Detroit Tigers Draft: Three Year Review

Detroit Tigers MLB Draft Review

The 2026 MLB Draft is just a few weeks away, and our draft coverage is set to begin. The Detroit Tigers pick 22nd this year, so the draft doesn’t feel quite as urgent as some recent seasons. But they do have two more selections in the top 70, and we always like to pay attention when the Tigers add more talent to the organization.

So, we’ll be looking at some interesting players and position groups in the coming days. And, of course, we’ll be doing our annual live MLB Draft show.

Almost 10 years since @ChrisBrown0914 and I have done this. pic.twitter.com/20cyvgojCZ

— Rogelio Castillo (@rogcastbaseball) June 19, 2026

But, before we focus on the class of 2026, we wanted to look back at the last three draft classes.

2023 Class

Total Signings: 19 (out of 21 picks)

Still in the System: 14
On Our Top 45: (7) Max Clark, Andrew Sears, Max Anderson, Brett Callahan, John Peck, Jaden Hamm, Carson Rucker

Good: The Tigers had the 3rd and 37th overall picks, giving them one of the largest bonus pools in what was considered a very good draft. And indeed, this will likely go down as one of the better draft hauls in Detroit Tigers history. That’s mostly because they landed a franchise player in Kevin McGonigle, who, by WAR at least, is well on his way to one of the best rookie seasons by a position player in MLB history.

Landing a franchise cornerstone is enough to make it a good draft (see 2004), but there’s more talent and depth in this class. Clark (1st) remains one of the best prospects in the sport and has All-Star upside. Anderson (2nd) will hit his way to the big leagues, while Peck (7th) has a good chance to be a quality MLB utility man. Sears (10th) looks like a solid lefty swingman in the near future, while Jim Jarvis (11th) was traded to Atlanta and made his MLB debut earlier this year. And Callahan (13th) looks like he should at least be a platoon outfielder at the highest level.

.@erie_seawolves bats since May 13th.

Brett Callahan .267/.391/.544, .935 OPS, .278 ISO, 145 wRC+, equal BB/K. 16.4% 6HR

John Peck: .308/.371/.527, .899 OPS, .220 ISO, 133 wRC+. 4HR

Izaac Pacheco:.282/.358/.659, 1.017 OPS, .376 ISO, 8 HR, 24 RBI, .422 wOBA and 155 wRC+. pic.twitter.com/nxIMkdp6Lm

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 15, 2026

Bad: Injuries, which will be a recurring theme. Paul Wilson (3rd) struggled in his 2024 debut, then blew out his arm last year. He just started pitching in games again. His arm looks good, but there’s a long way to go. Injuries also spoiled the first two seasons for Carson Rucker (4th), though he has remade himself as something of a three-true-outcomes hitter in Low-A this season. Hamm looked like an absolute steal halfway through 2024, and he even sneaked onto the back of Baseball America’s top 100 list by the end of the season. But he struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness in 2025, and he has been MIA in 2026.

The Tigers spent $220K from their bonus pool on 12th-round prep righty Andrew Dunford and $250K on JuCo catcher Brady Cerkownyk. Both battled injuries and barely played (Dunford 4.1 IP, Cerkownyk 79 ABs) before being released earlier this year. Also gone are 14th round OF/2B David Smith and 19th round RHP Blake Pivaroff. Smith was an on-base specialist who led the Florida State League in walks in 2024, but he was a career .204 hitter. Pivaroff had interesting metrics on his fastball, but he threw just 23 2/3 pro innings before suffering an injury.

Paul Wilson threw 2 scoreless innings for the FCL Tigers today. Here they are. pic.twitter.com/ss10bsehp1

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 19, 2026

2024 Class

Total Signings: 19 (out of 21 picks)

Still in the System: 16
On Our Top 45: (8) Bryce Rainer, Lucas Elissalt, Owen Hall, Zach MacDonald, Jude Warwick, Jack Penney, Jackson Strong, Ethan Schiefelbein

Good: Honestly? This class is looking pretty rough. There’s plenty of upside remaining, but seemingly every player has a lot to prove. Bryce Rainer (1st) looked like a future top-10 prospect in the sport during his 2025 debut. But then he injured his shoulder, and he looked overmatched in his return this season. He has been great this June, however, and appears to be back on track. It’s a similar story for Jackson Strong (7th), who struggled to a sub-.600 OPS to start the season, but has posted a 1.034 OPS in June. And ditto Lucas Elissalt (13th), who was the Florida State League Pitcher of the Year in 2025 and saw a meaningful velocity bump in the offseason. He compiled a 5.35 ERA through May, but it’s down to 3.21 through three June starts.

