Mike Gerber Makes Progress

LAKELAND, Fla.—Being named an organization’s minor league player of the year is kind of like getting all A’s in kindergarten: It puts a lot of pressure on a guy in the years that follow.

But the Tigers feel like outfielder Mike Gerber is progressing just fine.

Gerber hit .276/.345/.466 with 18 home runs and 80 RBIs in 2016 while splitting time between high Class A Lakeland and Double-A Erie. It was his first experience at both levels.

That’s not a bad follow-up to a 2015 season in which he earned honors as the franchise’s top position player after playing the entire season at low Class A West Michigan.

“He’s just got a really good pair of hands on him,” farm director Dave Owen said. “He can really swing the bat. He’s got some power in there. He’s a guy who you can see being a nice asset on a team.”

Gerber played mostly the corner outfield after being a 15th-round pick out of Creighton in 2014. But he saw some time in center field last season.

“He can play all three outfield positions,” Owen said. “He played some center field for us last year and did a nice job out there. He runs good. He throws OK.”

Gerber, a lefthanded batter, hit seven home runs in 65 games in 2014. He hit 13 in 2015 then 18 for Lakeland and Erie last season.

“He’s always going to be a guy who’s going to have sneaky power,” Owen said. “He’s gap to gap, but he can put some juice in a few balls.”

Gerber drew 52 walks in 132 games in 2016, but he also struck out 152 times. That’s a sizable increase in strikeouts over the 2015 season. Owen said he didn’t see it as a concern moving forward.

“We just want to see Gerb continue to get better, and we’re very confident and expect him to do so,” Owen said. “He’s got the ability to do it.

“We’re just going to give him playing time. He’s going to gain experience, and I think that’s going to lead to good results.”

TIGER TALES

• The Tigers kept non-roster righthanded reliever Angel Nesbitt in big league camp until the final round of cuts. He struck out 11 in 8.2 spring innings.

• Lefthander Matt Boyd emphatically made the Opening Day rotation by striking out 23 and walking one in 25.2 spring innings. He recorded a 2.10 ERA.

— Chris Iott is a writer based in Michigan