The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the

Florida Complex League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home games at

Joker Marchant Stadium Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium is a baseball field in Lakeland, Florida. The 8,500-seat stadium was opened in 1966 and has had multiple renovations, most recently in 2017. It was named after local resident and former Lakeland Parks and Rec ...

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal ci ...

. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

either as draftees or non-drafted free agents from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and various other countries.

History

The team first played in the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

(GCL) during the 1968 season. After then being absent for over 25 years, the team returned to the league in 1995 and has competed continuously since then. Starting with the 2016 season, the team has fielded two squads in the league, differentiated with "East" and "West" suffixes. The second team was created due to the cancellation of the

Venezuelan Summer League The Venezuelan Summer League (VSL) was a professional baseball sports league that operated in Venezuela from 1997 to 2015, primarily in the state of Carabobo. Teams in the league served as academies for Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations, a ...

, which left the Tigers with a roster full of players with no team. Most of these players were assigned to one of the two GCL squads, although some were assigned to the Tigers affiliate in the

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

. Prior to the 2021 season, the Gulf Coast League was renamed as the

(FCL).

Rosters

Season-by-season

GCL Tigers East

GCL Tigers West

References

External links

Official website (East)

Official website (West)

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates

Sports in Lakeland, Florida Baseball teams established in 1968 1968 establishments in Florida {{Florida-baseball-team-stub