(Photo: Robin Buckson, Detroit News)
Fort Myers, Fla. — Two players — center fielder JaCoby Jones and catcher Jake Rogers — are elite-level defenders. Jones led all big-league outfielders with 21 defensive runs saved last season. Rogers set a record at Double-A Erie last season, throwing out 50 base-stealers.
The Tigers believe both are impact players right now, defensively. And the Tigers believe they can be All-Star-level players if they can clear the one tall hurdle that’s vexed them through their developmental years — hitting.
Lloyd McClendon, the Tigers hitting coach, is the man tasked with getting these two through this particular barrier.