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Detroit Tigers 'so frickin' excited' showcase team in talent-rich Dominican Republic

Detroit Tigers prospects Riley Greene and Parker Meadows take batting practice before the exhibition game in Bradenton, Florida, on Feb. 23, 2020. Detroit Free Press

LAKELAND, Fla. — Leonel Lugo made sure his son, Dawel, caught the baseball bug early. He was a baseball player in the Dominican Republic, where the sport approaches something like a secular religion. So Lugo would take his son with him to games and practices.

It paid off. Dawel Lugo is now a third baseman for the Detroit Tigers and gets to return to the Domincan Republic to play in Saturday’s spring training game against the Minnesota Twins at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo.