Detroit Tigers Top 39 Prospects: Just Missed

Detroit Tigers Prospects Who Just Missed Our Top 39

A few weeks ago we unveiled our updated list of the top 39 prospects in the Detroit Tigers system. We employ a democratic process when putting together these lists. For this update we had six TMLR contributors each write their own top-50 prospects list, and then included every player who made at least four of the lists.

But there were 13 other players who landed on three lists. We could have stretched our list to 52, but we felt it was stronger this way. Still, we don’t want to forget about those players who nearly made it. So below you’ll find brief write-ups on the 13 Detroit Tigers prospects who just missed our list. And after their names you’ll see where they would have ranked on our list of 52.

Cris Rodriguez – (25)

Rodriguez is probably the biggest name who missed our list. Generally speaking Rogelio and I don’t like ranking recent international signees until we see them play in real games, and preferably at least at the Florida Complex League level. There’s just far too much noise in the international signing process and in Dominican Summer League stats. And if we haven’t seen players, then why come to us for our opinions? We’d just be repeating what others have said. Still, I did rank Rodriguez 49th on my list, and he landed at 21 and 10 on other lists.

Of course we have now seen Cris Rodriguez play in games. And what we’ve seen has been awfully impressive. The power and physicality we all read about when he signed is absolutely there. He doesn’t turn 18 until next January, and he has no business being able to handle velocity and produce the kind of hard contact he already has. The ceiling here is enormous. But there’s still a lot more to baseball than hitting the ball hard, and Rodriguez hasn’t shown much in the way of plate discipline so far. Maybe he does develop into a middle-of-the-order monster down the road. But maybe he’s the next Steven Moya or Jose De La Cruz. Still, there’s enough ceiling here to justify him landing on our next top-30.

Cris Rodriguez officially has our attention. This time he takes a 99 MPH fastball from Kevin Defrank and blasts it over the left field wall at 109 MPH. It’s his 2nd home run, and 7th extra-base hit, in his first 6 pro games. pic.twitter.com/NfZu9u9w8u

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 9, 2025

Trei Cruz – (30)

Trei Cruz has been on and off our top prospects lists for years now. And there’s no doubt he has been an excellent performer for Erie this season, with a wRC+ generally hovering around 160. He was ranked as high as 19th on one list, and landed two other votes in the 30s. I did not vote for him. He does many things well on the baseball field, and there’s a chance he finds a role as a utility man one day. But I’m skeptical he can hit at the MLB level, and he’s about to turn 27 in his third full season in Double-A.

Jim Jarvis – (32)

Jim Jarvis is a glove-first infielder who controls the strike zone well. He has also shown strong baseball instincts and above-average speed in the past. He landed a top-20 vote from us, and I had him 31st on my list as a potential utility man. But Jarvis has almost no thump in his bat, and he has never consistently hit for average at any level, including college. He is also just 4-for-9 on stolen base attempts this year. There’s still some hope he can perhaps make a launch angle change to take advantage of his plus swing decisions. But he’s probably tracking toward being a solid organizational player.

Zach Swanson – (36)

The Detroit Tigers gave Zach Swanson a $725,000 bonus in the 9th round of the draft last year, which was the equivalent of third-round money. He was a bit inconsistent in high school, but at his best he showed a fastball that touched the mid-90s and a high-spin breaking ball. The Tigers liked his potential as a two-sport athlete (basketball) with a good arm. But he went down with an elbow injury before ever throwing a professional pitch. His highest vote was 23rd, and I voted him 34th on my list. If all goes well with his rehab we should see him on the mound next year.

John Peck – (40)

There’s a little bit of Gage Workman in John Peck. He shows a fair amount of swing-and-miss in his game, but he also makes a lot of hard contact. And he’s an above-average runner who can play all over the infield. It’s hard to predict future success unless he manages to put the ball in the air more often and cut down on the strikeouts a bit. But he got a pair of votes in the 30s (and I ranked him 42nd) on the strength of his raw tools.

John Peck smokes a 3-run homer to deep left center and West Michigan takes a 6-2 lead in the 3rd. It’s Peck’s 5th home run of the year. pic.twitter.com/CSL4SFrFqG

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 13, 2025

Woody Hadeen – (43)

The Tigers drafted Woody Hadeen in the 6th round last year and he’s off to a sneaky solid start to his pro career. He’s been batting around .230 all season, which obviously isn’t great. But he’s a switch hitter who is hitting just .125 from the right side, so that’s something that may need to be addressed in the future. He’s a plus runner who makes terrific swing decisions, and he has just enough pop to keep pitchers honest. Most importantly, he is a quality defender who can handle shortstop, second base, and center field. That should buy him plenty of time to try and develop his bat. I was the high man here, ranking him 28th on my list.

