Detroit Tigers manager A. J. Hinch talked to Stoney & Jansen with Heather this morning about the Astros and what lies ahead in the off-season

A.J. Hinch made this weekly appearance on the “Stoney & Jansen with Heather” and discussed the Houston Astros series, Riley Greene’s catch and how impressive Shohei Ohtani’s season has been. There were a series of comments that should pique the interest in what lies ahead when the season ends.

More from A.J. Hinch: "Timing wise, it's totally up to (Ilitch). I'm not going to rush the owner. … I'm trying to wrap things up here in a more positive nature. We’re going to have a busy offseason ahead regardless of the timing."

— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) September 14, 2022

For Detroit Tigers fans, of course, good to hear. Besides a new GM on the checklist, Detroit will have some decisions to make with the 40-man roster. That was fitting as Hinch spoke about the roster construction of the Houston Astros, who are in town this week.

“There’s, there’s so many specifics to the development process of a player and Houston’s really good at it. So they, they have found ways to find these, these gems later in the rounds and the draft and, and supplement from their own. I mean, one of the most impressive parts of the Astros and I hate to talk about the other team so much, but it in the homegrown rotation and they’ve been able to stay healthy, they’ve been able to stay good.”

On Houston’s rotation and the Detroit Tigers rotation injuries.

“They’ve been great in Latin America. Um, and we’ve tried to do that here, and it’s the injuries have, have derailed a little bit of that plan. When you look at Mize, Manning, Skubal, things that we’ve talked about on the show, and you’ve talked about this for the last five years. Yeah. When the young pitching gets here, it can be a difference maker. It’s like when the young pitching gets here and stay healthy. You obviously have a better chance.”

Back to why the comments were fitting. On the development side, the Tigers are seeing progress from their Latin America signings. Cristian Santana is one of the best prospects in the system, along with Roberto Campos and Manuel Sequera.

As for the 40-man roster, there are several decisions to make to consider. Parker Meadows, Wenceel Perez and Reese Olson, just to name a few, are Rule-5 eligible. All three have had strong seasons in the minor league system, so they should get some consideration.

Either way, expect A.J. Hinch and the Tigers to stay in the headlines in the next few weeks.

Photo credit: Tigersphil