How is the 2023 MLB Draft looking for the Detroit Tigers? Let’s find out together.
The 2025 MLB draft is still a few months away, but since we love it, we’re starting our draft coverage early here at TMLR.
Before looking too far ahead, we wanted to take a minute (or several) to look back at Scott Harris’ first draft with the Detroit Tigers, to see how things are going so far.
Harris took over as the Tigers’ President of Baseball Operations back in September of 2022, and 2023 was his first opportunity to take a swing at the MLB draft. All good executives need good people to help, and the Tigers appear to have found some; hiring Rob Metzler from the Tampa Bay Rays to lead amateur scouting on October 25, 2022, and hiring Mark Conner from the San Diego Padres to take over as the new amateur scouting director five days later.
Both the Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres have solid reputations when it comes to the draft, and both organizations aren’t afraid to take chances on high school talent.
While Detroit has historically leaned more heavily towards college players in the draft (with some notable exceptions), since Harris, Metzler and Conner have taken over, they’ve focused more on high school talent than what Tigers fans are used to. Case in point: four of the first five selections the Tigers made in the ’23 draft were high schoolers.
Without further adieu, let’s dive in to the Tigers’ 2023 draft.
Max Clark
Max Clark arrived with high expectations, and so far, he’s met them. In 2024, Max managed a .279/.372/.421 slash across the Low and High A levels, despite being much younger than the competition.
In 2025, the speedy Clark has got off to a blazing start in High A, hitting .276/.463/.397 with a larger than life 25% walk rate to just a 16.3% strikeout rate. Harris’ mantra is “dominate the strike zone”, and Clark has done that so far, while adding solid defense and base running.
Kevin McGonigle
The Tigers signed Max Clark to an underslot deal with their first pick in the ’23 draft, which allowed them to spread some funds deeper down the draft. With some of those extra savings, Detroit was able to select Kevin McGonigle with their 2nd pick in the draft, which was a competitive balance selection.
If you read this site, you’re familiar with what’s happened next. While McGonigle has battled some injuries so far in his career, when healthy, he’s been electric: .311/.412/.449 with an identical to Max Clark’s 15% walk rate, and a tiny 8.9% strikeout rate.
McGonigle is one of the best hitters in the minor leagues, and could shoot up the minor league ladder once he returns from an ankle injury.
Max Anderson
Just like with Clark, the Tigers were able to save some money with their 3rd pick in the draft, Max Anderson. Anderson came to the organization with a reputation as a solid hitter, and so far, he’s shown flashes of that reputation proving to be true.
Mad Max’s 2024 season was pretty respectable all things considered, and this season, he’s taken his game to another level with the Erie SeaWolves; compiling a .300/.364/.550 slash that doesn’t look all that fluky based on the underlying data. Anderson has doubled his ISO since last season, while upping his walk rate and keeping his strikeout rate at a very solid 16.7%.
Paul Wilson
The Tigers went back to the prep well with their 4th pick in the draft, utilizing some savings from the Maxes to sign high school lefty Paul Wilson with their 3rd round pick.
Wilson’s 2024 was a mixed bag, as he struggled a little with the strike zone in just over 35 innings. However, prep pitchers often take some time to develop, and Wilson appears to have taken some steps forward in 2025.
With a fastball that sits in the low to mid 90s, and an impressive slider, Wilson has a massive 34.4% strikeout rate in 6.1 innings pitched so far in ’25. While the walks are still on the higher side, his last start on April 23rd was the best of his young career, going two innings and allowing 0 runs on 2 hits and one walk while striking out 4. Hopefully Wilson will be able to use that start as a jumping off point for the rest of the season.
Carson Rucker
No relation to Darius (that I know of), Rucker was the Tigers 4th round pick in the 2023 draft, out of Goodpasture Christian High School in Tennessee.
Unfortunately for Carson, he was injured early on in the ’24 season, and missed most of the year. He’s back healthy this season, and in 15 games with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the youngster is hitting .206/.242/.270.