Javier Osorio – (44)

Javier Osorio was Detroit’s top international signing in the 2022 class, collecting a $2.2 million bonus. He has since been passed in prospect status by classmates Josue Briceno and Franyerber Montilla. But he’s making a lot of noise in his stateside debut this season. He’s an aggressive hitter, but so far he has kept his strikeout rate in check, and he’s hitting over .300 with 10 extra-base hits and 15 steals in 19 tries. He’s still very raw, however. He hasn’t played shortstop at all in 2025, and he has nine errors in 26 games while splitting time between second and third base. His future may be in the outfield, but that will be just fine if he keeps hitting the way he has this year.

Javier Osorio was a big international signing for the Tigers in the 2021 class. It’s been a slow go for him, but he’s off to an excellent start at the plate this year. Here’s every pitch he saw in yesterday’s FCL Tigers game. pic.twitter.com/2eRlgcp2F0

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) May 28, 2025

Jatnk Diaz – (45)

Last year Jatnk Diaz was a fun story who seemed to be overmatched in pro baseball. The Tigers took him out of a Pennsylvania high school in the 8th round of the 2023 draft. But he struggled with injuries and wildness in the FCL in 2024, posting a 10.67 ERA in 14.1 innings. He is looking MUCH better in the FCL this season, with a 2.96 ERA through 27.1 innings. And it’s not just numbers. His stuff looks promising, with his sinker hovering around 93-94 MPH, and his slider and changeup both looking solid at times. I had him 46th on my list, but he did get one vote inside the top 30.

Wilmer Flores – (46)

Prospects will break your heart. Just a few years ago Flores was ranked as a top-100 prospect in baseball, as a starting pitcher. Since then he has struggled as a starter, been added to the 40-man roster, gotten hurt, been moved to the bullpen, gotten hurt again, and been removed from the 40-man roster. He hasn’t thrown a pitch yet this year. At his best he appears to have late-inning stuff, but it’s impossible to know what to expect from Flores in the future.

Garrett Pennington – (47)

Garrett Pennington has been a huge part of Lakeland’s run to the first-half division title. He has hit for power and average while controlling the strike zone and playing solid defense at first base and in left field. That got him a trio of votes, and one as high as 32nd. I did not vote for him because he’s a 24-year-old 1B/LF in Low-A. He hits the ball very hard, and if he gets promoted to higher levels and continues to perform I will gladly reconsider.

Garrett Pennington launches a 3-run homer to put the Flying Tigers up 3-2 in the 8th. It’s his 8th home run of the year. pic.twitter.com/8Evg1ltJ7t

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 13, 2025

Jordan Marks – (50)

Score one for statistical success here. Jordan Marks had just middling results in his pro career, first as a starter and then as a reliever. And then he missed all of 2024 with an injury. But he has been outstanding out of the bullpen this year, posting a 1.26 ERA over 28+ innings. His stuff doesn’t jump off the page. The fastball tops out around 94 MPH, and his slider and changeup both live in the mid-80s and seem like pretty average offerings. But his results have been stellar, and that was enough to get him three votes.

Patrick Lee – (51)

Patrick Lee made the back end of our list heading into the season. We questioned his hitting ability, but the rest of his tools are very loud, including plus speed, plus raw power, and a plus-plus arm. Then the Tigers sent him back down to Low-A to start the season. And he hasn’t played particularly well since being moved back up to High-A in mid May. Maybe it’s not fair, but when the team treats a player like an org soldier rather than a prospect we tend to react the same way. He did get ranked 32nd on one list, but couldn’t get that important 4th vote.

Micah Ashman – (52)

Micah Ashman has been practically untouchable this year. The lanky 6-foot-7 lefty boasts a 1.20 ERA with 35 strikeouts and just 15 hits allowed over 30 innings. And we still don’t really know how he’s doing it. His fastball doesn’t get much higher than 93 MPH, and his slider and splitter look solid. But hitters have just been baffled by him so far in pro ball. He’s a pure reliever, and probably not one who will ever fill a high-leverage role, but his results were enough to get him three votes.

Micah Ashman needed just 10 pitches to get through his first inning in High-A. pic.twitter.com/KPOuCjVDDC

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) April 4, 2025