Detroit Tigers

Tigers top prospect Perez expected to miss at least 3 months

Published Mar. 23, 2018 4:39 p.m. ET

DETROIT (AP) Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Franklin Perez is expected to miss at least three months with a right lat strain.

The Tigers say Perez was injured in a minor league game Sunday. There is no surgery recommended at this point, but the recovery is expected to take a minimum of 12 weeks.

Perez, a 20-year-old right-hander, was acquired by Detroit in the trade that sent Justin Verlander to Houston last season. Perez went 6-3 with a 3.02 ERA across two levels of the minors last year. He made 10 starts at Class A and six at Double-A. Baseball America tabbed Perez as Detroit's top prospect this offseason.

The rebuilding Tigers aren't expected to contend this year, but Perez figured to be a prospect to watch, no matter where in Detroit's system he ended up pitching.

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