It was an aggressive assignment when the Tigers started Rucker in Low A after missing so much time due to injury, which may be a tell when it comes to how the organization feels about him. Just like with most high schoolers, Rucker is all about projection at this point, so let’s check back in at the end of the year.
Jaden Hamm
With their 5th round pick in the 2023 draft, the Tigers went back to college (and Tennessee), selecting right-handed pitcher Jaden Hamm out of Middle Tennessee State.
Hamm went ham (sorry) in 2024, shooting up the prospect ranks while firing 99 innings with a 2.64 ERA for High A West Michigan. Advanced stats backed up that ERA: 3.09 FIP, 30.6% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate, and just .73 home runs allowed per 9 innings.
J-Hamm was promoted to Erie to start the ’25 season, and while his 6.00 ERA is high, that is mostly due to an elevated home run rate. His strikeout percentage has actually increased this year while his walk rate has held fairly steady compared to last season. Hamm looks like a future big league starter, perhaps as soon as late ’26.
Bennett Lee
Bennett Lee sounds like a Civil War general, but in actuality, was the Tigers’ 6th round pick in 2023. While Lee’s offensive numbers to date haven’t necessarily been superb, he’s known more for his defense, which is most important for catchers. Catchers often take some time to come into their own offensively, due to the pressure on defense at the position, so just like with Carson Rucker, let’s check back in later this season to see how Lee’s bat is holding up.
John Peck
The Tigers pecked Peck (sorry again) with their 7th round selection in 2023, out of Pepperdine. Like Bennett Lee, Peck is known more for his defense; but he’s also shown some hitting ability in his minor league career so far, with a cumulative .264/.364/.376 slash backed up by an 11.9% walk rate. Big John has shown more power this year, with 2 home runs already (in just 64 PAs) compared to 3 in 300 plate appearances last season.
Players like Peck can often make an impact at the Major League level with solid defense in the infield. Further development with the bat could allow Peck to reach that status later in his career.
Jatnk Diaz
In the 8th round of the 2023 draft, the Tigers selected their second prep pitcher of the draft, Jatnk Diaz, out of Hazleton Area High School in Pennsylvania.
Diaz has an interesting backstory, in that he didn’t even play high school baseball. Jatnk was ruled ineligible after arriving from the Dominican Republic, but ended up seeing action in the MLB Draft League. Diaz has a big fastball and shows some feel for spin, and while his professional experience has been limited to just 17.1 innings, he is worth keeping tabs on this season and in seasons to come.
Hayden Minton
We discussed Minton in this week’s “Five Things”, so please feel free to check that out if you’re so inclined. If you’re not so inclined, here’s the skinny on Minny: Minton was the Tigers’ 9th round pick in 2023, out of Missouri State. His 2024 season was pretty good (93 innings, 4.65 ERA) despite an elevated walk rate: 26.6% strikeout rate, an almost nice .68 HR/9, and a solid 44.4% groundball rate, leading to a 3.93 FIP.
This season, Minton has been on one: in 13 innings, he’s allowed just one run, with an impressive 37% strikeout rate, barely there 2.2% walk rate, and no home runs allowed. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see an early promotion to West Michigan coming soon for Hayden, who looks like a potential steal in the 9th round.
Andrew Sears
Sears was the Tigers’ 10th rounder in 2023, out of Connecticut, marking the third college pitcher the Tigers selected.
Sears quietly put up an excellent 2024 season. In just shy of 90 innings at Low A Lakeland, the big lefty shoved: 2.51 ERA, 26.4% strikeout rate, 46.4% groundball rate, and just .50 home runs allowed per nine.
The walks were on the higher side, but Andrew has made some strides in that area in 2025, while holding his own in High A West Michigan. Sears’ funky delivery is tough on hitters, and further refinement of his command could lead to a future role in the big leagues.
Jim Jarvis
In the 11th round of the 2023 draft, Detroit selected infielder Jim Jarvis out of Alabama. Similar to John Peck, Jarvis is known for his defensive prowess at multiple infield positions.
Along with solid defense at second base, third base and shortstop, Double J has shown a disciplined approach at the plate in his minor league career, with a 14% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate. While the power hasn’t arrived quite yet, that was to be expected, and Jarvis has kept his head above water in an aggressive promotion to Erie to start the 2025 season.
