It’s mayhem out there folks. We have a seemingly endless stream of police brutality and unequal justice, cities quite literally going up in flames in response to the killing of George Floyd, and a looming election season that has already raised tensions and will only further segment an already divided nation. Oh yeah, don’t forget the unprecedented global pandemic looming in the background of the chaos, wondering how it’s been pushed to footnote status on the day’s events.

Before we get to the draft talk, a brief message to anyone out there who feels the best way to solve society’s problems is by disrespecting each other on social media:

Do Something

One of the goals I have for the content I produce for this site is to make it seem like you are having a conversation with me. Anyone who knows me should feel my personality (or lack thereof?) come across through my writing. If you were having a conversation with me in the past week-plus, you would know that for the first time possibly ever, very few of the thoughts bouncing around in my head were about sports. It would be inauthentic, and quite frankly cowardly of me to wait for the literal flames to die down just to pop out and say “Who’s ready to talk baseball?”.

I’m not going to sit here and preach to you about things I’m still actively trying to figure out myself. Yet that’s exactly what I see when I dive into the toxic cesspool that is social media: people who have all the answers and feel the need to argue, and oftentimes disrespect or alienate, anyone with an opposing view. In fairness, I’ve taken a jab or two of my own in the name of stopping the spread of ignorance, hate, and misinformation, but I’m mostly trying to be a better listener and learner throughout this process.

Here is a suggestion for all those who are just arguing circles around one another: Once you’re done talking, do something.

We all have something we can do to show the strength of our humanity and character, regardless of what side of any of these issues you may fall on. Whether that’s as overt an act as protesting injustice, or as simple as listening, really listening, to someone purely to better understand their perspective and anger/sadness/confusion.

As a parent of three, on my to-do list is spending some extra time teaching my kids the importance of acceptance, compassion, and community. I’m also going to do my best to give them a kid-friendly rundown of racism and prejudice in this country. Don’t feel qualified to tackle these issues with your kids? Let Elmo do the heavy lifting and watch the Sesame Street Town Hall: Standing up to Racism.

Trust me, the kids can handle the important talks. There are some 8-year-olds in that special who ask better questions than a lot of adults.

Society needs to be rebuilt, and the comment section makes for a shitty foundation. Get out there and do something that fosters respect and human decency.

Now, who’s ready to talk baseball?

Did the Tigers tank for Tork?

The boys of summer have a big day coming up on June 10th in the form of the 2020 MLB Draft.

The negotiations between MLB owners and the players union – led by Tigers legend Tony Clark, who famously finished 18th in the AL MVP voting in 1997 (common knowledge, I know) – have cast doubt over whether we will even get to see baseball in 2020. I’m not here for the “whose side are you on: owners or players?” debate. Prorated salaries, fans/no fans, TV revenue…there are an absurd amount of wrinkles that need to be ironed out before the two sides see eye-to-eye, and I don’t find the fine print all that interesting.

What I am here for, and what I am always here for is…DRAFT TALK BABYYYYYYY!!!

The Detroit Tigers will jerk the curtain on June 10th, as they have the privilege of selecting first overall. They “earned” it too, with an absolutely abysmal 2019 season that saw them finish 47-114 and a mere 53.5 games behind the AL Central Champion Twins. They could’ve cut it to an even 53, but were robbed of the chance when game No. 162 was canceled in the final week by mother nature. Ahh, what could have been?

The name you should start familiarizing yourself with? Spencer Torkelson, a 20-year-old first baseman out of Arizona State. Nearly all of the mockers out there have the Tigers taking the power-hitting 1B over the more versatile 2B/3B/OF Austin Martin of Vanderbilt. I’m fine with that since I still haven’t forgiven Martin for his role in spoiling Michigan’s College World Series dreams in 2019.

Texas A&M LHP Asa Lacy appears to be settling in as the consensus top pitcher in the draft, though the Tigers farm system is currently littered with promising young arms – Casey Mize, Matt Manning, and Tarik Skubal each claim a spot in the MLB.com top-50 prospect rankings. I don’t expect the Tigers to draft a pitcher with their top pick for the fifth time in six years.

So, what do we need to know about this Tork fella? Well, from what I’d gathered this offseason he didn’t appear to be garnering “generational talent” hype a la Bryce Harper (2009) or Stephen Strasburg (2010). But that’s not to say he isn’t a deserving first overall selection. He is widely considered the best offensive prospect in the draft, and recently prompted Jim Callis of MLB.com to call him “possibly the Draft’s best all-around offensive prospect (hitting ability, power, plate discipline) since Mark Teixeira in 2001“.

