by Craig Grant | Apr 28, 2023 | THE THREE SPOT
The Detroit Tigers have not had a winning record since the 2016 MLB season. In addition to that, the club has not made the postseason since the 2014 season.
There hasn’t been much for Tiger fans to cheer for in general the past decade. With such mediocre performances one can not help wonder why the team has stalled the development of a young and promising player MLBbro Akil Baddoo.
Akil “The Real Deal” Baddoo Is Gunning For AL Rookie of The Year
Baddoo played in 124 and 73 games in the 2021 and 2022 seasons respectively. While his strikeout numbers have been higher than the organization would like, he’s exhibited promising defense and shows obvious improvements the more he plays at the Major League level.
After a dominant Spring Training in 2022, the MLBbro outfielder seemed poised for a breakout of sorts, especially after a successful rookie season in which he batted .259 with 13 Home Runs and 55 RBI.
Akil “The Thrill” Gets Demoted To Triple-A | “Baddoo Mania” Is On Timeout
But, while he did struggle mightily during his Major League tenure last season, the Tigers were in no position to contend. Thus, sending him down to Triple-A did nothing but halt his development.
Baddoo has batted over .300 in his last two Minor League stints, proving that he is Major League ready but needs more time to adjust. The Tigers are no threat to compete in the American League Central, and should be focused on developing young stars such as the MLBbro Baddoo.
Take That! | Akil “The Real Deal” Baddoo Is Back In The Bigs And Hopefully Detroit Lets Him Cook
Baddoo has all the tools to be a quality outfielder, and a threat at the plate. This was on display Wednesday when the MLBbro tallied two doubles against the Milwaukee Brewers in a 6-2 loss.
While his early 2023 batting average is in the low .200s, the Tigers should give him time to get fully acclimated to Major League pitching, and evaluate him thoroughly. Let’s hope that he not only gets a fair chance this year, but he continues to develop and emerge as another solid MLBbro.
by Kevin Moore | Jul 6, 2022 | THE THREE SPOT
Detroit Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo had a breakout year last season.
His first MLB season was one to remember. Baddoo finished the 2021 season hitting .259 with 13 home runs, 55 RBI, and 18 stolen bases through 124 games.
This brother was electric on the field, bringing the energy every time he suited up. He was a player the Tigers definitely needed, and the fans welcomed him with open arms.
After an impressive rookie season, Baddoo was ready to have more success in his second season.
He was a player that the Tigers were high on at the beginning of the season and was named the team’s starting centerfielder.
Unfortunately for Baddoo, he struggled a lot at the plate at the beginning of the season. At the end of April, he was only hitting .111 through 12 games.
The Tigers sent him down to Triple-A on May 9 after hitting .140 with a home run, five walks, and 15 strikeouts.
Baddoo was not producing at the plate like he was last year, but the 23-year-old still has the energy when he’s playing.
No matter if he’s in a slump or on a hitting streak, he’s going to go out there and give you full effort day in and day out.
During his time in Triple-A, Baddoo has found his swing at the plate and he’s looking a lot more comfortable in that batter’s box.
Through 24 games with the Toledo Mud Hens, Baddoo is hitting .303 with three home runs and 13 RBI.
Tigers manager, A.J. Hinch wants Baddoo back on the team, it’s just a matter of timing at this point.
“We want Akil on this team,” Hinch said Monday in an article from the Detroit Free Press. “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.”
Now Detroit will have its hands full, trying to factor Baddoo back into the lineup. The team has five outfielders on the active roster and when Austin Meadows returns, the team will have to make another roster move.
There’s no question that Baddoo deserves to be back in the lineup for the Tigers. The brother can impact the game in multiple ways.
It’ll be interesting to see how long the Tigers wait to bring him back up. Let’s hope it’s not too long.
Once he makes his return, it’s going to be a different outcome than earlier this season. Baddoo is a competitor, and he wants to go out there and be the best.
His time in Triple-A is exactly what he needed and he’s ready to go out and put that old English D back on.
by Malik Wright | May 12, 2022 | THE THREE SPOT
Last season “Baddoo Mania” was the hottest thing since sliced bread, as he had one of the greatest beginnings to a career in Major League history. However, after a slow start in his sophomore season, Baddoo was sent down to Triple-A Toledo this past weekend.
Akil Baddoo electrified the city of Detroit from the first plate appearance of his career. He hit a home run on the first ever swing in his Major League career. The coming out party would not end there.
Baddoo became the only player in the history of modern baseball with a home run, grand slam, and walk-off hit within the first three games of his career. Although he did not receive any votes for American League Rookie of the Year, Baddoo finished 2021 with a .259 average, 13 home runs, 18 steals, 55 RBI and 20 doubles.
The Tigers missed the playoffs after finishing 16 games behind the White Sox, but showed plenty of promise as their record was near .500 – in large part to Baddoo, who appeared in 124 games for the team.
During the off-season, the Tigers made a few new additions and called up some of their top Minor League talent. There was hope in Mo-Town the team could be ahead of schedule; competing for a playoff spot in 2022 with Baddoo as one of their main pieces.
He got off to a similar hot start in Spring Training this season – which was where he earned his spot on the Big League club, after never playing higher than A-Ball in his career previously.
However this season, Baddoo is going through the dreaded “sophomore slump” some second-year athletes experience.
Baddoo only had seven hits in 50 plate appearances this season leading up to his demotion. His average only reached .140 and his on-base percentage was a woeful .218. He has one home run and two RBI.
“You have always got to make the best out of it,” Baddoo told reporters Monday after his demotion. “It’s unfortunate. I’m going to go down there and get the reps that I need and be ready to come back.”
Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch says Baddoo was sent down in order to work on his swing and get constant at-bats rather than be in a platoon.
“This was unexpected when we started the year,” said Hinch. “I’m sure he didn’t expect it. We didn’t expect it. But the reality is this is where we are at. We need him to decompress and get himself right and play everyday. It could be a short stint, it could be longer, but hopefully he can work on things to be more consistent.”
The Tigers want Baddoo to become more of a contact hitter and swing less for power. He struck out in nearly 30 percent of his at-bats this season and for a player of his caliber of talent, those numbers are not acceptable. I believe Baddoo will be one of the best players on the Tigers, sooner rather than later, but this demotion will be an important crossroads on where he can take his career.
For now, outfielder Derek Hill will take the majority of reps in center during Baddoo’s absence.
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