Jimenez among five suspended following brawl
Tigers prospect Eduardo Jiménez received a 30-game suspension this week when the Midwest League issued punishments to five players for their roles in Sunday's brawl.Jimenez, a 22-year-old reliever, received the biggest suspension handed out by the league after he ran onto the field and threw a ball at an opposing
Tigers prospect
Jimenez, a 22-year-old reliever, received the biggest suspension handed out by the league after he ran onto the field and threw a ball at an opposing player during a melee between Class A West Michigan and Dayton on May 28. The Whitecaps said his punishment is retroactive to May 29.
Whitecaps shortstop
Dayton's
In addition, West Michigan said left fielder
Sunday's brawl occurred in the bottom of the sixth inning when Siri, a Reds prospect, stole second base with one out. Pinero appeared to intentionally step on Siri's left ankle when he stood up after applying a late tag, prompting Siri to charge the shortstop and shove him from behind. Siri was quickly ejected, but by then, both benches had cleared and the brawl was under way.
Jimenez, who was not in the game, ran onto the field and hurled a ball toward a crowd of Dayton players, striking reliever
Jimenez was physically restrained by a coach as the fight cooled down. Both he and Siri appeared to continue exchanging words across the diamond as players separated.
The right-hander, signed out of Venezuela in 2011, has been an important part of West Michigan's bullpen this season. In 13 outings, he's 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 24 innings. He's walked eight and has not allowed a home run since 2013.
Siri, a 21-year-old signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, is hitting .264 with four homers, 23 RBIs and 19 steals in 46 games.
Pinero, 23, was the Tigers' ninth-round pick last summer out of Virginia. The Canadian infielder hitting is .218 with no homers and 15 RBIs in 45 games.
Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com. Follow his MLBlog column, Minoring in Twitter.