Detroit Tigers Draft Trends: 2023-2024

A Deeper Look at the Last Two Detroit Tigers Drafts

With the 2025 MLB Draft right around the corner, we decided to take a look at the Detroit Tigers past two draft classes, to see if any trends emerged in who the Tigers have drafted.

When the Detroit Tigers signed Scott Harris to be their new President of Baseball Operations in September of 2022, immediate progress was not expected. Harris was inheriting an organization full of players acquired by the previous regime, and some time was not only expected, but necessary for Harris to make his mark on the Tigers organization.

The 2022-2023 offseason was really Harris’ first chance to make an impact on the organization, and understandably, he wasn’t super active, as he likely wanted to see first hand what he had with his current slate of players. But one area where he could make an immediate impact was in the draft.

Harris made two crucial hires related to the draft within two months of joining the Tigers organization, not only bringing aboard Rob Metzler from the Tampa Bay Rays, but also Mark Conner from the San Diego Padres.

With Metzler and Conner in tow, Harris set out to add young talent to the Tigers pipeline through the draft, and by all indications, he’s succeeded. And now that we have two drafts worth of evidence, we wanted to take a look at the Tigers past two draft classes, to see if any noticeable trends emerged in how the Tigers go about selecting their draft picks.

Detroit Tigers Draft Demographics

The draft generally consists of four demographics from which teams can add to their organizations: high school pitchers, high school hitters, college pitchers and college hitters.

The Tigers have made 42 total selections in the 2023-2024 drafts, and here’s how they break down by demographic:

High School Hitters: 7/42 (17%)

High School Pitchers: 10/42 (24%)

College Hitters: 11/42 (26%)

College Pitchers: 14/42 (33%)

As you can see, not only have the Tigers drafted fairly evenly between all demographics, but 41% of all draftees are from the high school ranks; a noticeable change from past Detroit Tigers history.

For high schoolers, 2 of the 17 came from the Midwest, 2 came from the East Coast, 5 came from the South, 3 came from the Southwest, 4 came from the West and one came from Puerto Rico; showing that the Tigers cover all areas when it comes to scouting.

We also wanted to break down the college ranks a little further to get a better idea of where the college draftees came from:

Big Schools (Big East, Big 10, ACC, SEC, Big 12): 9/25 (36%)

Small Schools (WCC, Conf-USA, MVC, Atlantic 10, AAC, WCC, Big West, MAAC, RMAC, CAA, MAC – I swear these are all real and not made up): 12/25 (48%)

JUCO: 4/25 (16%)

The Detroit Tigers are clearly not afraid to search far and wide for prep college talent either, as only 36% of draftees are from what we’d consider “big schools.” The remaining 64% arrived via smaller conferences or the JUCO ranks, again a notable departure from past regimes.

Now that we have an idea of the demographics, let’s take a deeper dive into what types of players the Tigers are targeting from each bucket.

High School Hitters

With the Tigers three highest selections in the past two drafts, they’ve selected high school left-handed hitters that can play up the middle: Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Bryce Rainer. All three are well-rounded players, with average or better tools across the board. All three have also shown advanced approaches at the plate in their minor league careers, and Clark and McGonigle especially have at least an above average hit tool, whereas Rainer is as tooled up as they come.

Detroit has also selected four other high school hitters in the past two drafts: Carson Rucker, Ethan Farris (did not sign), Jude Warwick and Gabriel Rosado. Rucker is a tall, projectable right-handed hitter that plays on the left side of the infield; Warwick is projectable as well as a smooth-swinging left-handed middle infielder, and Rosado is a strong defender behind the plate with (currently) a more modest offensive profile.

Overall, the Tigers appear to place a lot of value on well-rounded players with strong hit tools with their high school hitters, as well as placing a lot of value on playing premium positions defensively. Height doesn’t appear to be a major factor as 4 of the 7 high school hitters drafted by the Tigers the last two years are 6’1” or shorter.

High School Pitchers

Much like on the offensive side of the ball, pitching-wise, the Detroit Tigers have been unafraid to use high round selections on high school talent. Owen Hall, Ethan Schiefelbein and Paul Wilson were all selected within the first 3 rounds of their respective drafts as high school starters.

Both Hall and Wilson are tall, projectable starters with mid 90s fastballs and enticing sliders. Unfortunately both are currently on the injured list, but still have time to develop into big league starters. Schiefelbein was perhaps a little more advanced coming out of high school, with a deeper pitch mix and more command but with a little less velo currently.

Outside of the top 3 rounds, the Tigers selected 7 other high school pitchers in the 2023-2024 drafts: Jatnk Diaz, Andrew Dunford, Bradley Stewart (did not sign), Johnathan Rogers, Zach Swanson, Anson Seibert (did not sign) and Chase Davis (did not sign).

Diaz, Dunford, Rogers and Swanson are all 6’3” or taller, and all but Rogers signed over slot in their respective drafts. Diaz and Dunford were known for their big fastballs coming out of the draft, and while Diaz is flashing potential in the Complex League, Dunford is unfortunately currently on the injured list for the 2^nd straight year. Swanson also signed way over slot in the 2024 draft, arriving with a reputation as a solid all-around pitcher; but also unfortunately will miss the entire ’25 season with Tommy John surgery. Rogers was the Tigers 20^th round pick in the 2023 draft, and currently holds a 0.00 ERA in 5.1 innings in the Complex League.

Among high school pitchers selected by the Tigers, interestingly, all 10 are 6’2” or taller. You’ll see below that the trend doesn’t hold for college pitchers, but it does appear that the Tigers like their high school pitchers to be tall and projectable.

