Tigers Top 40 Prospect August 2025 update

After the trade deadline and the 2025 MLB Draft signings have trickled into the Bridge League, we can finally roll out our new Top 40. How we determine the lists for those who are new to the process, is we take the rankings of our staff and do the law of averages and with some Excel magic, the final rankings are listed.

Going forward, we are going to stick to 40 prospects since it is a rounded number and based on the progress of the Tigers system, there are several younger players who will eventually make their way up the list. Plus, the system continues to get intriguing with up the middle talent and international arms that are going beyond just the Dominican Summer League but more on that later.

Here is our Top 40 list with a breakdown by Chris Brown.

Rank	Name	Highest Level	Position	FV	How Acquired
1	Kevin McGonigle	Double-A	2B/SS	60	CB-A Round (37) 2023 MLB Draft
2	Max Clark	Double-A	OF	60	1st round (3rd) 2023 MLB Draft
3	Bryce Rainer	Single-A	INF	50	1st round (11th) 2024 MLB Draft
4	Josue Briceno	Double-A	C/1B	55	January 17, 2022 IFA signing
5	Andrew Sears	Double-A	LHP	35	10th round (290) 2023 MLB Draft
6	Jordan Yost	N/A	SS	40	1st round (24) 2025 MLB Draft
7	Hao-Yu Lee	Triple-A	INF	55	Trade with PHI for Michael Lorenzen
8	Franyerber Montilla	Single-A	SS	45	January 17,2022 IFA signing
9	Thayron Liranzo	Double-A	C	55	Trade with LAD for RHP Jack Flahetry
10	Kelvis Salcedo	Single-A	RHP	35	UFA 2023
11	Cris Rodriguez	DSL Tigs	OF	50	January 25, 2025 IFA signing
12	Michael Oliveto	N/A	C	40	1st round comp pick (34) 2025 MLB Draft
13	Jake Miller	Double-A	LHP	40	8th round (237) 2022 MLB Draft
14	Max Anderson	Triple-A	2B/3B	40	2nd round (45) 2023 MLB Draft
15	Malachi Witherspoon	N/A	RHP	40	3rd round (62) 2025 MLB Draft
16	Lucas Elissalt	Single-A	RHP	35	13th round (386) 2024 MLB Draft
17	Edurado Valencia	Triple-A	C	35	2018 IFA signing
18	Jaden Hamm	Double-A	RHP	50	5th round (143) 2023 MLB Draft
19	Jackson Strong	Single-A	OF	45	7th round (206) 2024 MLB Draft
20	Owen Hall	Single-A	RHP	45	2nd round (49) 2024 MLB Draft
21	Ben Jacobs	N/A	LHP	40	3rd round (98) 2025 MLB Draft
22	Izaac Pacheco	High-A	3B	35	2nd round (39) 2021 MLB Draft
23	John Peck	Double-A	INF	35	7th round (200) 2023 MLB Draft
24	Dylan Smith	MLB	RHP	45	3rd round (74) 2021 MLB Draft
25	Jude Warwick	Single-A	INF	40	12th round (356) 2024 MLB Draft
26	Caleb Leys	N/A	LHP	40	4th round (129) 2025 MLB Draft
27	Jhonan Coba	DSL	RHP	35	UFA 2024
28	Joseph Montalvo	Double-A	RHP	40	Trade with TEX for LHP Andrew Chafin
29	Cale Wetwiska	Single-A	RHP	35	7th round (219) 2025 MLB Draft
30	Tyler Mattison	Double-A	RHP	40	4th round (104) 2021 MLB Draft
31	Trei Cruz	Triple-A	UTL	40	3rd round (73) 2020 MLB Draft
32	Brett Callahan	High-A	OF	40	13th round (380) 2023 MLB Draft
33	Johan Simon	Double-A	LHP	45	Trade with TOR for RHP Chase Lee
34	Nick Dumesnil	Single-A	OF	45	8th round (249) 2025 MLB Draft
35	Garrett Burhenn	Double-A	RHP	40	9th round (255) 2021 MLB Draft
36	Jack Penney	High-A	INF	35	5th round (147) 2024 MLB Draft
37	Angel De Los Santos	DSL	INF	35	January 15, 2025 IFA signing
38	Jatnk Diaz	Single-A	RHP	35	8th round (230) 2023 MLB Draft
39	Zach Swanson	N/A	RHP	35	9th round (266) 2024 MLB Draft
40	Moisés Rodriguez	High-A	RHP	35	March 14, 2019 IFA signing
41	Ethan Schiefelbein	Complex Ball	LHP	45	3rd round (72) 2024 MLB Draft
42	Rayner Castillo	High-A	RHP	45	January 15, 2021 IFA signing
43	Gabriel Reyes	Single-A	LHP	35	UFA 2020
44	Jesus Pinto	High-A	OF	40	January 15, 2024 IFA signing
45	Paul Wilson	Single-A	LHP	35	Round 3 (76) 2023 MLB Draft
46	Yosber Sanchez	High-A	RHP	35	FA signing May 2023
47	Preston Howey	High-A	RHP	40	14th round (416) 2024 MLB Draft
48	Michael Massey	N/A	RHP	40	4th round (114) 2024 MLB Draft
49	River Hamilton	N/A	RHP	35	11th round (339) 2025 MLB Draft
50	Peyton Graham	Double-A	INF	35	2nd round (51) 2022 MLB Draft
52	Carson Rucker	Single-A	3B	40	4th round (107) 2023 MLB Draft
	Max Alba	High-A	RHP	35	Undrafted FA July 2022
53	Hayden Minton	High-A	RHP	35	9th round (260) 2023 MLB Draft
	Eric Silva	Double-A	RHP	35	Trade with SFG for LF Mark Canha July 30, 2024
	CJ Weins	Double-A	RHP	35	Trade with BOS for Trey Wingeater July 8, 2024
	Seth Stephenson	Double-A	OF	35	8th round (207) 2022 MLB Draft
54	Roberto Campos	Double-A	OF	45	July 2, 2019 IFA signing
	Nomar Fana	Single-A	OF	35	UFA 2020

