Turner, Oliver make starts for Tigers

Turner, Oliver make starts for Tigers
Each prospect goes three frames, wins in split-squad game
MiLB.com Staff
03/01/2011 4:01 PM ET

Jacob Turner -- the Tigers' first pick in the 2009 Draft -- and Andy Oliver -- their second pick that year -- each threw three solid innings and notched a victory against big league competition Tuesday.

With Detroit split into two squads, Turner started against the Toronto Blue Jays at home in Lakeland, Fla., and Oliver started against the Phillies in nearby Clearwater. Both teams won 6-2.

Turner's first pitch was drilled to left field for a double by Toronto's Rajai Davis, and Davis came around to score on the first of two hits by highly touted prospect Brett Lawrie.

Lawrie stole second, but Turner would not allow another runner to reach base. Retiring the next seven consecutive hitters, the 19-year-old righty punctuated his performance with a third-inning strikeout of Davis.

Nick Castellanos, the Tigers' first pick in the 2010 Draft, debuted in the home win, flying out to right field as an eighth-inning pinch hitter for Brandon Inge. He remained in the game at third base.

Blue Jays prospects Zach Stewart and Eric Thames also saw action, with Stewart giving up two runs over 2 2/3 innings and Thames clubbing a home run and singling.

Oliver, matched up against Cliff Lee, didn't wilt in the spotlight. The 23-year-old southpaw got the best of Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez in the first inning and rolled through Ryan Howard and Ben Francisco before issuing a two-out walk to Shane Victorino in the second. He whiffed Phillies prospect Domonic Brown to get out of the frame.

A Josh Barfield double and a single from Rollins put Philadelphia on the board in the third, but Oliver escaped without further damage. He walked two, and Brown, who went 0-for-3, was his only punchout victim.

The top pitching prospects in the Detroit system, Turner and Oliver are likely to begin the 2011 season in the upper levels of the Minor Leagues.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.