Every Thursday, Minor Matters will unveil its Top 10 opposing players for the 2011 season. Yes, the Thunder are clearly the most interesting topic on this blog, but wouldn't be nice to hear about the next Matt Wieters, Carlos Santana or Stephen Strasburg to come through the Eastern League. Yeah, I thought so too.

No. 4 - Jacob Turner

Bio: At 19, Turner is the Tigers' best pitching prospect by far. Frankly, I expected him to work his way to the Eastern League last year, but between injuries and good sense, Detroit took it a bit slower on the young man's arm. He was the organization's top pick in the 2009 draft, out of high school in St. Louis.

2010: Turner had stiffness in both his shoulder and elbow at times in 2010, but he did manage to put up some fine numbers. He finished with a 3.28 ERA (just 2.93 at High-A Lakeland), 102 strikeouts against just 23 walks, and a stellar .238 batting average against. The ERA was sixth-best among qualifiers in the system.

What People Are Saying:

"Turner has the ideal frame for a power pitcher. He throws both two- and four-seam fastballs, sitting at 92-94 mph while peaking at 96. In addition to its easily above-average velocity, Turner's fastball also has heavy sink. ... He throws a 12-6 curve that can get a little short, but also shows glimpses of being an upper-70s hammer." -- Conor Glassey, Baseball America

"With his size, stuff and mechanics, Turner is almost a blueprint for what scouts look for in a high school arm. ... Turner certainly has ace-level ceiling, to some comparing him quite favorably to current Tigers ace Justin Verlander." -- Kevin Goldstein, Baseball Prospectus

When You Can See Him: Turner and the Seawolves come to Waterfront Park on July 18-20, and Turner should have earned his promotion from Lakeland.