Bless You Boys 10 hours ago
2019 BYB Tigers Prospect #23: LHP Gregory Soto
After an underwhelming year, Soto has to find a way to channel the successes he had in 2017. If we evaluated players based solely on their best night, lefthander Gregory Soto would surely be rated as one of the top 10 prospects in the Detroit Tigers’ system, if not the top five. His combination of big raw stuff, left-handedness, and arm strength creates a potent package when he is able to cobble together enough command to pull it all together. However, his placement in the 20s is a refection of how rarely all the pieces come together at once. Because he was signed all the way back in...
Rob Rogacki / Bless You Boys 12 hours ago 
Poll: What is the best Tigers team of all-time?
We probably know which team is number one, but who comes after that? With the MLB offseason rumor mill all but ground to a halt as we wait for Manny Machado and Bryce Harper to determine their respective futures, we have some time to kill before spring training. Our prospect coverage is in full gear — check out this year’s list! — but there is plenty else we can do. Those who have been around here for a while may remember the 2013-14 offseason when we attempted to rank the best Detroit Tigers players of all-time. We relied on our readers to determine the list, voting for each...
Bless You Boys Jan 16, 2019
2019 BYB Tigers Prospect #24: Derek Hill
Hill has not progressed much since the Tigers drafted him in 2014, but the raw talent remains. As recently as 2016, Derek Hill ranked among the top three prospects in the Detroit Tigers’ farm system according to multiple outlets. By the beginning of 2017, he had slipped to No. 11 on our list, then one more spot down at No. 12 in the middle of 2018. Perhaps we have been holding onto strands of rope that continue to shred as we plummet to the prospect basement, where piles of once-glimmering signs of hope are extinguished into a pile of ash. We weren’t the only ones, though. Even Kiley...
Bless You Boys Jan 16, 2019
BYB Podcast 33: Ok we’re ready for baseball now, thanks
The staff of Bless You Boys checks in on the state of the Detroit Tigers. Ashley and Brandon fire up a podcast that’s been sitting out in frigid temperatures undriven for a month. Unfortunately, there is still precious little warmth emitting from the hot stove to help us along. We took a look back at the Tigers offseason, the options they have remaining this offseason, and the chilly relations between free agents and teams around the league. The Tigers signed Jordy Mercer and Tyson Ross, and that’s fine. More please. Are the Tigers going to do anything else, and other cries for...
Call to the Pen Jan 16, 2019
Detroit Tigers: FSD announces replacements for Mario & Rod
In September 2018, in their 17th season together, the voices of the Detroit Tigers on Fox Sports Detroit were no longer on the air. Then, in October after a thorough investigation, Mario Impemba and Rod Allen were released from their contracts as TV booth announcers for the Detroit Tigers. According to several sources, including The […] Detroit Tigers: FSD announces replacements for Mario & Rod - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - A Major League Baseball Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
Detroit Free Press Jan 15, 2019
Matt Shepard used to call games in his backyard. Now he's Tigers voice
Matt Shepard grew up in Farmington Hills as an avid Detroit Tigers fan. His favorite team was the 84 Tigers.
Bless You Boys Jan 15, 2019
29 years ago, the Tigers signed Cecil Fielder
He subsequently went on to have the best seasons of his career. Cecil Fielder is a undoubtedly a larger than life baseball figure, and during his seven seasons in Detroit, he left an indelible impression on Tigers fans. Later, his son Prince would sign one of the largest contracts in Tigers history at that time, creating — albeit for a brief time — a legacy in the Motor City. It was exactly 29 years ago today that Fielder signed a deal with the Tigers, bringing him back to major league ball after spending the 1989 season with a very different Tigers team: the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s...
Detroit Free Press Jan 15, 2019
Detroit Tigers TV announcers: Get to know them
A quick primer on wholl be at the mics for the Detroit Tigers on Fox Sports Detroit this season.
Bless You Boys Jan 15, 2019
Detroit Tigers Links: Casey Mize and Jake Rogers draw MLB Pipeline accolades
A future Tigers battery is high in the power rankings. The much improved quality of the Detroit Tigers farm system continues to attract notice as we approach the advent of major league baseball activity in mid-February. In recent weeks, MLB Pipeline has been publishing top ten lists of prospects in various categories, and the Tigers young hopefuls are making their presence felt. On Monday, they published their top ten list of right-handed starting pitching prospects. Number two on the list? The Tigers number one overall pick in 2018, Casey Mize. Only the Astros top pitching prospect,...
Detroit Free Press Jan 15, 2019
How Matt Shepard is coping with wife's recovery from horrific crash
Matt Shepard, new Detroit Tigers TV announcer, has slept in a chair at the hospital, as his wife recovers from head-on car crash
Bless You Boys Jan 14, 2019
Minor League Tracker Podcast: Organizational Breakdown with Kevin Cenna and Brandon Day
A periodic look at the Detroit Tigers organization from rookie ball to the majors. On this information-packed episode, Kenon Carter and Brandon Day of Bless You Boys welcome special guest consultant, Kevin Cenna, to get some outside perspective on the Tigers’ organizational structure and philosophy: Nicholas Castellanos’s recent 2019 contract and discussion of his future with the team. Niko Goodrum and Jeimer Candelario as potential building blocks. Matthew Boyd as a staple in the rotation beyond 2019. How will the Tigers overcome the lack of impact bats in the organizational...
Rob Rogacki / Bless You Boys Jan 14, 2019 
Matt Shepard will be FSD’s play-by-play man, per report
Shepard filled in as the play-by-play man late in 2018. Matt Shepard will be Fox Sports Detroit’s primary Tigers play-by-play broadcaster in 2019, according to a report from Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. The network is expected to announce Shepard’s new gig on Tuesday, ending an offseason of rumors and speculation as to who would replace Mario Impemba in the broadcast booth. Shepard served as the network’s primary play-by-play man late in 2018 after Impemba and Rod Allen were suspended following an altercation in early September. Fox Sports Detroit announced shortly after...
Detroit Free Press Jan 14, 2019
Detroit Tigers' Fox Sports Detroit broadcast team: Meet the 3-man crew
Matt Shepard, Kirk Gibson and Jack Morris will take over Fox Sports Detroit broadcasts of the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Free Press Jan 14, 2019
Matt Shepard, Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris new Detroit Tigers' broadcast team
Fox Sports Detroit has chosen Matt Shepard as the Detroit Tigers’ next television play-by-play broadcaster.
Detroit Sports Nation Jan 14, 2019
BREAKING: Mario Impemba and Rod Allen’s replacements revealed
According to a report from Lynn Henning of the Detroit News, Mario Impemba and Rod Allen have been replaced. Henning is reporting that Matt Shepard will replace Impemba as the Detroit Tigers play-by -play man on FOx Sports Detroit while Kirk Gibson and Jack Morris will be analysts. Matt Shepard wins Tigers TV play-by-play job […]
