Detroit Tigers monitoring Akil Baddoo's success in Triple-A Toledo: 'He absolutely factors in'

Akil Baddoo, once a surprise standout for the Detroit Tigers, is riding an eight-game on-base streak in Triple-A Toledo.

The 23-year-old, a 2020 Rule 5 draft pick, still has work to do, but he appears to be to putting pressure on the Tigers to call him up for another opportunity in the big leagues. If or when that happens is a mystery, but the organization is closely monitoring his performance.

"We want Akil on this team," manager A.J. Hinch said Monday. "It's just a matter of when we feel like he can be a contributor, when the playing time is there for him, what he can offer to a club.

"He's a big-leaguer. We knew that when we sent him down. We also wanted him to decompress and get back to being himself again. He absolutely factors in, present, future, in all aspects."

In his past six games, Baddoo is hitting .565 (13-for-23) with three doubles, two home runs, four RBIs, three walks and three strikeouts, along with a pair of stolen bases.

Baddoo, spanning his entire 23-game stint with the Mud Hens, has a .294 batting average with two homers, 13 walks and 19 strikeouts. Five of those walks have occurred in his past eight games.

"It's been nice to see," Hinch said.

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Hinch has watched Baddoo virtually every day, and recently, he is watching Baddoo control the strike zone. Sacrificing a contact-first approach in search of power plagued him through 17 games with the Tigers to begin this season.

Baddoo had a .140 batting average with one homer, five walks and 15 strikeouts. The Tigers demoted him to Toledo on May 9, but not long after, a right oblique strain shelved him for a couple weeks.

"It's good to see him have some adjustments, and then have some success off of those adjustments," Hinch said. "It looks like his vibe his back. His energy is certainly high."

Where Baddoo might fit with the Tigers is another topic.

The Tigers have five outfielders on the active roster, with Austin Meadows set to return soon: Willi Castro, Kody Clemens, Riley Greene, Robbie Grossman and Victor Reyes. When Meadows is activated, the Tigers will need to make a roster move.

Grossman is hitting .211 with two home runs, 28 walks and 72 strikeouts in 61 games, though his .314 on-base percentage this season isn't much worse than Baddoo's .330 OBP over 124 games last season.

"There's plenty to like with what he's doing, which is exactly why we wanted him to get down there and play," Hinch said of Baddoo. "The injury after he got sent down delayed this stretch of games where we were hoping he could make an adjustment, so it's good to see."

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Drew Hutchison returns

A familiar face appeared in the Tigers' clubhouse Monday.

Right-hander Drew Hutchison is back, and he's in the starting rotation again. He will start Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians and remain in the starting rotation until at least the All-Star break.

Hutchison, signed to a minor-league deal three times since March 15, has been designated for assignment twice this season. He most recently re-signed with the Tigers on June 29.

"It's a good opportunity for me," Hutchison said. "It's the quickest opportunity back to the big leagues. They've been very upfront with me, and our communication has been very good and honest, and that's all you can ask for as a player."

After Hutchison was designated for assignment June 20, the seven-year MLB veteran — an Opening Day starter for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015 — went home and threw a bullpen session.

He pitched Thursday for Triple-A Toledo and allowed three runs on five hits across four innings. He picked up six strikeouts, without a walk, and threw 42 of 67 pitches for strikes.

Hutchison is built up to throw 70 pitches.

In 12 games (two starts) for the Tigers, he has a 4.81 ERA with 16 walks and 17 strikeouts across 24⅓ innings.

"I'm pretty good with rolling with things," Hutchison said. "I have a good idea of what's going on, and like I said, that communication of them being honest with me makes that a little more simple."

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Before officially activating Hutchison, the Tigers need to clear space on the 40-man and 26-man rosters. Those moves will happen after Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader.

A relief pitcher will be cut from the 26-man roster.

"It's very tough," Hinch said. "I mean, there's no one that deserves to not be down there in the bullpen. It sucks. We need to have a starter. We need to have starters until the All-Star break. We can't carry four. We knew this was coming, but it's very unfortunate for somebody."

Injury updates

• Outfielder Austin Meadows (right and left Achilles strains) will going through all baseball activities Tuesday. If all goes well, he could play as soon as Wednesday or Thursday for Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers expect Meadows in the majors at some point during the upcoming road trip.

• Right-handed reliever José Cisnero (right shoulder strain, swollen Achilles) is scheduled to pitch again Wednesday for Triple-A Toledo. He pitched a perfect sixth inning Sunday on 14 pitches (nine strikes) and racked up two strikeouts. The 33-year-old needs at least five rehab outings before joining the Tigers and has already completed two of them. He could return to the team before the All-Star break.

• Right-handed starter Matt Manning (right shoulder inflammation) will throw a bullpen Thursday, which lines him up to appear for Low-A Lakeland soon. The 24-year-old is expected to throw two innings for the Flying Tigers — though the date of that start is unclear — before transitioning to Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers hope Manning can make a couple rehab starts in the minor leagues before the All-Star break.

- Right-handed reliever Kyle Funkhouser (right shoulder strain) is supposed to pitch off the mound for the first time this week.

The latest on Ryan Kreidler

Triple-A Toledo shortstop Ryan Kreidler has transitioned to Lakeland, where he is mending a groin strain. The Mud Hens didn't place him on the injured list, but he hasn't played since June 23.

Kreidler already missed one month, from April 27 through May 26, with a fractured right hand. Upon his May 27 return, he played two games before sitting out until June 11 due to prolonged hand soreness.

The 24-year-old is hitting .221 with six home runs, 16 RBIs, 13 walks and 38 strikeouts in 29 games for Toledo. He is the Tigers' No. 6 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

In 2021, Kreidler hit .304 with seven homers in 41 games for the Mud Hens.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers monitoring Akil Baddoo's success in Triple-A