Who is John Schreiber and Why Should You Care?
I was engaging on a popular Tigers Facebook page when I suggested that John Schreiber would be the first Tigers prospect to find his way to Detroit this season. Barring an injury to a position player that could lead to Christin Stewart and/or Mike Gerber getting the call, I stand by that prediction. One of the users on that Facebook page responded with "Who?" So it was at that point I realized that, outside of a very intimate group in the Tigers Twitter community, "John Schreiber" isn't a name that many people have heard...yet.
So who is this guy and why do I think he will be the first one to get the call-up this season? Interestingly, Schreiber is a Michigan native who played his high school ball at Gibraltar Carlson High School, just south of Detroit. Only one college came calling after he graduated H.S. in 2012 and it was Henry Ford Community College, where Schreiber spent his first season of collegiate ball laboring with a 7.36 ERA in 29.1 IP. The fastball velocity started ticking up into the high-80's, however, and four-year schools took notice.
Schreiber landed at the University of Northern Ohio, an NAIA school just down I-75 in Lima, OH. Before long, he started popping 90+ mph on the gun and declared himself eligible for the 2015 MLB draft after his junior campaign. His name was never called, so he went back to UNOH for his senior year and all he did was put up a 0.65 ERA in 27.2 IP, with 40 K's and 8 BB's as the Racers' closer.
Tigers scouts worked him out prior to the draft in 2016, liked what they saw, and selected Schreiber in the 15th round. At that point he was assigned to the Connecticut Tigers of the New York-Penn league. In his professional debut season, the 6'3", 215 lb. Schreiber posted a 2.76 ERA with 24 K's and 9 BB's in 18 appearances, earning a promotion to West Michigan for the 2017 season.
In the Midwest League, Schreiber was virtually untouchable, leaning on his sidearm delivery and a filthy slider to post a microscopic 0.54 ERA, whiffing 70 to only 8 walks, and holding opposing hitters to a .147 batting average.
Now 24 years old, Schreiber continued to impress down in Lakeland during Spring Training, earning four appearances in Grapefruit League action, not allowing a hit in any of them. With his rapid progression and dominance at all levels thus far, the Tigers opted to have Schreiber bypass high-A altogether and assigned him to double-A with the Erie SeaWolves to start 2018.
The arsenal consists of a sinking fastball at 90-91 mph that he can dial up to around 93, along with a change-up and that nasty slider that, with his unconventional arm angle, is effective on righties and lefties alike. In Erie, Schreiber will be truly tested against more advanced hitters. But he has passed the test at every level thus far, and you can bet that Al Avila and the rest of the Tigers' front office have their eyes on him. This appears to be a mature, MLB-ready bullpen arm, and I suspect we will see him in late inning situations at Comerica very soon.
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So who is this guy and why do I think he will be the first one to get the call-up this season? Interestingly, Schreiber is a Michigan native who played his high school ball at Gibraltar Carlson High School, just south of Detroit. Only one college came calling after he graduated H.S. in 2012 and it was Henry Ford Community College, where Schreiber spent his first season of collegiate ball laboring with a 7.36 ERA in 29.1 IP. The fastball velocity started ticking up into the high-80's, however, and four-year schools took notice.
Schreiber landed at the University of Northern Ohio, an NAIA school just down I-75 in Lima, OH. Before long, he started popping 90+ mph on the gun and declared himself eligible for the 2015 MLB draft after his junior campaign. His name was never called, so he went back to UNOH for his senior year and all he did was put up a 0.65 ERA in 27.2 IP, with 40 K's and 8 BB's as the Racers' closer.
Tigers scouts worked him out prior to the draft in 2016, liked what they saw, and selected Schreiber in the 15th round. At that point he was assigned to the Connecticut Tigers of the New York-Penn league. In his professional debut season, the 6'3", 215 lb. Schreiber posted a 2.76 ERA with 24 K's and 9 BB's in 18 appearances, earning a promotion to West Michigan for the 2017 season.
In the Midwest League, Schreiber was virtually untouchable, leaning on his sidearm delivery and a filthy slider to post a microscopic 0.54 ERA, whiffing 70 to only 8 walks, and holding opposing hitters to a .147 batting average.
Now 24 years old, Schreiber continued to impress down in Lakeland during Spring Training, earning four appearances in Grapefruit League action, not allowing a hit in any of them. With his rapid progression and dominance at all levels thus far, the Tigers opted to have Schreiber bypass high-A altogether and assigned him to double-A with the Erie SeaWolves to start 2018.
The arsenal consists of a sinking fastball at 90-91 mph that he can dial up to around 93, along with a change-up and that nasty slider that, with his unconventional arm angle, is effective on righties and lefties alike. In Erie, Schreiber will be truly tested against more advanced hitters. But he has passed the test at every level thus far, and you can bet that Al Avila and the rest of the Tigers' front office have their eyes on him. This appears to be a mature, MLB-ready bullpen arm, and I suspect we will see him in late inning situations at Comerica very soon.
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