The Tigers picked up a new player and then consequently lost one in the Rule 5 draft earlier this afternoon, which typically marks the end of the winter meetings.  Kyle Bloom will get a chance to show his stuff for Detroit this spring.  The fifth round pick by the Pirates back in 2004, Bloom has been slow in developing for Pittsburgh.  He’s 25 and spent the entire season with Altoona, the Pirates Double-A affiliate and while he struck out 93 batters in 109 2/3 innings.  He did pitch very well in Hawaii though and he finished 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in seven starts with 32 strikeouts in 30 innings.

Bloom will get a chance to show what he can do out of the pen but like all Rule 5 picks, there’s not a lot of risk here.  If he doesn’t make the team this spring, he’ll get shipped back to Pittsburgh but the Tigers must have thought something of him to at least give him a shot.

James Skelton is the Tigers who’s on the move and it’s the Diamondbacks who choose him in the draft.  Skelton has been a fringe prospect for the Tigers since they drafted him in the fourteenth round of the 2004 draft.  He had a solid season last year for mostly Lakeland and partially Erie.  He doesn’t have a lot of power and his biggest knock has been size.  You don’t see too many 5’11”. 165 lb. catchers these days.  Still, I wish him the best of luck in what can be viewed as a big opportunity.

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