Woody Hadeen (6th) is a solid hitter with speed and up-the-middle defense, but he probably won’t ever hit for enough power to be a regular. Warwick (12th) is similar to Hadeen, though as a product of Illinois high school he is still adapting to professional secondary stuff. MacDonald (15th) is an athletic outfielder with speed, but he hit just .161 last year. This year he leads the FSL with 13 home runs, but he’s batting .209 with a 38% strikeout rate. Josh Randall (4th) and R.J. Sales (10th) looked like potential depth starters, but were traded to Washington for Kyle Finnegan. And Micah Ashman (11th) seems destined to be a solid lefty reliever at the MLB level, but he was moved to Baltimore for Charlie Morton.

Bryce Rainer hits a 111-MPH bouncer that eats up the second baseman and is ruled a hit. That makes Rainer 13-for-41 (.317) with 4 HR and 3 2B through 11 June games. pic.twitter.com/DCNE5qfK33

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 19, 2026

Bad: Injuries have just devastated this class. Owen Hall (2nd) missed most of 2025 and is working his way through rookie ball this year with a 7.27 ERA through 35 career innings. Schiefelbein (2nd CBB) pitched in three games last year (9IP) and has been injured ever since. Penney (5th) has shown some promising offensive ability, but he broke his hamate bone before the year, and then suffered a season-ending leg injury in his first game back with West Michigan. Neither Michael Massey (4th) nor Zach Swanson (9th) have thrown a pitch in pro ball yet. Both had surgery after they were drafted, and both began 2026 on the Injured List.

2025 Class

Total Signings: 20 (out of 21 picks)

Still in the System: 20
On Our Top 45: (10) Ben Jacobs, Jordan Yost, Malachi Witherspoon, Michael Oliveto, Cale Wetwiska, Grayson Grinsell, Charlie Christensen, Caleb Leys, Edian Espinal, Cash Kuiper

Good: It’s obviously very early, but this looks like an extremely promising draft class. Yost (1) is holding his own in Low-A, getting on base and showing solid gap power while playing good defense at shortstop. Oliveto (1 CBA) broke his toe right before the season and just started playing this week, but we were VERY impressed with him at the Spring Breakout game and in our looks on the back fields. Weatherspoon (2nd) has had some trouble in Low-A, but he has flashed some serious stuff and recently broke out his changeup to some success. Ben Jacobs (3rd) has been one of the top breakout pitchers in minor-league baseball this year, though his walk rate has bumped a bit since moving up to High-A West Michigan.

Cale Wetwiska (7th) has just 14.2 pro innings, but he has shown a very strong arm and a lot of potential. Kuiper (12th) doesn’t have the same arm strength, but he shows feel for pitching. Espinal (10th) and Christensen (15th) have been revelations in Lakeland. Espinal is learning to play catcher, and that has been a little bumpy. But, among FSL hitters with at least 170 plate appearances, he ranks 1st AVG, 1st in OBP, 5th in SLG, and 2nd in wRC+ and OPS. Meanwhile, among FSL pitchers with at least 30 IP, Christensen ranks 7th in ERA, 1st in FIP, and first in K% and K-BB%. Beau Ankeney (14th) probably isn’t a prospect, but if he keeps hitting like he has in June (1.180 OPS) then he’s going to start entering those conversations.

Jordan Yost breaks the game open with a 3-run double to right center. pic.twitter.com/RffKuPjLES

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 20, 2026

Bad: This is all very relative, because we haven’t seen anything truly bad from this class. One could argue Witherspoon belongs here given his 5.40 ERA, but we begin with Leys (4th) and Grinsell (5th), who have struggled to different degrees. Nothing Leys throws looks better than average thus far, but perhaps he can squeeze out more velocity in the future. Grinsell got off to a spectacular start in pro ball, with a 1.59 ERA in April. But hitters seem to have figured out his fastball/changeup mix, resulting in a 7.94 ERA since.

After that it’s really just injuries again. Ryan Hall (5th) just made his first pro appearance, and he struggled to throw strikes. Dumesnil (8th) broke his hamate before the season, though he has started tapping into his power since returning a few weeks ago. Trevor Heishman (9th) pitched before the season, but has since gone on the 60-day IL, and River Hamilton (11th), who was draftable in part because of an injury, is out for the season. Injuries have also cut into the game action of Joe Ruzicka (16th), Joey Wimpelberg (17th), Meridian Leffew (19th), and Kameron Douglas (20th).

Ryan Hall had a rough pro debut in the FCL today, particularly with his command/control. But it’s nice seeing him in game action, and he shows promising stuff. pic.twitter.com/tIYHYGXLEG

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) June 19, 2026

Conclusion

The Detroit Tigers under Scott Harris and Mark Conner have shown a surprisingly high tolerance for risk in the last three drafts. They haven’t really been rewarded for those risks, however. The 10 high-school pitchers they signed have combined to throw 264 1/3 innings for the organization, with a 6.06 ERA. There’s definitely upside in prep arms, but this doesn’t seem to be working.

On the other had, the club has done very well with prep position players. And focusing on athletic players, hitting ability, and up-the-middle defensive profiles has served them well. They also have a pretty strong hit rate on both college pitching and JuCo pitching. It would be wise to lean into these strengths, but we still expect to see a few more high-school pitchers added to the fold this year.