Some quick-hitting fun facts about Torkelson’s college career, courtesy of Prospects1500:

*Led the nation in HRs as a freshman in 2018. He also set the Arizona State record for HRs by a freshman. He passed a guy you may have heard of: Barry Bonds.

*Homered in every PAC-12 ballpark by the end of his sophomore season.

*Has experience playing with wood.

Ok, I may have taken some liberties with that last one. This is in reference to his time playing with Team USA’s National Collegiate Team, where he got to trade the aluminum bat (PING!) for pro-style wood. He knew just what to do when he wrapped two hands around it too.

I can’t help myself.

At any rate, Torkelson is in all likelihood headed to Detroit. We may not see him in the Old English D for a couple years, but having an elite offensive prospect with power in the pipeline is something the Tigers desperately need. Detroit finished dead last in runs per game in 2019, and in a record-breaking home run season across all of baseball (the previous season-high was shattered by 671 dingers), the Tigers and Marlins were the only teams to manage fewer than one homer per game.

Here’s hoping Spencer Torkelson can #MakeDetroitBaseballFunAgain

Lottery luck for Wings?

Hockey is coming back!

The Red Wings are not.

Yes, Detroit will be one of just seven teams who will miss out on the fun of competing for Lord Stanley’s cup this season. By no means did they deserve to be part of the expanded 24 team field, as they were the worst team in the NHL by a mile. Detroit’s minus-123 goal differential nearly tripled that of the next worst team (OTT).

Man, that “Buzz…your girlfriend…WOOF!” GIF is versatile. Always there when I need it.

Scoring the fewest goals in the league is bad. Allowing the most is also bad. Doing both in the same season is bad bad. This makes me sad sad.

The Wings now turn their eyes to the NHL Draft Lottery, which takes place on June 26th. Despite holding the best odds to land the No. 1 selection, this little event has not been kind to Detroit since their 25-year playoff streak ended following the 2016-17 season. They have been bumped back (in relation to their final position in the standings) in each of the past three draft lotteries, confirming what I always thought but never put to paper until now…

Playoff hockey is more fun than bingo.

Having the “best” odds is framing the situation quite nicely, as it only amounts to an 18.5% chance of landing the top pick. The Senators, by virtue of owning the rights to San Jose’s top pick as well as their own, actually have better odds than the Wings of landing the top spot (25%). Statistically, Detroit has a 50.6% chance of falling back to fourth, which is the lowest they can select in 2020.

A one-time revised lottery format was briefly teased several weeks ago, which would have seen Detroit’s odds to land the top pick skyrocket to 57% while also being guaranteed to pick no lower than second. Given the fact that eight teams currently reside in a strange-yet-wonderful form of hockey limbo, where a team like the 31-31-9 Montreal Canadiens simultaneously hold the possibility of winning the Stanley Cup OR landing the No. 1 pick in the draft, it would have been nice to see the seven bottom-feeders who don’t get to join in the “qualifying round” fun get a little bump in their lottery odds.

Alas, we can’t have nice things in Detroit. No bones will be thrown. Ever. We are once again at the mercy of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman grabbing our balls.

The prize waiting at the top of the draft is 18-year-old Canadian winger Alexis Lafreniere. He’s the consensus no-brainer top selection whose play has garnered rave reviews across the draft analysis landscape. Compete level, leadership and unselfishness are common intangibles found among his many glowing scouting reports, to along with his elite playmaking ability. DraftGeek doesn’t quite tag him with the “generational” label (the G-word again) but says he’s close. Lafreniere could be a franchise-altering, timeline-shifting talent, and it’s damn time a Detroit sports franchise was dealt some good draft fortune.

Luckily, there appear to be some high-quality fallback options, though none with the kind of upside Lafreniere projects to have. C Quinton Byfield is the consensus No. 2, a fellow Canadian who is still a lil’ baby at just 17-years-old, but stands an imposing 6’4″ 215lbs and plays a complete and physical game.

If the Wings do fall all the way back to No. 4, might they consider finally getting a high-end goalie prospect into the system in the form of Russian netminder Yaroslav Askarov? It may be a bit rich for the Wings’ blood to take him this high, as doing so would make him the first goalie to go in the top-5 since Carey Price in 2005. But when you have the upside of someone like…um…Carey Price, why the hell not? Detroit’s team save percentage in 2019-20 (.886) was the worst of any team in over a decade. Might the best goalie prospect in a decade be the perfect remedy?

We’ll soon find out. In the meantime, do something helpful.

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