Andrew Dunford
The Tigers selected prep pitcher Andrew Dunford out of Houston County High School in Georgia with their pick in round 12, going back to the prep ranks for another big arm (and big man: Dunford is 6’7″).
Dunford came to the Tigers’ organization with a blazing fastball, but has only thrown 4.1 innings in his career so far due to multiple injuries. The bad news is that Dunford was again placed on the full season injured list for the 2025 season, but the good news is that he’s still young enough that if he can squash the injury bug, the tools are there.
Brett Callahan
With their 13th round pick in the 2023 draft, the Tigers selected Brett Callahan out of St. Joseph’s. While the number 13 is often associated with being unlucky, it’s looking like the opposite for the Tigers so far.
Callahan had a very solid 2024 season in A ball, putting up a .276/.359/.439 slash. This season, he’s been one of the best players in the entire Tigers’ minor league system, hitting .328/.391/.574 in a very nice 69 plate appearances for West Michigan while providing solid defense in the outfield as well.
Callahan is one to keep an eye on in the Tigers’ organization this season.
David Smith
The 14th round saw the Tigers go back to the University of Connecticut, with Detroit selecting utility man David Smith.
So far in his minor league career, Smith has played left field, right field, center field and some second base; and even made one mopup appearance on the mound.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but David has also done a solid job at controlling the strike zone in his career to date, with a 22.2% strikeout rate and 19.3% walk rate. Like John Peck and Jim Jarvis before him, he hasn’t flashed much power yet, but in 2025, Smith has a .333/.474./.333 slash with more walks than strikeouts in 19 plate appearances in Low A Lakeland.
Brady Cerkownyk
With their pick in round 15 of the 2023 draft, the Tigers chose catcher Brady Cerkownyk out of Connors State Community College.
Cerkownyk put up monster numbers at Connors State, but has yet to get his professional career off the ground (outside of 2 games in 2024) due to a season ending injury in ’24. However, Cerkownyk appears to be headed to the Complex League for the 2025 season, and the tools are there for a solid catcher. Like many others on this list, Brady is worth monitoring during the ’25 season.
Donye Evans
In the 16th round of the 2023 draft, the Tigers selected their fourth collegiate pitcher, Donye Evans, out of UNC Charlotte.
In 2024, Evans was more than formidable in 25 total innings pitched in the Complex League and Low A, putting up a 28.8% strikeout rate, 11.5% walk rate and 50.9% groundball rate. He allowed no home runs and ended the season with a 2.16 ERA (and 3.14 FIP). Unfortunately Evans is out for the 2025 season with an injury, but is a relief prospect to watch in the coming years.
Blake Pivaroff
With their second last pick in the 2023 draft, the Tigers selected righty Blake Pivaroff out of Arizona State.
Pivaroff only tossed 5.1 innings in 2023, and in 2024, injuries limited Blake to just 18.1 innings in Low A Lakeland. However, Pivaroff made the most of his innings, with a 2.95 ERA and 18 strikeouts to just 3 walks and one home run allowed. Unfortunately, Pivaroff was released prior to the 2025 season.
Johnathan Rogers
With their final selection of the 2023 draft, the Tigers went back to high school, selecting pitcher Johnathan Rogers out of Tupelo High School in Mississippi.
Rogers didn’t see professional action in 2023, but in 2024, he made 9 starts and 2 relief appearances (totaling 38.1 innings) for the Tigers’ Complex League team. As a high school pitcher, some growing pains were to be expected, but Rogers more than held his own, with a 3.52 ERA, 19.3% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate, and just .70 home runs allowed per nine. Rogers appears to be headed back to the Complex League to start the 2025 season, and is worth checking back in on at the end of the year.
Overall, Detroit’s 2023 draft class is looking pretty spicy so far. Like with any draft, it will take several years to know how successful the class actually was. But like TMLR’s Chris Brown says, all you can do is perform, and so far, that’s exactly what this draft class has done.
Rogelio Castillo 
Emily Waldon