Brett Callahan is Headed to the Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are calling up outfield prospect Brett Callahan to make his MLB debut on August 16th. To make room for Callahan, the Tigers designated Trei Cruz for assignment.
Welcome to The Show, Brett! pic.twitter.com/deWqjyPnL7
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 16, 2026
Callahan, our 12th ranked Tigers prospect, becomes the 4th member of Detroit’s 2023 draft class to reach the major leagues. He’s the 6th player in franchise history to reach the big leagues after being drafted and signed in the 13th round, joining Josh Lester and Devon Travis, among others.
And Callahan is also just the 6th big leaguer ever from St. Joseph’s University in Pennsylvania. He joins MLB Methuselah Jamie Moyer, who spent one season playing for the Toledo Mud Hens, and Allen Travers, whose lone game with the Detroit Tigers produced the worst pitching line in MLB history. That’s a fun story you should read about, after you finish this piece.
Brett Callahan’s Background
A native of Newark, Delaware, Callahan was a three-sport athlete in high school, lettering in baseball, basketball, and cross country. But he stood out most on the diamond, where he pitched and played outfield. Unfortunately, his senior year was the COVID-canceled 2020 season, so any chance of being noticed by larger schools was out the window.
Callahan enrolled at St. Joe’s, where he was a strong contributor as a freshman, and a All-Conference level performer as a sophomore and junior. He finished his 139-game college career with a .351 batting average, a 1.001 OPS, 22 home runs, and 48 steals. The Tigers scooped him up in the 13th round of the 2023 draft, and he made his professional debut a few weeks later.
It didn’t take long for Callahan to look like a player. He hit .338 with one home run, nine steals, and 16 walks to 18 strikeouts in 22 games between the FCL Tigers and the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Detroit assigned Callahan to Lakeland to begin the 2024 season, and he continued to show an encouraging mix of skills, including power, speed, and a cannon of an arm:
Brett Callahan with a spectacular throw from left field to gun down Victor Arias at the plate and end the top of the 1st. @JoePuccio_ on the call. pic.twitter.com/Ch0EhmuFk5
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 19, 2024
Callahan missed about a month of action with an injury, but he returned in late June, and was promoted to West Michigan in August of 2024. Unfortunately, injury struck again after just five High-A games, and Callahan’s 2024 season was finished. He returned to the Whitecaps in 2025, and he was one of West Michigan’s best players over the first month of the season.
Injury struck again in mid-May, however, and this time it cost Callahan nearly two months of action. When he returned he was a key contributor to West Michigan’s historic 2025 championship season, adding four hits and two steals in the playoffs.
The Tigers promoted Callahan to Double-A Erie to begin the 2026 season, and he was excellent. He homered in his first game, and after five contest he was batting .429 with two home runs and six stolen bases. He cooled down, of course, but continued to play a strong all-around game, and the Tigers bumped him up to Triple-A Toledo. Callahan has continued to hit for a solid average, steal bases, and play strong defense with the Mud Hens. His power has largely disappeared, however, with just one home run and six doubles over 36 games.
Brett Callahan Scouting Report
As always, we encourage you to read our full scouting report on Callahan, but here’s a quick overview, courtesy of Rogelio:
Brett Callahan is just one of those guys who has kept hitting and forcing his way up the system. He had a really nice run in Erie, earned the promotion to Toledo, and he’s held his own there too. He makes a decent amount of contact, gets on base, can run a little and gives you some versatility in the outfield.
The power has also started to show up more, which makes him a lot more interesting than just an organizational depth guy. He still probably looks like a fourth-outfielder type long term, but with how he’s played this year, he’s definitely put himself on the radar.
I will add that Callahan swings very hard, often to the point his helmet pops off, and he knows how to pull the bar in the air. He also has a knack for getting hit by pitches, and I just want to re-emphasize his throwing arm, which is a true weapon in the outfield.
The Trouble With Brett Callahan
As we mentioned above, Callahan’s power has disappeared in Triple-A. Part of that could be him getting a little tired – he has played 25 more games this year than in any prior season. But most of it seems to be struggles with chasing pitches out of the zone, which he has done in Toledo at a rate just below Gage Workman
He has also seen some troubles with the more crafty Triple-A arms. Callahan has run into some bad luck against changeups, but has handled breaking balls and velocity of 95+ MPH just fine. But he’s hitting just .174 against fastballs under 95MPH, with a 24% whiff rate. He holds his own against left-handed pitchers, but he’s vulnerable to southpaw sweepers.
The Verdict
Right now Brett Callahan looks like a classic fourth outfielder, but we don’t think his development is quite complete. He is closing in on 25, but this is a kid from a smaller college conference with just 251 pro games under his belt. In some respects his promotion feels similar to Hao-Yu Lee’s. We expect some early struggles at the plate, but it should be a great learning experience for him. At the same time, his defense and speed should be assets right away.
Callahan has a chance to be a valuable big leaguer. He will likely be used in a platoon role, and early on in his career he may look a little like a left-handed Daz Cameron. But, if he can find his hit tool and power, there is a non-zero chance Brett Callahan becomes Kerry Carpenter with above-average defense.
Brett Callahan launches a 2-run homer to right center to put Toledo up 4-0. It’s his first Triple-A home run, and his 13th overall this year. pic.twitter.com/IN1OLX2je0
— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) July 5, 2026
Colin Arthur 
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