Jordan Lennerton NEWS

Full Name: Jordan M Lennerton
Born: 02/16/1986
Birthplace: Langley, BC
College: El Paso CC
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 217
Bats: L
Throws: L

Biography:
Selected by the Tigers in the 33rd round of the June 2008 First-Year Draft out of Oregon State University. ... Was an All-Pac-10 Conference selection as a sophomore in 2006 after batting .416 with 14 doubles, 10 homers and 63 RBIs in 55 games. ... Selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 41st round of the 2005 Draft but did not sign. ... Selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 50th round of the 2004 Draft but did not sign.


Awards/Honors:
12/23/2012 - MiLB.com Organization All-Star
07/10/2012 - EAS Mid-Season All-Star
09/06/2011 - FSL Player of the Week
08/22/2011 - FSL Player of the Week
08/23/2010 - FSL Player of the Week
06/01/2010 - MID Player of the Week

Lennerton is Tigers' rep at All-Star Futures Game
Fans can also vote for last year's MVP, Castellanos, in Futures Finalists ballot

By Bobby Nightengale / MLB.com | 6/26/2013 5:09 P.M. ET

DETROIT -- Jordan Lennerton hasn't received much fanfare in the Minor Leagues. He wasn't a top pick in the 2008 Draft -- instead going in the 33rd round -- and he wasn't ranked highly as one of the top prospects in the organization before the season.

However, the 27-year-old first baseman, who leads Triple-A Toledo in batting average and on-base percentage, has earned some recognition and will represent the Tigers for the World Team at the 2013 Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game on July 14.

Lennerton, in his sixth year in the Minor Leagues out of Canada, also leads Toledo in OPS and walks, while posting solid home run and RBI numbers.

"He can drive the ball to left-center as well to right-center," assistant general manager Al Avila said. "He has a similar hitting style and approach as the Orioles' Chris Davis. His next step and opportunity should be in the Major Leagues."

Last year, he led Double-A Erie with 21 home runs, 82 RBIs, 34 doubles, 73 runs and 79 walks, while posting a .269/.389/.469 slash line.

"He has had to prove himself at every level, and he has," Avila said. "He has always been a good hitter, but in the past couple of years, he has really stepped it up hitting for average, power and being a run producer in the middle of the order."

The 15th annual SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game takes place at 2 p.m. ET on All-Star Sunday at Citi Field in New York and can be seen live on MLB.com, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD and followed live on MLB.com's Gameday. In addition, XM Radio will broadcast play-by-play coverage of the event live on MLB Network Radio XM 89. MLB.com will also provide complete coverage before, during and after the game. Fans can stay updated by following @MLBFutures on Twitter and can send/receive tweets to/from the U.S. and World Team dugouts during the game by tagging tweets with the hashtags #USDugout and #WorldDugout.

Also, for the first time, fans will determine the final player on the U.S. and World Team rosters by casting their votes in the All-Star Sunday Futures Finalists ballot. There are five candidates for each team, and voting ends on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Outfielder Nick Castellanos and right-hander Bruce Rendon were chosen for the Tigers in last year's Futures Game, while catcher Rob Brantly, now with the Miami Marlins, was an injury replacement. Castellanos took Futures Game MVP honors, capping a three-hit game with a three-run home run. Rendon tossed 101-mph fastballs in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning, while Brantly hit an RBI double in the sixth inning to score Castellanos.

Castellanos, the Tigers No. 1 prospect, played so well in the Futures Game last year that his bat was taken to the Hall of Fame. He needs help to return to the event this year. He has been named one of the five futures Finalists for the U.S. team, giving Tigers fans an opportunity to send him to New York.

Castellanos is ranked No. 20 on MLB.com's Top 100 prospect list. Just 21 years old, he has spent all season at Triple-A Toledo and was the second-youngest player in the International League on Opening Day. He has a slash line of .296/.375/.476 and has 10 home runs in 80 games.

In addition to voting for Castellanos on the web at www.MLB.com/futuresfinalists , fans can vote for him using their mobile phones to cast votes via text message. To receive the All-Star Sunday Futures Finalists ballot, text the word "VOTE" to 89269. Vote for Castellanos via text by sending his code (U3) to 89269. All votes are final. Standard rate text messaging fees apply (check with mobile carriers for details).

Bobby Nightengale is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @nightengalejr. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Castellanos to start in Triple-A All-Star Game

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 7/4/2013 12:25 A.M. ET

TORONTO -- Nick Castellanos was a snub from the Futures Game, losing out in the fan vote for the final spot on the U.S. Team. The Toledo Mud Hens' sweet-swinging outfielder and Tigers top prospect was not overlooked in fan balloting for the Triple-A All-Star Game.

