The Tigers announced last night that there will be another Leyland in the organization -- the cigarette chain smoker who manages the big club and now, hopefully, a fastball smoking catcher. Zinger.
Patrick Leyland, an 18-year-old catcher, will pass up a scholarship to the University of Maryland to play in the Tigers farm system pending a physical he'll take in Lakeland, Fla. Let's hope Patrick's lungs haven't been affected by the secondhand smoke from his father.
The good news is he's already been around the organization because of his dad, hanging with the likes of Brandon Inge, who has rave reviews of the kid:
"He has a good head and a great work ethic" Inge said. "He's obviously been around the game long enough, and he knows how to slow it down. He'll still get the butterflies, but will calm down quicker than the others.
"He has a short, compact, strong stroke catered to hitting for average and gap to gap."