tiger tales

There could be some Mississippi flavor coming to the Detroit Tigers’ roster in the near future. Richton’s JaCoby Jones and Madison’s Spencer Turnbull are rated among the top nine prospects in the Detroit system by both Baseball America and mlb.com. And not too far behind is Kade Scivicque, a Southwest Mississippi Community College product who has been labeled a “hidden gem” in the club’s 2015 draft crop. Jones, a shortstop acquired by the Tigers from Pittsburgh in a trade last summer, was rated the No. 5 prospect on Baseball America’s chart, released last week. The former Mr. Baseball, who played at LSU, batted .257 with 16 homers, 80 RBIs and 25 steals in 2015, finishing the season in Double-A. He also played well in the Arizona Fall League before getting slapped with a 50-game drug of abuse suspension that will carry into the 2016 season. That setback notwithstanding, Jones “has the raw tools to be an exciting difference-maker,” reports MLBPipeline, which rates Jones ninth in the Tigers’ organization. Former Madison Central star Turnbull, who pitched at Alabama, was pegged No. 9 by BA (and fifth by mlb.com). Turnbull, a 6-foot-3 right-hander, went 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA as a starter in low Class A last season. Wrote BA’s Ben Badler in a website chat, “I do think ultimately his best role will be in the bullpen. … (H)e has the two-pitch mix led by that wicked power fastball that would play well in that role.” Scivicque, an All-America catcher at LSU, was drafted in the fourth round and played at two levels of A-ball last summer, batting .269 with five homers. He is reputed to have outstanding defensive skills.