Up next
West Michigan Whitecaps vs South Bend Silver Hawks, 11 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 6:35 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday at Fifth Third Ballpark.

The opponent
To say the Silver Hawks have struggled against the Whitecaps is an understatement. South Bend is 1-7 against West Michigan and 19-23 against everyone else in the league. The bright side for South Bend is that after the four games at Fifth Third this week, the teams won't meet again until June 19 for four games in South Bend.

Who to watch
Not much to watch in terms of South Bend hitters. Seven regulars are hitting less than .250.

Third baseman Clayton Conner, the Arizona Diamondbacks' No. 24 prospect as ranked by Baseball America, is batting just .170 with three homers and 12 RBIs.

Outfielder Evan Frey is batting .320, but he doesn't have any homers and has driven in just 18 runs. After Frey, first baseman Michael Mee has the team's next highest average at .269.

What makes the Silver Hawks dangerous is decent starting pitching.

Christian Beltre (4-4, 3.86), Bryan Augenstein (2-1, 2.22) and Jarrod Parker (4-2, 2.45) have helped keep the afloat. The Silver Hawks are just 4.5 games out of third place in the Eastern Division.

Notable
West Michigan has beaten South Bend in virtually every way imaginable. The Silver Hawks made 15 errors in the teams' season-opening series. The Whitecaps have won close games (2-1 and two 5-4 wins) and one-sided ones (15-2, 11-5, 10-4). South Bend's only success against the Whitecaps was Augenstein's gem on May 19. He beat the Whitecaps 4-1 when by allowing just four hits and one run over eight innings while striking out three. ... West Michigan's success against South Bend isn't limited to this season. South Bend only has a winning seasonal record against the Whitecaps twice in the teams' 14-year history. It went 9-7 in 2004 and 8-7 in 2001.

West Michigan Whitecaps infielder Roger Tomas says he isn't doing anything differently at the plate.

His batting average says otherwise.

The former University of Miami standout was named the Midwest League Player of the Week after hitting .550 last week (11-for-20) in six games.

Tomas, who is batting a career-high .359, scored six runs and drove home five for the Whitecaps, who are in a tied for first place in the MWL Eastern Division at 27-22. Lansing is 28-23.

"I'm seeing the pretty good right now and with confidence my hitting has gotten better," said Tomas, who hit .243 last season with the Gulf Coast League Tigers.

"I think my pitch recognition has gotten better and I don't mind hitting with two strikes on me," Tomas added. "Because I feel comfortable with two strikes on me, I'm able to work the count and see how the pitcher is pitching."

Tomas is the fourth consecutive Whitecap to receive MWL weekly honors. The other three were pitchers Jon Kibler, Ramon Garcia and Alfredo Figaro.

It's the second time in West Michigan's 15-year history it's had players earn recognition in four straight weeks. The first time it happened was in 2000 when Tommy Marx, Calvin Chipperfield, Cody Ross and Neil Jenkins were named to the award.

COMSTOCK PARK -- West Michigan Whitecaps infielder Roger Tomas made it a point to correct a teammate Monday who said the University of Miami baseball team was currently ranked No. 2.

Tomas gleamed with pride when informing him the Hurricanes are the top seed heading into the NCAA tournament after winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship Sunday.

Tomas isn't the only ex-Hurricane on the Whitecaps' roster. Manny Miguelez and Tomas were teammates at Miami for three years.

Miguelez and Tomas actually played together on a high school summer team, the Florida Bombers, before going to Miami. And then they were reunited last season with the Gulf Coast League Tigers.

Miguelez was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the eighth round of the 2007 draft, while Tomas was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Tigers last June.

"I didn't think that I was going to play with anyone I knew in pro ball so to be able to play with someone from your hometown is pretty cool," said Miguelez, who has compiled a 1-2 record in nine starts with the Whitecaps this season.

"It's luck, I guess, that we get to play on the same team and both of us being from the same area."

While Miguelez left the Hurricanes after his junior year, Tomas played all four years and started 186 of 211 games as an infielder.

Tomas recorded 208 career hits and batted .337 in his senior season with 70 hits and 45 runs scored. He was named the 2007 ACC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.

"We're pretty close and our families talk a lot," Tomas said. "We're both Hispanic and when we went to the same team we definitely became a lot closer.

"Being away from home you don't know what to expect or what to do, but he helps me with not being home and not seeing my surroundings. I think I do the same for him."