Castellanos, last year's Futures Game Most Valuable Player and one of the youngest players in the league at age 21, will join fellow Futures Game alumnus Billy Hamilton and Joey Terdoslavich in the starting outfield when the International League All-Stars face their counterparts from the Pacific Coast League in Reno, Nev., on Wednesday, July 17 -- the day after the MLB All-Star Game.

Jordan Lennerton, who will represent the Tigers in the Futures Game on Sunday, July 14, also made the IL All-Stars. The Mud Hens' first baseman was one of 17 reserves selected by league managers and officials.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Fields, Travis, Lennerton head six roster cuts

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 3/14/2014 6:56 P.M. ET

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Daniel Fields, Devon Travis and Jordan Lennerton all made impressions on Tigers officials to help their case for eventually making it to the Major Leagues. None of them were going to make the Opening Day roster. Thus, they were among the second wave of roster cuts as the Tigers trimmed their ranks Friday.

Lennerton, Fields and Justin Miller were optioned to Triple-A Toledo, while third baseman Francisco Martinez was optioned to Double-A Erie. Travis, as a non-roster invitee, was assigned to Minor League camp; he's expected to join the Double-A club after hitting up a storm at both Class A levels last year.

The Tigers later optioned outfielder Steven Moya to Erie after Friday's 12-6 win over the Nationals.

Of the six cuts, Miller had the one real chance to make the Opening Day roster. The hard-throwing right-hander, signed last fall out of the Rangers' farm system, was a darkhorse candidate for a bullpen spot. He gave up runs in each of his first four outings this spring, which combined with strong performances from others in camp left Miller on the outside of the battle. He gave up five runs, three earned, on six hits in five innings, walking two and striking out six.

For Lennerton, a first baseman in the same organization as Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, an Opening Day spot would've been a long shot unless somebody was injured. The 28-year-old went 5-for-21 with two RBIs in his first big league camp. He'll return for a second season with the Mud Hens.

"I think I showed them that I am able to play at this level," Lennerton said. "Obviously things may not have gone exactly as I wanted, but I put together some good at-bats, I played some solid defense, and I think the staff knows I'm not afraid to work and I'm always putting in my time."

He'll be joined by Fields, who's headed to the same ballpark where his father, current Tigers hitting coordinator Bruce Fields, managed at Toledo in 2001 and '02 before joining then-manager Alan Trammell's staff in Detroit as hitting coach. Now, the younger Fields -- born and raised in Detroit -- will be one step away from making the big leagues himself.

With no time above Double-A, the 23-year-old Fields was never seen as a candidate to fill the left-handed-hitting platoon role that opened up in left field when Andy Dirks required back surgery earlier this month. He went 3-for-14 with no RBIs this spring, walking three times with seven strikeouts.

"I think when I got in there, I played as hard as I could and did everything I could to play well and show them what I had to do," said Fields, who will play center field in Toledo. "Hopefully I'll go to Minor League camp, play well, start the season off in Toledo and hopefully I get an opportunity up to Detroit soon."

Travis is an up-and-coming second-base prospect who made a fresh set of impressions with a new staff. He went 5-for-18 in scattering playing time this spring.

He'll be joined in Erie by Martinez, who returns to the same level where he earned an All-Star Futures Game selection in 2011. He spent last summer at Class A Advanced Lakeland after the Tigers reacquired him from Seattle.

Martinez went 5-for-17 in 12 games.

Moya was the furthest from the big leagues going into camp but made a big enough impression to change the perception on his development. The lanky left-handed hitter went 7-for-21 with two doubles, a triple and five RBIs, falling a home run shy of the cycle in a four-RBI performance against the Cardinals on Monday in Jupiter, Fla.

Moya's name came up when the Tigers were discussing their options in left field with Dirks out, manager Brad Ausmus said.

"You can make an argument that he was the MVP of the camp," Ausmus said. "The problem is he was in A-ball and he really just needs to play. He needs to get experience. We certainly think the ceiling is high for him, but asking him to go from 90 games in A-ball to the big leagues is an enormous jump."

Moya was neither stunned nor disappointed by the decision.

"That's OK, I'm not upset," Moya said. "I'm just going to keep doing my job, working hard, keep going forward, thinking positive. The only thing you have control of is what you do every day and how your work."

Asked whether he felt he proved what he can do, Moya said, "A lot. I know now they know that I can hit. They know I can run. Now they know I can play the outfield. I let them know what I want, and what I want is to be in the big leagues."

The moves reduce the Tigers' Spring Training roster to 40 players with two weeks to go before breaking camp.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.