Scout Spotlight - SCOUTS IN THEIR OWN WORDS. THE PLAYERS. THE JOURNEY. THE STATE OF THE GAME.

Perseverance pays off for a Tigers area scout

-  KYLE GLASER

Tigers Pacific Northwest area scout Dave Dangler is a baseball lifer. He coached Curt Schilling at Yavapai (Ariz.) JC in the 1980s and has also been the head coach at Linn-Benton (Ore.) JC and Portland State. He was also the pitching coach at Washington and is one of just two coaches to take two different teams to the JUCO World Series.

Dangler has scouted for multiple big league teams and is credited as the signing scout for Tigers lefthander Tarik Skubal, whom Detroit drafted in the ninth round in 2018 out of Seattle University. Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser caught up with Dangler last summer, just before Skubal made his big league debut on Aug. 18. For the full conversation, use your favorite streaming service to download the full version of the podcast.

KG: Tarik Skubal has become one of the top pitching prospects in the minors after being someone who was well regarded in college, but he was by no means seen as a top of the draft-type of guy. He had Tommy John surgery, but since he’s gotten healthy he’s really taken his game up a notch. What did you see in Tarik when he was at Seattle University that made you want to bring him into the organization?

DD: Well, first thing when you’re out looking for pitching prospects, I start with lefthanded pitching. Obviously, he’s a lefthander. He’s got size. His freshman year was not spectacular, but it was strong for a freshman. He threw 83 innings, struck out 67 and walked only 27. That’s a pretty good start for a small-school kid from Arizona in Division I baseball.