Tomas and Miguelez, who both speak fluent Spanish as well as English, share an apartment during the season.

They're both enjoying the highs and lows from their first season at the Class A level.

"We were always good friends, but now this whole experience has brought us closer," Miguelez said. "When I came here I didn't know anybody so it's always nice to have someone you can talk to when you have a bad outing or celebrate with when you have a good outing. It makes it nice."

Tomas said the biggest thrill from college was playing in the College World Series twice. He went there when he was a freshman and junior and the Hurricanes went 1-2 each time. Miguelez also was on the 2006 team.

"Guys go to the University of Miami because they know within their four years they're going to go to the World Series," Tomas said. "Going to the World Series is something a lot of people don't experience and they don't know how awesome that feeling is."

Tomas currently is one of West Michigan's hottest hitters. He's batting .359 and had a seven-game hit streak before going 0-4 on Monday in a 6-0 loss to Dayton.

• Name: Roger Tomas

• Age: 22

• Position: Infielder

• How acquired: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as a non-drafted free agent in 2007

• Last week: Tomas, who played college ball at the University of Miami, had an impressive week in helping the Whitecaps win 5 of their 7 games. He hit safely in all six games he played and went a combined 11-for-20 (.550) in series' against South Bend and Dayton.

Tomas also recorded six runs and had five RBIs, including a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth on Friday in a 3-2 victory over Dayton. He also knocked in the game-winner on Thursday at South Bend. Tomas raised his batting average 51 points to .375 for the season and currently has a seven-game hitting streak.

• Quote: "I haven't changed much -- I still have the same pre-game routine and I'm trying to keep the same mindset. But I am seeing the ball good right now and getting good swings when I take swings. I'm not trying to do too much. Just put the ball in play and if I do that then there's a good chance of me getting on base."

COMSTOCK PARK -- Hitting has never been an issue with either Ronnie Bourquin or Justin Henry.

Not during outstanding college careers at two prestigious Division 1 baseball programs, not in good summer leagues and certainly not in their first professional seasons in the Detroit Tiger organization.

Which only makes their tepid starts in West Michigan all the more puzzling.

Both Henry, who challenged for a New York-Penn League batting championship last summer, and Bourquin, a former Big 10 Player of the Year, have struggled at the plate as Whitecaps. While much was expected of both, neither have been anywhere near the .300 mark since the end of the season's first week.

Nobody is voicing any concern yet and both Henry and Bourquin say they feel comfortable, but both are anxious to snap out of their early season funks before it begins to snowball. Bourquin and Henry say recent at bats lead them to believe the slumps could soon become ancient history. But with Henry batting only .245 after going 2-for-4 Sunday against Dayton and Bourquin at .207 after going hitless in four at bats, neither is close to the season they were expecting.

"It's definitely been difficult, pretty frustrating," Henry said. "You try to take it in stride for a while, but then you start trying new ways for a solution."

Bourquin said hitting equates to being in a groove. While Bourquin said he feels comfortable, he also admits he's still searching for that groove.

"Early on I felt good," he said. "I was putting some good swings on the ball and things weren't going my way. I've started to swing better, but it's definitely a confidence thing."

It's not like the two have no background as hitters. For instance, Henry batted .340 with 14 extra base hits in 67 games last year at Oneonta, missing out on a New York-Penn League batting title by 20 points. He hit .374, .332 and .381 in three seasons at Mississippi, part of arguably the country's best college baseball league, the Southeastern Conference. Henry was a second round draft pick of the Tigers in 2006.

Bourquin hit .330 in the Great Lakes summer league in 2005, and then was the Big Ten's Player of the Year as an Ohio State junior when he hit .416 with 66 RBIs in 58 games in 2006. He parlayed his Buckeye career into being a ninth round pick of the Tigers in 2006, then hit .325 in his second season at Oneonta last summer, good for seventh in the New York-Penn League.

But after promising opening weeks in Grand Rapids, Henry and Bourquin have yet to get it rolling. Henry was as low as .209 on April 23, but has rebounded some by batting .272 in his last 25 games.

Bourquin hasn't been above .225 since May 5. He's batting only .158 (6-for-38) since May 14 with eight RBIs, though he did have three good at bats in Sunday's 6-4 loss to Dayton. Bourquin has only four multi-hit games since April 7.

