A.J. Hinch’s message to Tigers’ prospects: Ignore noise, ‘go beat the game’

LAKELAND, Fla. -- A.J. Hinch was never a mega-prospect, but he was a well-regarded young catcher back in the late 1990s.

Drafted in the second round out of high school and the third round out of college, he knows a bit what it’s like to in the shoes of the Detroit Tigers’ young prospects.

But the Tigers manager also thinks that whatever pressure he felt two decades ago has grown exponentially for high-profile prospects today.

“You can read your headlines a little bit easier nowadays then you could years and years ago, and the expectation level is through the roof,” Hinch said. “The expectation that they should perform right away has never been higher. So they carry all those distractions.”

Hinch said making the leap to the big leagues is such a monumental challenge that high expectations can be more a burden than a boost. He wants the Tigers’ crop of young prospects to focus on the field and ignore the external noise.

It’s advice that he’s already conveyed directly to pitchers Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal, and he plans to share the same message with other prospects like Matt Manning, Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene.

“You’re competing with the game, not (trying to) live up to a reputation that somebody external has put on you,” Hinch said. “It’s exciting because we can start to dream on what Tigers teams are going to be like for the next decade. But that doesn’t help you beat (Shane) Bieber on Opening Day. That doesn’t help you when you’re staring down Aaron Judge in April or May. That’s the message to these guys: ‘Go beat the game. Don’t worry about your prospect status.’”

Mize wants to be ‘anchor’

Hinch watched Mize’s bullpen session on Thursday and chatted with the No. 1 overall pick and top pitching prospect afterwards.

He said he’s excited about what he’s seen so far.

“It’s going to be fun to work with him on his usage. He’s got so many weapons. It’s going to be fun to watch him evolve and use his pitches a little bit more efficiently, a little more effectively,” Hinch said. “More than anything, I want to take some of the burden off Casey so that he doesn’t have to be perfect right now. He just needs to go compete with his stuff.”

Mize posted a 6.99 ERA in seven starts over 28 1/3 innings in his Major League debut in 2020. It’s not clear if he’ll be in the rotation in 2021 or start the season at Triple-A Toledo.

“I think Casey has everything, every ingredient that you need in order to make an adjustment off of last season,” Hinch said. “His pitches are are elite across the board. He’ll take a leap forward when he when he applies his stuff more effectively.

“He wants to be an anchor in this rotation and I’ve told him the opportunity is going to be there for him to earn it.”

What about Wentz?

Left-handed pitcher Joey Wentz isn’t always mentioned alongside Mize, Skubal and Manning, but he could be soon.

The 23-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery 11 months ago and reached a milestone of sorts when he played catch off a sloping mound for the first time on Friday.

“He’s so happy to be on a team again and feel like a player and not a patient,” Hinch said. “Eventually we’ve got to stop talking about just Manning, Mize and Skubal, in whatever order. Eventually we’d like to add a name to that.”

News and notes from Friday

Tyler Alexander, Daniel Norris, Kyle Funkhouser, Jose Cisnero, Alex Lange and Zack Hess threw bullpen sessions on Friday, the third day of pitcher-catcher workouts.

Hinch said many pitchers are ahead of the normal schedule for this time in spring. Matthew Boyd, for example, threw 41 pitches on Thursday.

Among pitchers who stood out on Friday, Hinch mentioned Lange, who was acquired from the Chicago Cubs in the Nicholas Castellanos trade.

“I thought he was pretty sharp with his stuff,” Hinch said. “It’s the first time I’ve seen him live, obviously, and I can see why we’re happy happy with him.”