Detroit Tigers 2025 Top Prospects: 35-31

Detroit Tigers Top Prospects for 2025

Welcome to Tigers Minor League Report’s top 40 prospects in the Detroit Tigers system. This is our second article breaking down the top 40 list, five players at a time.

A reminder that Chris, Jerry, and Rogelio each made individual lists of 50+ players, then averaged the lists to get final rankings. And this year we’re doing player capsules, which are part biographical, part recap, and part scouting report.

You can read our previous post here: 40-36

35 – Jim Jarvis – IF

Votes: Chris (46), Jerry (23), Rogelio (NA)

Jim Jarvis is the sort of player who grows on you the more you see him. He doesn’t stand out physically, and there isn’t a plus tool on his card. But he’s an above-average runner whose glove and arm strength make him a quality defender at shortstop, second, and third base.

Jarvis will never be confused for a power hitter, but he’s not swinging a wet noodle either. He handles velocity well and he can sting the ball at times, particularly to the pull field. He ran a very low 7.5% swing-and-miss rate last year, he rarely chases pitches out of the zone, and his short, quick stroke lets him spray the ball to all fields.

And yet, Jim Jarvis never hits for average. He batted .262 in college, and so far he’s .241 hitter in the low minors. The issue appears to be his flat bat path, which leads to a lot of weak grounders, particularly against breaking balls and changeups. If he can learn to lift the ball just a little more he has a chance to be an MLB utility man one day. But for now it looks just as likely that he’ll top out as a quality minor leaguer.

Another hard line drive from Jim Jarvis, but a strong throw from right fielder Henry Bolte gets Dom Johnson trying to score from 2nd. pic.twitter.com/narDYGNN2S

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 30, 2024

34 – Tyler Mattison – RHP

Votes: Chris (24), Jerry (41), Rogelio (NA)

A four-year starter at Bryant University in Rhode Island, Tyler Mattison immediately moved to the bullpen with Detroit. His pro career got off to a bit of a slow start, with an injury knocking him out for two months. His results weren’t particularly great, either, with a 5.23 ERA over 32 innings in Low-A Lakeland. But he looked better in the Arizona Fall League, with a 3.18 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.

Things really took off for Mattison in 2023, when he climbed to Double-A Erie and compiled a 2.41 ERA with 91 strikeouts to just 28 walks in 59.2 IP. Mattison has true late-inning stuff, with a high-effort delivery and a high-3/4 arm slot. His fastball sits in the 94-97 MPH range with extreme spin (~2,600 RPM) and a ton of ride (20+ inches of IVB) that help it dodge bats at the top of the zone. He backs up his heater with a short downer curve in the low-80s, and a solid upper-80s changeup that shows good fade.

Unfortunately, Mattison hurt his elbow and missed all of the 2024 season after having Tommy John surgery. The Tigers still added him to their 40-man roster after the season, so there’s some reason for optimism. When healthy his walk rate was elevated (4-5 BB/9), and neither of his secondary offerings are plus pitches. But Mattison has a chance to be a setup man on the strength of his fastball alone. He could even get closing opportunities in his prime.

Tyler Mattison picked up his first save at the Double-A level last night. Here it is: pic.twitter.com/Gr7HbDw0dg

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 3, 2023

33 – Max Anderson – 2B

Votes: Chris (28), Jerry (46), Rogelio (23)

Max Anderson has good bat-to-ball skills, and at least average raw power. That much was obvious when he hit .414 with 21 home runs for Nebraska in 2023. But those skills are undone by an aggressive approach that mainly produces ground balls (50.4%) and opposite field contact (39.5%). For reference, there were just seven qualified MLB hitters with a higher groundball rate. And no one made contact to the opposite-field more than 36% of the time.

Anderson doesn’t strikeout much (14%), but nor does he walk (6%). And he is unlikely to provide much value as a runner or defender. He doesn’t have terribly good range at second base, and his arm is fringy, but acceptable for the position. He really struggled to throw accurately while on the move last season. To his credit, Anderson got better at it toward the end of the year, but he was still a bit of an adventure.

It all adds up to a difficult profile. There isn’t really anyone like him in the big leagues. He’s likely to be a below-average defender at second base, and right now it looks like he won’t hit, walk, or produce enough power to make him a viable corner bat. He’ll be just 23 for all of 2025, though, so we aren’t ruling out a brighter future if he can make some adjustments to his swing.

A dozen total bases for Max Anderson!

The @tigers‘ 2023 second-round pick stacks up a pair of homers + doubles on a 4-RBI night for the High-A @wmwhitecaps. pic.twitter.com/z2TLqIcZoX

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 26, 2024

32 – Josh Randall – RHP

Votes: Chris (19), Jerry (38), Rogelio (37)

We now come to a pair of 2024 draft picks who we haven’t seen play yet. We do trust the scouting of others, but we prefer to see players in person to form our own opinions. Most of the scouting reports describe him as a classic sinker-slider type with the frame to hold velocity and eat innings. Jerry thought Randall’s delivery was a little like flamethrower Ben Joyce.

Randall did at least get into some pro action, tossing four innings for Lakeland at the end of the season. So we have a bit of data that confirms at least part of his profile. His sinker averaged about 94 MPH, standing out more for it’s horizontal movement than it’s drop, perhaps because of his low-3/4 arm slot and release point of right around five feet. Randall also showed a high-spin (2,850 RPM) slider around 83 MPH and a slightly harder cutter in pro ball. And in college he featured an upper-80s changeup. The Tigers will likely develop him as a starter, but he also has some experience as a reliever.

31 – Michael Massey – RHP

Votes: Chris (20), Jerry (40), Rogelio (33)

We didn’t get to see Massey make his pro debut last year because he was recovering from injury Like Randall, he’s a big, strong righty with mid-90s velocity. But Massey’s heater is much more like Mattison’s than Randall’s, with plenty of carry at the top of the zone. He also throws a mid-80s slider with excellent two-plane break, and a curve and change that are both below-average.

Massey’s future role is a question mark. He was a starting pitcher as a freshman at Tulane and again as a junior at Wake Forest, with middling success (4.94 ERA). In the intervening year he was arguably one of the best relievers in all of college baseball. Massey put up a 2.59 ERA with a ridiculous 76 strikeouts to just 16 walks over 41.2 innings for the Demon Deacons in 2023.

We expect the Tigers to develop him as a starter, at least to begin his pro career. But if he heads to the bullpen he has a chance to move very quickly and potentially be a quality late-inning arm.

RHP Michael Massey (@WakeBaseball) has as lethal of a FB/SL combo as they come.

Massive cut/ride heater at 93-96 MPH that had an unbelievable whiff rate this spring, paired with a 82-86 MPH slider with serious bite and depth. Stupid good power out of the bullpen. pic.twitter.com/BQnuanqtzb

— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) June 28, 2023

Check back soon for our next five-pack of prospects!