Whitecaps hitting coach Benny Distefano, who said he remembers starting one of his own professional seasons 7-for-70, said Henry and Bourquin are still making adjustments to Midwest League pitching. Those adjustments include everything from tweaks in a swing, stance and mental approach, especially to what is probably the pair's first prolonged slump as a hitter.

"They've been successful at a lot of different levels and as you move up, you've got to make those adjustments," he said. "It takes time to figure them out."

There's little doubt in Distefano's mind that given time both will figure out those adjustments, though the two are different hitters are likely could remain with their own strengths as they progress through the Tigers' system. Bourquin, who at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, has the power to drive a ball all over a ballpark while Henry likely will be more of a singles and doubles with the talent to be a consistent .300 hitter.

"Both of them have all this ability," Distefano said. "It's only been about 150, 120 at bats for them. One good week and both will be back up there."

Bourquin said the time hasn't yet come when either player has shown signs of beginning to press at the plate.

"No, I don't feel like I'm pressing," he said. "The Tigers have been real positive with me. They know what I'm capable of. I've just got to get in a groove, stay there and be consistent. As of late, I'm not hitting the right pitches. I've got to get good pitches to swing at and I've seen a lot of off-speed stuff lately."

Henry thinks he's on the verge of breaking out of his slump.

"Probably the last two weeks I've felt the best I have all year," he said. "I've started to hit the ball better. Maybe that's not showing up in hits, but hopefully that's going to happen."

Up next
West Michigan Whitecaps vs. Dayton Dragons, Friday through Monday at Fifth Third Ballpark. Friday's game is at 6:30 p.m and Saturday's is at 7 p.m., while Sunday and Monday are both at 2 p.m.

The opponent
The Dragons are the Class A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Dayton enters the series 22-22 after losing two of three games to Lansing this week. Prior to this series, Dayton had lost four straight to the Great Lakes Loons, split two other games with Lansing and lost two others to the Loons. The last series win for Dayton was its three-game sweep over Quad Cities on May 5-7.

Who to watch
A good prospect is catcher Devin Mesoraco, a former No. 1 draft choice. Mesoraco, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, has been slow to hit as a professional. A native of Punxsutawney, Penn., Mesoraco batted .219 in the Gulf Coast League last year and is batting just .132 with one extra-base hit in 68 at-bats this season. Still, he's considered a five-tool player.

The team's other two top prospects are infielders.

Another former No. 1 draft choice, shortstop Zack Cozart batted only .239 in 184 at-bats at Dayton last year and is hitting only .190 through 22 games this season. He's a fielding whiz who has been favorably compared to the Minnesota Twins' Adam Everett.

Third baseman Brandon Waring led the Pioneer League with 20 homers a year ago while adding 17 doubles. He's off to a good start with Dayton, hitting .287 with nine doubles, 10 homers and a team-high 28 RBIs.

Notable
Dayton's top pitchers are Luis Montano (5-2, 3.00 ERA), Joseph Krebs (4-2, 1.44) and Matt Klinker (3-2, 3.35). Klinker will pitch Saturday and Montano goes Sunday. ... Dayton is managed by former big league pitcher Donnie Scott. Among the coaches is former major league outfielder Darren Bragg. ... The Whitecaps owned Dayton in last year's second half, going 9-1 against the Dragons in the teams' last 10 games, including a 5-2 record at Fifth Third Ballpark. ... The Whitecaps will be seeing plenty of Dayton in the next couple of weeks. Eight of their next 12 games are against the Dragons.

Up next
West Michigan Whitecaps vs. South Bend Silver Hawks, 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday at South Bend's Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium.

The opponent
The Silver Hawks enter the four-game series with an 18-23 record, good for last place in the Eastern Division. The team has played better at home with a 9-9 record as opposed to a 9-14 mark on the road. South Bend, however, has played much better of late, winning seven of its last 10 games. South Bend is four games behind the Whitecaps, who took over sole possession of first place with Sunday's 4-2 win over Lansing.

Who to watch
Outfielder Evan Frey enters the series hitting .348, but without much power. He has eight doubles, but hasn't homered in 161 at-bats. He's been a particularly good hitter at home, with a .381 average. Frey played in only one of the games when the Whitecaps kicked off the season in South Bend on April 3-6.

The only other South Bend hitter batting above .262 is Michael Mee, who is batting .292 with two homers and 13 RBIs. Mee went 4-for-12 in the teams' opening series with three walks.
Five South Bend starters are not even hitting .250.