College Hitters

Detroit has used 11 of their 42 selections in the past two drafts on college hitters, and they come from all types of colleges. But they do have some things in common.

Bennett Lee, John Peck, Jim Jarvis, David Smith, Jack Penney and Woody Hadeen all play premium positions up the middle, and are known for their strong defense. All have a chance to crack the big leagues as strong defenders at important defensive positions, whether as utility types or more if progress is made at the plate.

Max Anderson was the Tigers 2^nd round pick in the 2023 draft as a bat-first second baseman. Reports on his defense are mixed but more encouraging this year, while his bat has taken a big step forward; just like his status as a Tigers prospect.

Brett Callahan and Jackson Strong are both outfielders from small schools, with solid all-around games and hit tools that are average or better. Callahan was off to a nice start in West Michigan before hitting the injured list, while Strong has been more than solid on both sides of the ball for the Lakeland Flygers.

Brady Cerkownyk was drafted in the 15^th round of the ’23 draft after an excellent JUCO career, but has yet to find his footing in pro ball due to injuries. Currently in the Complex League, he hopes to take a step forward this year. Zach MacDonald was the final college hitter selected in the ’24 draft, and is also unfortunately currently on the 60 day IL.

When Scott Harris arrived, he mentioned “dominating the strike zone” as an area of focus for the Tigers organization. With that in mind, here are the collegiate walk and strikeout rates for all college hitters the Tigers have drafted the past two years:

While college stats can be a little wonky, there is a noticeable trend here: 10 of the 11 hitters had at least a 10% walk rate, and 9 of the 11 had a strikeout rate at 20% or below.

Plate discipline appears to be a major factor in the players the Tigers select from the collegiate level, as well as an ability to play strong defense. Interestingly enough, 10 of the 11 college hitters the Tigers have drafted the past two years are 6’1” or shorter, which may be statistical noise, or may be a sign that the Tigers prefer hitters with shorter levers. Combined with the high school hitters, 14 of the 18 hitters selected by the Tigers the past two years are 6’1” or shorter.

College Pitchers

With 33% of all draftees being college pitchers, the Detroit Tigers have leaned into the college ranks on the mound in the past two drafts.

Of the 14 college pitchers selected, nine are 6’3” or taller, and conversely, five are 6’1” or shorter; meaning the Tigers aren’t necessarily beholden to big bodied pitchers like many organizations are, at least collegiately.

In the top 5 rounds of the past two drafts, the Tigers have selected three collegiate pitchers: Jaden Hamm, Josh Randall and Michael Massey. Hamm has shot up the minor league ladder (as well as top prospects lists) by performing very well in his first three years in the Tigers organization, whereas Randall is making a strong impression in Low A this season. Massey is currently on the injured list, but has a lot of potential as either a starter or reliever.

Several of the Tigers other college draftees are performing well as starters in the minor leagues. Hayden Minton was the Tigers 9^th rounder in the ’23 draft, and after dominating in Lakeland to begin the year, earned a promotion to High A West Michigan. Taken one round later in the same draft, Andrew Sears is also performing well for West Michigan after a solid 2024 season in Low A.

R.J. Sales was the Tigers 10^th round selection in the ’24 draft, and has been excellent in Lakeland; whereas JUCO selection Lucas Elissalt is also coming into his own for Lakeland after seeing no action in his draft year.

With the bullpen as a major strength (and focus) in the Tigers organization, it’s no surprise that several of their recent college draftees are performing well in the ‘pen in the minor leagues.

Ethan Sloan has been a steady presence for the Lakeland bullpen so far in 2025, while Micah Ashman and Preston Howey have been virtually unhittable in the West Michigan ‘pen.

Bryce Alewine is also performing well in the Complex League, while 2024 20^th rounder Dawson Price just had his best outing of the year for the FCL Tigers.

2023 16^th rounder Donye Evans had a nice year for Lakeland in 2024, but is unfortunately out for the 2025 season; while 2023 19^th rounder Blake Pivaroff was unfortunately released prior to the 2025 season.

Just like with the college hitters, we wanted to take a look at the strikeout and walk rates for the college pitchers selected by the Tigers in the past two drafts, to see if anything rang a bell:

Surprisingly, despite Scott Harris’ strike zone mantra, the Tigers don’t appear to let high walk rates impact who they draft collegiately on the mound, as 9 of the 14 had walk rates at 3.5/9 or higher. Perhaps it’s because Detroit believes they can work with pitchers on their command and control. 10 of the 14 had strikeout rates above 9 per 9 innings, an indication that they’ll take stuff over control in their college pitchers.

Recap

Now that we are over 2,000 words into this bad boy, let’s do a quick recap for the strong few who are kind enough to still be reading.

The Detroit Tigers have been very diverse in drafting not only a fairly even mix of high school and college talent, but also a fairly even mix based on location and size of school.

At the high school level, the Tigers have targeted hitters with strong hit tools, well-rounded games and an ability to play a premium position defensively. On the mound, they’ve generally targeted big fellas with big stuff, hoping that the strength of their organization, the pitching department, can further mold their command, control, shapes and sequencing.

Collegiately, the Tigers have often drafted hitters with strong plate discipline, strong defensive ability and short levers. Height doesn’t seem to be a major factor when it comes to college pitchers the Tigers have selected, nor does higher walk rates at the college level. Detroit has generally selected college pitchers with solid strikeout rates, again betting on their pitching department to mold their pitchers into strike throwers.

Whatever they’re doing, it appears to be working, as not only do the Tigers have the best organizational winning percentage in all of baseball, but also a consensus top 5 farm system in all of baseball.

After years of being in the abyss, Tigers fans can finally look up and see sunny skies on the way, thanks to not only solid scouting and drafting, but strong player development as well.