Like us on Facebook here

Thursday, January.17/2013

Pitchers and Catcher have less than 4 weeks to report in FLA.

By Matthew LaFave (Tigers Correspondent): Follow @MatthewLaFave 

The Detroit Tigers announced on Wednesday that they have invited 17 players to Major League camp in Lakeland, Florida.

The names include some familiar faces like Don Kelly, Shawn Hill, and Nick Castellanos.

Kelly, who will turn 33 at the start of spring training, reportedly turned down a National League team to remain with the Tigers. After struggling at the plate last season, his contract was out righted to Triple-A affiliate Toledo. He is the only active MLB player to play all 9 positions in his career.

Don Kelly – Post Game after Game #2 of the 2012 ALDS (Walk off Sac Fly)

Shawn Hill’s best year as a starter was in 2007, where he went 4-5, with a 3.42 ERA and WHIP of 1.146 in 16 GS and 97.1 IP.

Right Handed pitcher Shawn Hill is another veteran of the camp invitees. The 31-year-old was drafted back in 2000 by the Montreal Expos. Hill has battled injuries throughout his career, including Tommy John surgery in 2005 and again in 2009. He also spent time at the Major league level with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010 and last season. He is a career 10-12 starter with a 4.69 ERA.

The infamous Nick Castellanos will get a great opportunity to display his talents in big league camp. He is coming off an impressive 2012 season which saw him hit .405 in 55 games with Class-A Lakeland Tigers. After finally being promoted to Double-A Erie, he hit a respectable .264 with 7 HRs and 25 RBI in 79 games.

The full list is as follows:

Left-Handed Pitchers: Jose Alvarez, Kenny Faulk, Ryan Robowski

Right-Handed Pitchers: Trevor Bell, Shawn Hill, Michael Morrison

Catchers: Curt Casali, Brad Davis, James McCann

Infielders: Argenis Diaz, Eugenio Suarez

Outfielders: Tyler Collins, Daniel Fields

IF/OF: Nick Castellanos, Don Kelly, Kevin Russo, Matt Tuiasosopo

Worth noting: Daniel Fields was born and raised in Detroit, MI. A graduate of University of Detroit Jesuit High School, he was drafted in the 6th round of the 2009 draft. He is the son of former Detroit Tigers player and current Tigers Minor League hitting coordinator Bruce Fields.

Pitchers and catchers report to Lakeland on February 12th.

Daniel Fields -The OF/DH is not likely to make the Major League club and will probably start the year in Erie.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their partners***

A big thank-you goes out to Our ‘Tigers Correspondent’ Matthew LaFave.  Matthew was born and raised outside of Detroit, Michigan. Growing up watching all of the Detroit sports with his father he began to enjoy writing about them in high school. At first started out as e-mails between his father turned into a Detroit Lions blog website titled ‘Hear Me Roar’. Matthew would go on to get a job as ‘Detroit Tigers Writer’ at the website http://www.examiner.com. He has been writing for them for over two seasons and regularly attends games as a credentialed media member. Be sure to follow him on Twitter Follow @MatthewLafave

Please e-mail me  at: mlbreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback.  You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.  To subscribe to our website and have the Daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Like us on Facebook here