All FieldsHITTING BASEBALL ACADEMY
Bruce Fields - Hitting
Managerial/Coaching Career
Bruce Fields is entering his fourth season as the Hitting Coordinator for the Detroit Tigers. He is in his 39th season overall in professional baseball as a player, coach and instructor. He was the Cleveland Indians Major League Hitting Coach for half of the 2011 season and the full 2012 season. Prior to joining the Indians Major League staff, he was the organizational Hitting Coordinator from 2007 until June 2011 after spending the 2006 season as the AAA hitting coach for the Buffalo Bisons in the Indians system. He was the Major League Hitting Coach of the Detroit Tigers for three seasons from 2003-05 under Alan Trammell. He was named the Midwest League Manager of the Year in both 1997 and 2000 while managing at West Michigan. In 1998, he was named the Detroit Tigers Player Development Man of the Year, after managing West Michigan to the Midwest league championship. He went on to manage the Tigers AAA team, the Toledo Mud Hens for 2 seasons. Overall, Fields managed in the Detroit Tigers organization for eight seasons from 1995-2002 amassing a 548-442 record. He began his coaching career in 1992 at AA ball, London in the Tigers chain.
Playing Career
Bruce Fields was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 7th round of the 1978 MLB draft. He played professionally for 14 seasons in the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves organizations. He spent the majority of his career in the minors, appearing in the Majors with Detroit in 1986 and Seattle in 1988-1989. He batted .274 with a HR and 11 RBI in 58 career games in the Majors. He owns a career minor league average of .295 with 41 HR and 516 RBI in 1,381 games. He won 3 batting titles at the minor league level as he hit .323 in 1985 at Birmingham, .368 in 1986 at Nashville and .351 in 1989 with Calgary.
Daniel Fields - Hitting/Outfield Defense
Playing Career
Daniel Fields was selected in the 6th round of the 2009 draft by the Detroit Tigers, out of University of Detroit Jesuit High School. He helped lead U of D to the state championship game as a freshman in 2006. As a high school senior, he was selected Mr. Baseball for the state of Michigan. Fields was a 2nd team Baseball America All American and Baseball Factory Under Armour All American as well. He played in the Michigan East-West All Star game. Fields signed to play his college baseball at University of Michigan. He played the 2010 season in Lakeland for the Detroit Tigers High A team. Fields was selected as the Lakeland Tigers most valuable player and he won the organizational gold glove for center fielders. He played the 2011 season in Lakeland as well. Daniel ended the 2012 season in Double A, Erie. Fields was named an organizational All-star in 2013 at Double A Erie, and made his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2015. Daniel finished his 2016 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.
Aaron Fields - Hitting/Infield Defense
Playing Career
Aaron Fields attended High School at University of Detroit Jesuit. He helped lead U of D Jesuit to the State championship game as a senior in 2006. As a senior, he made the All-Catholic League team, as well as All- Detroit, All-District, All-Regional and 2nd team All-State. He played in the East-West All-Star game and the Detroit Negro League All-Star game. Aaron played 4 years at Wright State University. He was a member of the 2007 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team. He helped lead Wright State to the Horizon League Tournament Title in 2009 as well as to the regular season title in 2010. In 2010, he was selected to the Horizon League All-Tournament team. After his 2010 season at Wright State, Fields was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 42nd round of the MLB Draft. He played 2 seasons in the Cleveland Indians organization. Upon concluding his playing career, Aaron scouted for the Detroit Tigers from 2012-2013. He also served as an assistant coach for the U of D Jesuit baseball team from 2012-2014.
Jharel Cotton - Pitching
Playing Career
Jharel Cotton was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 20th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of East Carolina University. He played two years at Miami Dade College before transferring to East Carolina. He was selected by the New York Mets in the 28th round of the 2011 Draft but did not sign. Jherel pitched in the 2016 Futures game as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was traded to the Oakland A’s at the trade deadline and is currently pitching in the Major Leagues.
Thurman Hall III (Tre) - Hitting/Outfield Defense
Playing Career
Tre attended Southfield-Lathrup High School, where he played outfield and led his team in batting average, homeruns, and stolen bases. He was named All-District in both 2010 and 2011. He received a scholarship to play baseball at Western Texas College, a junior college in Snyder, Texas. During his freshman season, Tre led all freshmen in batting average and led the team in stolen bases. After his freshman year, Tre was drafted by the Chicago White Sox. He spent 2 1/2 years in their organization.
Mark Brown - Hitting/Outfield Defense
Playing Career
Mark attended Detroit King High School, where he played outfield. He was an All-PSL performer for 4 years. He was a member of the All State Dream team as a senior in 2010. Mark was the winner of the Jackie Robinson scholarship and he received a full baseball scholarship to the University of Kansas, becoming the first Detroit PSL baseball player to ever receive a Big 12 scholarship offer. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 19th round of the 2010 Amateur draft. He played 3 seasons in the Indians organization.
Isaiah Blessitt (Ike) - Hitting
Playing Career
Isaiah Blessitt (Ike) - Hitting Ike Blessitt is a former Detroit Tiger and native of Hamtramck. He signed with the Detroit Tigers at 16 years old out of Hamtramck High School in 1967. He worked his way up through the minor leagues and made his Major League debut in 1972. Blessitt went on to play in the Oakland A’s and Milwaukee Brewers organizations as well. After his affiliated baseball career concluded, he went on to play, coach, and manage for 20 seasons in the Mexican League.
Sterling Sharp - Pitching
Playing Career
Sterling Sharp, is a 21 year old Southfield, Michigan native. He Attended North Farmington High School. At North Farmington, he played both basketball and baseball. During his senior year he led the North Farmington baseball team to their first District baseball championship. He also received the Raider Cup Award which is given to the school’s best athlete/scholar, as voted by coaches. He was selected in the 30th round of the MLB draft by the Atlanta Braves in 2013. He chose to attend college at Eastern Michigan University. As a freshman, he was a weekend starter for the Eagles. He transferred to Darton College, a junior college in Georgia for his sophomore year and then moved on to Drury University in Springfield, Missouri for his junior year. In June, 2016 he was selected in the 22nd round of the MLB draft by the Washington Nationals with whom he signed. Sterling was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Nationals rookie ball team. He led the team in innings pitched, strikeouts and fewest base on balls. He finished with a 3-0 record and 2 saves. He was promoted in September of 2016 to the Class A Auburn Doubledays, where he finished his first professional season.
Sammy Palace - Catching/Hitting
Playing Career
Sammy is the current bullpen catcher for the Detroit Tigers. His duties include catching the Tigers pitching staff and relievers, before and during the game as well as assisting with batting practice. Sammy held the same role with the Washington Nationals in 2014 and 2015. Before becoming the Nationals bullpen catcher, Palace caught 5 seasons in their minor league system, reaching Triple A. Prior to professional baseball, he attended Kent State University before transferring to Florida Tech. From 2007-2009 at Florida Tech, Palace appeared in 127 games, posting a .288 batting average, while totaling 18 home runs and 88 RBIs. Sammy is a graduate of Clarkston High School, where he was a member of the All State Dream Team in 2004.