Detroit Tigers Prospects Update
It’s that time again. Every year we try to do three updates to our list of the top prospects in the Detroit Tigers system. The first list tends to come in December, when we set our pre-season expectations. We do another list in August after the draft and trade deadline.
But our May/June list is usually the most interesting. That’s because we have two months of real game action with which to judge players. It’s also when we remove the prospects who have graduated (this year players with any MLB time are off the list), add players who are making noise, and move players up or down dramatically.
In this case, six of us (Ashley, Chris, Colin, Jerry, Joe, Rogelio) made individual lists of our top 50-ish Detroit Tigers prospects as of the last week of May. We decided players had to be on at least four of the six lists to be on our rankings. And that’s how we ended up with the number 39.
As always, these rankings are just a snapshot in time. In 2-3 months we expect to look back on this list and realize we were far too high on some players, and far too low on others. Let’s start with our graduates.
Detroit Tigers Prospect Graduations
Jackson Jobe (#1) – We’ve seen the flashes from Jobe at the big league level, but he’s still trying to put it all together. We were worried about his fastball effectiveness and command, but both have been a little worse than we expected. And now he’s injured, for the third time in as many seasons. Perhaps his command issues were related to his forearm soreness? In any event, when he’s healthy there’s still plenty of ceiling left.
Jackson Jobe, Evil 97mph Sinker. 👿
19 inches of Run pic.twitter.com/IOEPxwvhqI
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 18, 2025
Jace Jung (#8) – Jace Jung deserves a lot of credit for how much he has improved on defense. At this time last year we thought he was close to unplayable at third base. But this year he has been a positive defender according to both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average. Unfortunately, he just hasn’t hit. Jung still controls the zone well, but hasn’t made any impactful contact at the MLB level. He may just be a player who needs 300-400 PAs to adjust. But the Tigers don’t really have the luxury of letting him figure it out right now.
Ty Madden (#15) – We don’t have any new information on Madden. He looked pretty bad in spring training, and then it was discovered he was hurt. He has been back in Lakeland rehabbing all year. Maybe he’ll get into game action soon.
Tyler Owens (#28) – Owens came up to the big leagues for the Angels series and made two solid appearances before heading back to the minors. His numbers in Toledo haven’t been great, though we’ve learned to not put too much weight on that. He still looks like a potentially viable middle reliever who could see plenty of MLB time over the next handful of seasons.
Chase Lee (#40) – We were a bit wary of Chase Lee because of his unorthodox arm angle and delivery. Sometimes a funky arm slot works in the minors but has no effect on big-league hitters. But Lee has been nothing short of excellent with the Tigers so far, and he is quickly working his way into higher leverage situations. Just add us to the extensive list of doubters Lee has proven wrong.
First @MLB strikeout for Chase Lee 👏 pic.twitter.com/L5sBaMmyJA
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 23, 2025
Dropped Off
Andrew Navigato (21), Lael Lockhart (22), Wilmer Flores (25), Justice Bigbie (27), Jim Jarvis (34), Eliezer Alfonzo (35), Patrick Lee (37), Jake Holton (38), Trei Cruz (42), Max Alba (43), Jatnk Diaz (44)
We won’t go into too much detail here. Many of these players still got three votes, and we will have a separate “just missed” article. But in most cases these players have struggled at the higher levels. Or the Tigers organization has passed them over in favor of others, which we view as a bad sign.
Risers and Fallers
Bryce Rainer: (+4)
It’s obviously harder to make a big move at the top of the list, but Rainer has shown enough to be worthy of this jump. He actually garnered three second-place votes, and it’s not crazy to suggest he has the most upside in the system.
Bryce Rainer picked up 3 hits, walked, and stole his 8th base of the year tonight. pic.twitter.com/tmeQHl87IC
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 31, 2025
Owen Hall and Ethan Schiefelbein: (+6)
These two will seemingly always be linked because of their positions and draft status. And honestly, this move up feels like it’s more about other players than Hall and Schiefelbein themselves. Hall looked pretty raw with Lakeland, and now he’s on the IL with a shoulder stress reaction. We haven’t see Schiefelbein yet, but he has also had some trouble throwing strikes in the FCL.
Max Anderson: (+19)
Anderson is the second biggest mover on our list, climbing from outside the top 30 to nearly inside the top 10. He hasn’t vastly changed his profile, but subtle improvements have resulted in a lot of on-field success so far this year. He still doesn’t walk much, and his defense, while better, will never be a real strength. But Anderson has always hit the ball hard, and so far in 2025 he has turned 8% of his ground balls into fly balls. The result is a .339 average, a .554 slugging percentage, and a big leap up our rankings.
Izaac Pacheco: (+23)
No one currently in the system has seen his rankings on our lists fluctuate as much as Pacheco. He’s been as high as #6, and on our last ranking he barely snuck in at #40. But this year, at least so far, he appears to be making the Parker Meadows/Wenceel Perez leap (™Rogelio Castillo). Pacheco is more balanced and patient in the batter’s box, and he’s now letting his natural power take over instead of hunting for home runs. He’s always going to strike out a fair amount, but now he’s also walking at a 16% clip and spraying hard line drives all over the park.
Josh Randall: (+13)
Randall’s leap is probably more about his raw stuff than his results. And he was probably underrated on our last list. Randall is throwing hard, pounding the zone, and flashing his high-spin breaking balls. His command still needs work, but this is a really nice arm for the Tigers to refine in the coming years.
Tyler Mattison: (+8)
This is an interesting one. Mattison just made his first pitching appearance since September 2023, and his stuff wasn’t terribly encouraging. But there was probably a lot of anticipation about his return to action, so he hopped up the list. And there’s still plenty of time for him to get things ironed out.
