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Prospects in the Tigers/Blue Jays David Price trade

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On Thursday afternoon it was announced that the Tigers had traded David Price for Toronto for pitching prospects Jairo Labourt, Matt Boyd and Daniel Norris.

By John.Moore
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David Price
David Price
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

We all know what David Price is, he's a legitimate front of the rotation arm in the walk year of his contract. Price has pitched in over 200 games in his Major League Career since his debut back in 2008. His career numbers are very good (3.13 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 3.36 xFIP, 8.46 K/9 and a 2.32 BB/9). Price came to Detroit last year on the trade deadline in a 3 way trade with Seattle and Tampa Bay. So what did the Tigers get in return for David Price?

The headliner coming back from Toronto is Daniel Norris. Norris is left handed and has appeared in the majors the last two seasons (6 2/3 innings last year and 23 1/3 this year). Norris has a 3.86 ERA, a 5.00 FIP, and a 5.37 xFIP at the Major League level and a 4.27 ERA and a 3.57 FIP in Triple-A this year. Even after the Major League experience, Norris has still not received pitched in 50 major league innings, so he is still eligible for prospect lists.

I had the pleasure of watching Daniel Norris pitch back in 2013 when he was in the Midwest League and again this year in spring training. He has a four pitch mix including a fastball, slider, curve and change-up. For me the fastball, curve and slider all have plus potential, while the change-up lags slightly behind. He is very nearly major league ready, but the command needs a little work. If everything comes together for Norris, he could potentially become a number two starter, but more realistically he's a number three starter. Norris is now the number one prospect in the Tigers farm system.

Matt Boyd, another left-hander, has also gotten a look at the Major League Level this year, and it was not good (14.85 ERA, 11.17 FIP, 3.74 xFIP in 6 2/3 of an inning). Boyd has spent most of this year in Double-A, and he has a 1.10 ERA and 2.62 FIP there. He has also appeared in Triple-A for 39 innings this year and he has a 2.77 ERA and a 3.49 FIP.

Last month Ezra Jones wrote an article here on Minor League Ball. It looks like he could be a solid back-end starter, and it looks like he will begin his Tigers career in Triple-A with Toledo.

Finally we find Jairo Labourt, another left-hander who at the time of the trade was pitching with Dunedin in the Florida State League. He has a 4.59 ERA and a 4.17 FIP this year. Labourt is 21, and he was signed out of the Dominican Republic as an international free agent back in 2010.

Labourt is left-handed and has a massive frame (listed at 6'4", 204). He throws a fastball, slider and a change-up. The fastball is clearly his best offering (he worked 94-97 with it in the Futures Game earlier this month), but the slider and change-up both have the potential be be above average offerings at the major league level. The control looks to be an issue and he needs to work on repeating his delivery a little better.

This is another pitcher that has mid-rotation potential. He is obviously still a couple years away and will likely begin his Tigers career with Lakeland.

It's obviously way too early to say who won this trade, but three prospects with starting potential is a very good haul for less than a half year of Price.

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