Detroit Tigers 2025 Top Prospects: 15-11

Detroit Tigers Top Prospects for 2025

Welcome to Tigers Minor League Report’s top 40 prospects in the Detroit Tigers system. This is our sixth 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 posts here: 40-36, 35-31, 30-26, 25-21, 20-16

15 – Ty Madden – RHP

Votes: Chris (10), Jerry (17), Rogelio (19)

Few players in the system exemplify the ups and downs of player development better than Ty Madden. It’s a long and winding story we don’t need to completely rehash now. Suffice it to say the Ty Madden who made his MLB debut last year is a dramatically different player than the one who was drafted in 2021. Questions about the effectiveness of his fastball have persisted since college, though some mechanical tweaks appeared to help.

Madden’s heater has always been a bit inconsistent. In some starts he would sit in the 92-94 MPH range, while in others it was 96-98. Last year it was basically right in the middle, averaging about 94 MPH. His mid-80s slider is an above-average offering that serves as his primary weapon against right-handed batters. And after years of struggling to retire lefties, he appeared to find a real solution in the form of his mid-80s splitter that flashed as a plus pitch. Madden also throws a promising cutter, though it was walloped at the MLB level, as well as the occasional sinker and slow curve.

He has been durable in pro ball, topping 118 innings in each of his three full seasons. And he has the full menagerie of pitches to serve as a potential back-end starter. But we still aren’t really sure what role best suits Madden in the future. He shows solid control, but he catches too much of the plate at times. His best fit might be as a reliever, particularly if shorter stints allow his fastball to return to the upper 90s. That would give him three above-average offerings, and the chance to be a setup man.

Here’s every strikeout and whiff from Ty Madden’s start yesterday. You can also see his full outing on our YouTube page. https://t.co/1httTIG2lF pic.twitter.com/iCqEbiAGbP

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 25, 2024

14 – Rayner Castillo – RHP

Votes: Chris (18), Jerry (12), Rogelio (13)

Rayner Castillo received some attention when he signed as an international free agent, but then he kind of disappeared. Heading into last year he was a bit of an afterthought; a teenager with a 7.80 ERA in 60 rookie-ball innings. But it didn’t take very long for him explode back onto our radar in 2024. Castillo returned to rookie ball briefly for a tune-up after having his wisdom teeth removed, but then he jumped to Low-A Lakeland and was excellent.

The first thing that stands out about Castillo is his size. He’s now 30-50 pounds heavier than his listed weight, and he wears it well. The second thing that jumps out is his velocity. His four-seam fastball sits at 96 MPH and touches 98, while his sinker is just one tick slower. And it’s shocking how free and easy Castillo’s delivery is, and how well he throws strikes at his age and size. He also has a low-80s slider that looks like a future plus pitch, and a decent changeup that is a bit too firm. He did appear to be working on a slower change/splitter in the Arizona Fall League, to solid results.

All of that combines to make Castillo one of the more impressive young arms in the system. But he still has a long way to go. His fastballs get him plenty of ground balls, but they don’t miss bats. And his normally solid control seemingly abandoned him when he faced more advanced hitters in the AFL. Castillo has the build of an innings-eating starter, and that may be his eventual role if he can develop an offspeed pitch to give him a second bat misser. If not, he may be better off coming out of the bullpen, where he could develop into a Jason Foley style ground-ball specialist.

13 – Roberto Campos – OF

Votes: Chris (17), Jerry (14), Rogelio (12)

Detroit Tigers fans appear to be experiencing some severe prospect fatigue with Roberto Campos. That’s sort of natural, considering they first heard about him as a 16-year-old and he’s still in the low minors five years later. But Campos made real progress in 2024, and he’s still younger than most college draft picks from 2024. Compare him to 2024 first overall pick Travis Bazzana, for example. They are different kinds of players in different circumstances, yes, but both played in the Midwest League. Bazzana (born 8/28/2002) put up a .765 OPS in 27 games. Campos, who is 10 months younger, put up a .767 OPS over 118 games.