Andrew Sears: (+18)
At times this year Sears has looked like a punching bag. In other starts he looks effectively wild. And in a few outings he has been utterly dominant. He’s been very good for most of May, pitching to a 1.57 ERA with 29 strikeouts and just 6 walks in 23 innings. His stuff is pretty solid too, with a fastball that touches 96 MPH, an above-average sweeper (as long as he keeps it out of the heart of the plate), and a developing split-change. All that is a recipe for a big jump in our rankings.
Yosber Sanchez: (+8)
Pure relievers tend to inch up our rankings as they continue to have success at higher levels. And that’s the case with Sanchez, who looked solid in limited action with Erie this year. Unfortunately, he began the year on the Injured List, and he recently returned to the IL with right elbow inflammation.
Carson Rucker: (-10)
Rucker is our lone prospect to fall by double digits. His performance justifies the drop, as he’s batting just .170 with no home runs and a 35% whiff rate. He has also made 11 errors at third base already. Still, when you watch him play you can see the flashes and the potential. It may never work out for him, and he’s currently back on the IL. But it also wouldn’t surprise us if he figures some things out and has a strong second half this year.
Carson Rucker smokes a liner to left at 107.3 MPH and it gets past the Fort Myers left fielder for a double. pic.twitter.com/4mNZKzLJND
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 25, 2025
R.J. Petit: (+6)
Nothing big has really changed with Petit this year. His stuff is largely the same, with a mid-90s fastball, a changeup that flashes as an above-average offering, and a solid slider. But he’s throwing more strikes in 2025, and as such his ERA has dropped by nearly two full runs from last year.
RJ Petit with a pair of strikeouts in his second inning of work, gets his second one on a 96MPH fastball. pic.twitter.com/4NHMQxGYFV
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 4, 2025
New Detroit Tigers Prospects
We will try to keep this brief, as these players will all be getting full scouting reports soon. But this list features exactly 10 new names.
Jackson Strong – OF – #21
Strong leaps onto the list thanks a well-rounded profile that includes above-average power, speed, and outfield defense, to go along with decent bat-to-ball skills. And he doesn’t turn 22 until late August.
Jackson Strong had a great game tonight, going 4-for-6 with a HR. He also stole his 7th base and picked up an outfield assist. Through 30 games he is batting .300/.413/.530 pic.twitter.com/XqTgbHiavz
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 31, 2025
Dylan Smith – RHP – #23
Smith technically isn’t new to our lists. We ranked him in the teens and 20s a few years ago, before injuries and inconsistency led him to fall. But he has found new life as reliever, and his impressive swing-and-miss stuff has gotten him to the big leagues.
Jude Warwick – IF – #26
Warwick, Detroit’s 12th-round pick last year out of the Illinois high-school ranks, is off to an impressive start to his pro career in the FCL. He’s showing solid gap power, a decent eye, plus speed, and the athleticism to stick up the middle on defense.
Paul Wilson – LHP – #31
This one is unfortunate. Wilson looked really rough in 2024, with diminished velocity and seemingly no ability to locate. His control was still shaky this year, but he was throwing much harder, and he looked promising. But he injured his elbow after just three games. Now it seems likely we won’t see him in game action again until 2027.
Carlos Mendoza – IF – #32
Carlos Mendoza is a winning baseball player. He’s annoying in the batter’s box and pesky on the basepaths. He puts the bat on the ball, he works walks, and he’s a pest to pitchers everywhere. He doesn’t have much pop, his defense isn’t great, and the Tigers seem to view him as an org guy. But we think he’ll eventually be useful to a big league team.
Lucas Elissalt – RHP – #34
Detroit took Elissalt in the 13th round last year out of Chipola College, and he’s a lot of fun. He’s not yet 21, but he showcases just about everything you like to see from young pitchers. He spins the ball very well, he throws a lot of strikes, and he has feel for five different offerings already. The only thing holding him back right now is his subpar velocity — his fastball sits around 90-92. If the Tigers can find a way to add 2-3 ticks to his arsenal, they may really have something here.
Hayden Minton – RHP – (#36)
Minton spent all of 2024 in Low-A Lakeland, and he returned there to begin this year. That wasn’t a great sign for a 24-year-old, but Minton changed his position on the rubber this year, and it resulted in a lot more strikes. His fastball sits in the 92-94 MPH range, and he has one of the better curveballs in the system. He’s a starter now, but if he makes the big leagues it will likely be as a reliever.
Jack Penney – IF – (#37)
There probably isn’t a plus tool here, but Penney is a polished player with solid ability across the board. He stands out most for his plate discipline, and he could develop into a solid utility man down the road.
Eduardo Valencia – C – (#38)
Valencia has been in the Detroit Tigers organization since 2018, but he has played just 290 games. That’s the life of a backup catcher, which has essentially been Valencia’s role since leaving rookie ball. But he’s suddenly having his best pro season in Double-A, at least as a hitter. His defense probably isn’t strong enough to earn him a big-league backup job, but he may do just enough to be the 3rd catcher on a 40-man roster.
Moises Rodriguez – RHP – (#39)
Rodriguez is a true pop-up this year. The 23-year-old has been in the system since 2021, but control issues dogged him in most seasons. But this year he’s pounding the strike zone with a nasty upper-90s sinker and getting strikeouts with his mid-80s slider. He’s currently running a 75% groundball rate with the sinker and a 54% whiff rate with the slider. He’s strictly a reliever, and his ERA is currently close to 5, but he may be a pitcher whose numbers improve as he climbs the ladder and gets better defenders behind him.
Moises Rodriguez has been throwing 98-99 with some good movement on his fastball, picking up his first strikeout of the day. pic.twitter.com/ED4nexrqON
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 18, 2025
Joe Rampe 
Ashley Couturier