Notable
West Michigan swept the season-opening four-game series with the Silver Hawks, including the 15-2 drubbing on opening day. Two of the other games were one-run decisions (2-1 and 5-4) while the Whitecaps won the fourth game 11-5. West Michigan outscored South Bend 33-12, with Chris Carlson driving in seven runs while going 5-for-15 in the four games with a homer and double. Justin Henry went 7-for-17 with seven runs. ... South Bend will send two pitchers from that series against the Whitecaps this week. Bryan Augenstein, who didn't give up an earned run in eight innings of his start, will pitch Monday. Christian Beltre, who gave up only earned run in four innings, gets the start Wednesday. ... One of the reasons the Whitecaps swept the series was South Bend's fielding. Its 15 errors lead to 12 unearned runs. ... South Bend hasn't announced a starter for the fourth game, but there's a chance the Whitecaps could miss the team's best in Jarrod Parker, who is 4-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 31 innings. ... South Bend will make its first appearance at Fifth Third Ballpark from May 28-31. The first two games of that series will be at 11 a.m.

• Name: Audy Ciriaco

• Age: 20

• Position: Shortstop

• How acquired: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as a non-drafted free agent in 2005.

• Last week: Ciriaco, who was a member of last year's Midwest League championship team, has caught fire since struggling to open the season. He was batting .210 at the beginning of May, but has raised his average 67 points in the last 13 games to .277.

Last week, Ciriaco went 7-for-12 in a four-game series at Fort Wayne with a home run, triple, two RBIs and two runs scored. In a four-game series against Lansing, he went 3-for-11, including a 2-for-3 effort in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night. He had an infield RBI single in a 4-2 victory Sunday at Lansing.

• Quotable: "I haven't changed my stance. The coaches have just told me to wait for the ball and get deep (in counts). That makes a good approach. I trust my hands and feel confident. When you've got a good approach and you're more relaxed, good things will happen."

Up next
Lansing Lugnuts vs West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:30 p.m. doubleheader Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday at Fifth Third Ballpark; 2 p.m. Sunday at Lansing.

The opponent
The Lugnuts, the Class A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, are 19-19 heading into Friday's doubleheader, including losing two of three games against the Whitecaps on May 8-10.

The Lugnuts likely will have seen enough of Fifth Third Ballpark by mid-August. In a quirk of Midwest League scheduling, of the 18 games the Lugnuts and Whitecaps play this season, 15 will come in Comstock Park. Eleven of those games are consecutive in three series, two in June and one from Aug. 13-15.

Who to watch
Lots of choices here, beginning with teenage shortstop Justin Jackson. A former member of the USA Baseball junior national team, Jackson is one of the 10 best prospects to play at Fifth Third Ballpark this summer.

Just 19, Jackson is off to an ordinary start, hitting .269 but there's little doubt the Blue Jays consider him their shortstop of the future. A product of the same North Carolina high school attended by Cameron Maybin, Jackson is one of nine Lugnuts ranked among Toronto's top 30 prospects by Baseball America. He was the third shortstop taken in the 2007 draft, the 45th player taken overall. He signed for a $675,000 bonus.

Jackson isn't the only infield prospect on the roster. Third baseman Kevin Ahrens is the No. 2 prospect in the Toronto system. He hit just .230 in the Gulf Coast League last year, but is hitting .286 with 10 doubles this season. Second baseman/outfielder John Tolisano is the No. 7 overall prospect by BBA. He's batting .261 and is second on the team with 16 RBIs.

The pitching staff isn't lacking for prospects, as five Lugnuts pitchers are ranked among the organization's best 27 prospects.

Heading the group is Trystan Magnuson, a first-year pro who was the closer on Louisville's College World Series club last year. He's been made a starter by the Blue Jays and that progress has been slow. He's 0-4 with a 5.06 ERA. Alan Farina (2-1, 4.50, 23 strikeouts in 18 innings), Chase Lirette (disabled list), and Brad Mills (2-2, 3.79) all are among BBA's top prospects.

Promotions
Friday is Joe Staley bobblehead giveaway to the first 1,000 fans. Saturday is Halloween Night, with Trick or Treat stations along the concourse. Gates open at 5 p.m.