We aren’t saying Campos is a top-100 prospect. We just want to offer fans a slightly different perspective on him. He put up a 120 wRC+ last year, and he was clearly encumbered by his home park. Campos hit .248/.319/.369 at home, with 14 extra-base hits. On the road he batted .296/.364/.477 with 26 extra-base hits. In 2023 he hit ground balls at a 47.5% clip. Last year that dropped to 37.2%, while his line-drive rate jumped 10%. Campos has plus bat speed and continues to hit the ball very hard, and he made real progress as a defender and baserunner. He still has the ceiling of a regular corner outfielder. 

There is still plenty of work to be done, though. Campos has no trouble hitting velocity, but he can get off balance against good breaking balls. And though he has improved his secondary skills, he is still essentially a bat-first prospect. After two full seasons in High-A the org may want to challenge him at Double-A Erie. But it probably wouldn’t hurt his development to return to West Michigan for a few more months.

Roberto Campos annihilates this pitch for a grand slam. The Whitecaps lead 9-0. @wangler_nathan on the call. pic.twitter.com/4J9V8JXPeG

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 28, 2024

12 – Franyerber Montilla – SS

Votes: Chris (15), Jerry (11), Rogelio (14)

Franyerber Montilla was one of the best stories in Detroit’s system last year. He spent two years in the Dominican Summer League and came stateside to little fanfare. But he immediately started producing at a high level in the Florida Complex League. Montilla posted an eye-popping 1.089 OPS in 15 May games, with 16 walks and 13 steals to go along with seven doubles and a homer.

Then some scouting reports starting arriving, and Montilla’s tools seemed to live up to his production. He couldn’t keep up his torrid pace, but he posted a 136 wRC+ over three months for the FCL Tigers. A promotion to Low-A Lakeland seemingly stopped Montilla in his tracks, as he looked overmatched and passive at the plate. He batted just .078 in 15 August games, with 8 walks and 18 strikeouts. But he seemingly found his swing again in September. In 10 games, including the playoffs, he went 9-for-30 with five extra-base hits, five walks, and three steals. And he seemingly had a knack for coming through in the clutch.

There’s a ton to like here. At the plate Montilla shows a quick bat from both sides, with a good approach, and a surprising amount of pop. He seems to have a little better feel for contact from the right side, but he should be able to stick as a switch hitter without issue. On defense he shows the athleticism, hands, arm, and instincts to remain on the left side of the infield. And he’s an aggressive baserunner with plus speed, who plays with infectious enthusiasm. He may take a little while to work through the system, but he has all the tools to be a true two-way shortstop.

Franyerber Montilla with an adventure around the bases…almost gets picked off at 1st, steals 2nd, moves to 3rd on an error, and then scores the go-ahead run on an infield single. pic.twitter.com/t5E81CozEX

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) August 11, 2024

11 – Trey Sweeney – SS

Votes: Chris (7), Jerry (13), Rogelio (11)

Detroit Tigers fans got to a see a lot of what Trey Sweeney has to offer last fall. Back in 2021 he was a first-round pick because he had a chance to provide lefty power while sticking at shortstop. He then took a circuitous path to the big leagues, but those skills are exactly what he showed in 40+ games with the Tigers.

First, the good stuff. Sweeney quickly proved to be at least an average defender at shortstop, showing good range to his right and excellent instincts to help overcome a fringy arm. He’s also an above-average runner with the speed to swipe 20+ bases a season. And Sweeney has plus raw power, with his average exit velocity and hard-hit rates both ranking above the 80th percentile.

Now, the concerns. Sweeney had real contact issues in the big leagues, with his 32% whiff rate ranking as the 3rd worst on the Tigers. He also had the 3rd highest chase rate on the team. He did very little damage against fastballs, and ran a whiff rate of nearly 50% against breaking balls and changeups. Both Houston and Cleveland ruthlessly attacked his weaknesses in the playoffs, so he’s going to need to make adjustments in 2025.

Fortunately for Sweeney, it doesn’t take much offense to provide value at shortstop. If he matches his 2024 production for a full season he’ll put up 2+ WAR. Even if he struggles to bat .200 he’s likely to provide positive overall value. This is a high-floor prospect, who, with some offensive adjustments, has a chance to be an above-average big leaguer.

This catch by Trey Sweeney saved the game for the @Tigers 😲 pic.twitter.com/co5M2aIpgJ

— MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2024

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