat eighth or ninth.
▶ Tigers work on secondary things with CJ Winesthe right-handed reliever, whom Detroit acquired last month in a trade with the Red Sox for Trey Wingenter. Weins, 23, of Western Kentucky, a sixth-round pick of the Red Sox in 2023, has 18 strikeouts in six games and 9.1 innings since moving to Single-A Lakeland. He has tremendous power on his heater, which can reach 95.
▶ A bow to the reliever from Toledo Wilmer Floreswho is recovering in Lakeland. To celebrate the Florida Complex League Tigers’ victory, Flores rented a food truck specializing in Venezuelan cuisine to provide a feast for the predominantly Latino Tigers FCL squad. The youngsters indulged in excellent food from home, provided entirely thanks to Flores’ generosity.
Lynn Henning is a freelance writer and retired sports reporter for the Detroit News.