The August update is typically our last of the season, though not necessarily the last of the year (our pre-season list usually comes out in December). The August list is both our first chance to rank newly drafted players, and our last chance to make adjustments based on in-season performance. Five 2025 draftees made our list, while seven others received at least one vote. We also said goodbye to a handful of prospects who left the organization at the trade deadline.

The Detroit Tigers still boast an extremely strong top 8-10 prospects. But things get very cloudy and confusing after that. There’s good depth here, but finding the right order for it is an impossible task. We see clumps of older hitters in the upper minors with a chance for a cup of coffee in the majors. There are the interesting relief arms battling control and injuries. There are toolsy young hitters in A ball and below who need to patch holes in their game. And then there’s The Blob — a collection of talented high school pitchers who have mostly been injured and/or ineffective in limited game action.

Biggest Moves and Shakers

We should also highlight the biggest movers in this iteration of the list. Our two biggest fallers are Rayner Castillo (-28) and Roberto Campos (-21). Castillo has taken the ball every week, and he deserves credit for that. But his velocity is down 3 MPH, his slider lacks the bite we saw in 2024, his changeup hasn’t really developed, and he’s not throwing as many strikes. The end result is a 5.91 ERA in the pitcher-friendly Midwest League. We were higher on Campos than anyone else, and after April we felt vindicated by his 145 wRC+ – but since May 1st he has hit just .196 with no power. He hasn’t shown the ability to adjust to Double-A pitching, and we can’t justify keeping him in our top-30, let alone our top 10.

It’s not all bad news, of course. We’ve seen steady progress from Troy Melton, who moved up two spots and looks like he could be very useful for the Tigers. And our two biggest movers are also pitchers. Andrew Sears jumped 10 spots after consistently pitching well in High-A, while Lucas Elissalt rose a whopping 16 spots after dominating in Low-A. Both recently moved up a level, and we’ll be closely watching how they handle their new challenge.

All told, this Top 40 reflects a system in motion. Some players have taken big steps forward, others have stalled, and a few have struggled to adjust. That’s the nature of prospect development, progress is rarely linear, but it’s these rises and falls that make tracking the Tigers’ farm system so compelling. This system has come a long way over the last decade however, the hope is, the arms that are injured come back and start to move up and make an impact sooner than later.

Follow me on X @rogcastbaseball and Chris Brown @ChrisBrown0914

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