Toledo Mud Hens 3, Louisville Bats 1 (box)
Left-hander Jackson Wolf continued his excellent run since coming over from the Padres in the Casey Mize trade, while Jace Jung provided the offense on Wednesday.
Wolf located his fourseam and sinker well in this one, and dropped in plenty of good curveballs to baffle the Bats. He scattered five hits and two walks, pitching into the sixth with five strikeouts on the day. His outings tend to feature a fair amount of traffic, but very little damage.
He holds an ERA under 2.00 since coming over, and hasn’t
allowed a single home run. It’s only 27.2 innings, but it’s also notable that Wolf’s strikeout rate has spiked from 21.2 percent in the Padres system, to 31.8 percent in Toledo. I don’t really see any outstanding differences in his stuff, but the Padres are pretty poor at developing pitchers so hopefully the Tigers are helping him improving his approach, pitch mix, and location. With pitching depth always a key concern, it feels like the Tigers have a pretty nice sixth starter who can also pitch in as a lefty in relief if Tyler Holton, Brant Hurter, or Drew Sommers need backup in 2027.
The Hens didn’t have much going on offensively in this one, but in the bottom of the third, Andrew Navigato drew a one-out walk. Trei Cruz ripped a single to center field, and Jung launched his 21st home run of the season to right field.
That blow made it 3-0. Wolf gave up a run in the fifth, but came back out to collect two outs in the sixth before giving way to the pen.
Nick Sandlin and Jack Little got the Hens through the eighth. Tanner Rainey walked a batter but closed it out for his fifth save.
Our friends at Tigers Minor League Report voted Max Anderson their minor league player of the year this week. He posted a single and a double in this one. No doubt it’s been a frustrating year for him, as he improved his swing decisions as needed but never got the call to the big leagues. He should get his opportunities in 2027.
Anderson: 2-4, 2B
Jung: 1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR, K
Wolf (W, 4-1): 5.2 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K
