This is part three of a four-part series introducing the Tigers’ four new players to readers who may not know much about them. Part 1 (Max Scherzer) can be found here, while part 2 (Phil Coke) is here. Unfortunately, there’s not a ton of information out there on these guys, but we’ll share whatever we dig up. Part 4 will come later.
So far, the most we know about LHP Daniel Schlereth is that he is the son of ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth. Daddy is very supportive of young Daniel, as seen in the videos below.
He screwed up a bit (it’s the Old English D, Mark) but he gets points for trying.
Schlereth has been in the minor leagues for most of his career so far, and understandably so. In 18.1 innings of Big League work last year, Schlereth sported a 5.89 ERA. He gave up 15 hits and walked 15 batters for a not-so-low WHIP of 1.636. However, there is a silver lining. Schlereth struck out 22 batters in those 18.1 innings, an average of nearly 11 per 9 innings. [stats via Baseball-Reference.com]
Billfer from the Detroit Tiger Weblog has a more general take on Schlereth:
In addition to grabbing the Diamondbacks 2006 top draft pick, they also got their 1st rounder from 2008 in Daniel Schlereth. Schlereth has a 93-94 mph fastball and a 79 mph curveball and the lefty will be pitching exclusively out of the pen. He’ll strike out a lot of guys, but he’ll also walk way too many. He appeared in 21 games and pitched 18.1 innings in 2009.
Kevin Goldstein rated him as a 4 star prospect after the 2008 season. Baseball America releases their Diamondback’s Top 10 on Wednesday, but Schlereth rated as the 3rd best prospect in their system last year.
Fox’s Dayn Perry has a brief but glowing tidbit on Schlereth in his article of five worst offseason moves across the MLB. (Check out all the former Tigers on the list. Looks like Dombrowski might know what he’s doing.)
Schlereth, meanwhile, has a dominating minor-league dossier and the makings of a shutdown reliever at the highest level.
From what I’ve gathered, Schlereth has a very high ceiling but isn’t quite ready for the Major Leagues. He’ll have plenty of time to develop, as the Tigers now have an abundance of left-handed pitchers in their bullpen. Bobby Seay is a lock to be back in Detroit while Fu-Te Ni, Schlereth, and Phil Coke will compete for one or two other roster spots this Spring. Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis could also possibly be in the bullpen if neither is impressive enough for a starting gig (highly likely), and each will take a roster spot over a more deserving reliever due to their bulky contracts.
If I were to guess right now, I’d say that Schlereth spends this year in the minors (probably at Double-A Erie) with the possibility of a September call-up, especially if the Tigers are in the playoff race. From what I’ve seen, it looks like Schlereth has the stuff to be a dominant reliever and could be on the short list for future Tigers closers.
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