Notable
Magnuson's name should be familiar to hockey fans over the age of 40 as his uncle is former Chicago Blackhawks bad boy Keith Magnuson, who played on two Stanley Cup clubs in the 1970s. He was an 11-year NHL veteran. ... Outfielder Moises Sierra, who is batting .262 with two homers, has the best arm of any outfielder in the Toronto system and is ranked as the club's 30th best prospect, according to Baseball America, while another outfielder, Yohermyn Chavez, is batting just .211, is often compared to a young Rondell White. ... Jackson was held pretty much in check by Whitecaps pitchers in the teams' first series. He went only 2-for-12 with two runs and four strikeouts, with time in both the leadoff and No. 2 spots in the order. ... Baseball America predicts there are three current Lugnuts who'll be major league starters by 2011: Ahrens at third base, Jackson at short and Tolisano in left field.

Dave Dombrowski, CEO of the Detroit Tigers, will be in West Michigan on Friday and in attendance for the Whitecaps' doubleheader against the Lansing Lugnuts at Fifth Third Ballpark.

Dombrowski makes an annual visit to each of the Tigers' minor league franchises.

Joe Staley got a sneak peek of the bobblehead doll created in his likeness when it arrived in the mail the other day.

The former Rockford High School and Central Michigan star was taken back by it.

"It's pretty crazy," said Staley, who just finished up mini-camp for the San Francisco 49ers. "It's kind of crazy to have something that has your likeness on it. It kind of freaked me out."

Staley's bobblehead will be given out to the first 1,000 fans at Fifth Third Ballpark on Friday when the West Michigan Whitecaps face the Lansing Lugnuts. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Staley, a 6-foot-5, 316-pound offensive lineman, currently is preparing for his second season with the 49ers.

After being drafted by San Francisco in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Central Michigan University, he became the first 49ers rookie lineman to start all 16 games.

On the bobblehead, Staley is holding a helmet and is decked out in his high school uniform with the No. 84 on his jersey.

"I think they were going for my retro-Rockford days," Staley said. "In the current day, you would have to put 200 pounds on that doll."

Staley's mother, Jan, also has seen the doll, and agrees with her son.

"It's very unique, and when we saw it he definitely looks a lot thinner than he is now," she said. "It's cute and he looks like NASCAR driver Tony Stewart."

Though Joe won't be able to attend Friday's game, 12 of his family members will be in attendance. Jan Staley will be there with Joe's sister, grandparents, and aunts and uncles.

"I got 12 tickets for my family and it should be fun for them," Staley said. "They can go and watch and Whitecaps, and enjoy the day."

Pegasus Sports is sponsoring the bobblehead giveaway. Staley said he didn't know what to think when they approached him about the idea.

"When they first came up with it I kind of laughed. I thought they were joking," he said. "I didn't think people would be interested in something like that. It kind of blows my mind."

Staley recently purchased his first home, and the San Francisco location has all the amenities one would expect a professional football player to have. It includes a hot tub, outdoor barbeque, horseshoe pit, fire pit, pool and outdoor shower.

"I just moved in and I love it," Joe Staley said. "It's everything I could've dreamed of. It's just exciting to know that I'm a homeowner, and I'm excited to be away from the apartment life that I've been living in the last five or six years."

Staley also is glad that he doesn't have to do rookie duties anymore.

"It's nice knowing that I don't have to carry someone's helmet off the field, and I don't have to get up an hour early to get everyone coffee," he said. "That's the most exciting part of it."

For the second consecutive week, a West Michigan Whitecaps pitcher has been named the Midwest League pitcher of the week.

Last week it was Alfredo Figaro. This week it was Ramon Garcia's turn.

The left-hander, who has been in the Tigers' minor league organization since 2004, pitched a complete game three-hit shutout (2-0) against the Lansing Lugnuts last week.

The performance helped Garcia earn a promotion to the high-Class A Lakeland Flying Tigers over the weekend.

Garcia was 4-3 with a 2.81 ERA with the Whitecaps, who are 19-14 and in second place in the MWL Eastern Division.

The Breast Cancer Awareness game, which was rained out Sunday, has been rescheduled for Memorial Day, May 26. The Whitecaps will play Dayton at 2 p.m. at Fifth Third Ballpark.

The Whitecaps handed out an estimated 700 pink Breast Cancer Awareness T-shirts that had the wrong date -- May 11, 2007 -- printed on them.

"We didn't notice the misprint until Sunday, but we have re-ordered 1,000 T-shirts with the right date (May 26, 2008) that will be handed out then," said Mickey Graham, Whitecaps marketing manager. "I think we will donate the T-shirts with the wrong date to charity."

Up next
West Michigan Whitecaps at Fort Wayne Wizards, 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 11 a.m. Thursday.

The opponent
Fort Wayne, a Class A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, is 14-21 this season and six games back of co-leaders West Michigan and Dayton in the Eastern Division. The Wizards are struggling and have lost five in a row and six of their last seven. They lost the first three games of a four-game series at South Bend before being rained out Sunday. In that series, they lost the three games by a combined four runs.

Who to watch
Starting pitcher Mat Latos is rated as the Padres' No. 3 prospect, according to Baseball America. He is 0-2 this season, but has a team-best 2.57 ERA. He has the best fastball in the organization, according to Baseball America. Matt Teague also has pitched well and owns a 3-1 record.

Offensively, Felix Carrasco leads the team in RBIs (21) and home runs (five). He has a .490 slugging percentage. Bradley Chalk is batting .282 with a team-high 31 hits.

Notables
The Wizards are eighth in the Midwest League in batting with a .243 team average and only have two players hitting over .300. ... Fort Wayne's pitching staff is second worst in the Midwest League with a team ERA of 4.33 and has given up 23 home runs. They have walked only 81 batters, though, tops in the league. ... After an opening-day victory against Lansing, the Wizards lost seven straight games. They did rebound to win seven of nine games at the end of April. ... The Whitecaps dominated Fort Wayne last season, winning 14 of their 18 meetings. ... The Wizards are managed by Doug Dascenzo.

Name: Chris Carlson

Age: 24

Position: First baseman

How acquired: Selected by the Tigers in the 29th round of the June 2006 draft

Last week: Carlson, who's from Topeka, Kan., has been the Whitecaps' most consistent hitter through the first 33 games. In five games last week, he went 5-for-14, including 3-for-4 with a home run and double in a 7-3 loss to Lansing. He also had a recent eight-game hitting streak that ended May 5.

Carlson currently is batting .298 and has a team-high 31 hits. He is tied for a team high in doubles with six and has driven in 19 runs. He also has a team-high 45 total bases. His current batting average ranks him among the top 20 in the Midwest League.

Quoteable: "Lately I've just been trying to be more aggressive in a hitter's count. In the beginning of the year, I was just feeling the pitches, but now I'm staying aggressive and hitting the ball hard."

COMSTOCK PARK -- The winds of change have swept through the West Michigan Whitecaps' pitching staff.

The Whitecaps announced Saturday that starting pitcher Ramon Garcia has been promoted to Class A Lakeland and relief pitcher Kelvin Cedano was sent to extended spring training.

Heading to West Michigan are pitchers Brandon Hamilton and Mauricio Robles.

Garcia went 4-3 as a starter with a 2.81 ERA, while Cedeno had his struggles out of the bullpen and appeared in eight games with a 4.91 ERA.

Garcia had a stellar outing against Lansing on Thursday, tossing a complete-game shutout.

"Hopefully he can keep progressing with the way he's been throwing the ball," Whitecaps pitching coach Mark Johnson said of Garcia. "He's really matured in the way of taking responsibility for his results and he works hard. He understands what he needs to do to get to the next level."

Whitecaps starting pitcher Manny Miguelez said Garcia will be missed, but he's thrilled for him.

"I'm real happy for him -- he deserves it because he's been pitching well," Miguelez said. "He labored with some injuries, but he showed that he can compete.

"I'm excited for him and I'm excited for the guys coming up. I know them and they have what it takes."

Hamilton is rated as the Tigers' No. 10 prospect, according to Baseball America. He made his professional debut in the Gulf Coast League last summer after being drafted in the first round (60th overall) by the Tigers in 2007.

Hamilton, who will make his Midwest League debut Tuesday at South Bend, attended Stanhope Elmore High School in Alabama.

"I haven't seen a whole lot of him, but he has a good fastball, a good curveball and he's a competitor," Johnson said. "He's going to give you his best each time he goes out.

Robles made 14 starts for the Venezuelan Summer League Tigers in 2007. He went 3-6 and had a 3.26 ERA in 69 innings.

"I haven't seen him pitch yet, but from my understanding he has a good arm and a good breaking ball," Johnson said. "He has a good mound presence on the field."