Our MLB Draft, Detroit Tigers draft series continues as we take a look at the past.

Back when Chris and I were at Motor City Bengals, Chris did a great piece on the six best drafts in Detroit Tigers history. Three of which, came under the watch of legendary scouting director and later GM, Bill Lajoie.

The reason for this is simple. Bill James, the esteemed baseball writer and, later, a consultant for the Boston Red Sox, said those drafts were some of the best in baseball history. Those drafts were the biggest reasons why the Tigers won the 1984 World Series and were so competitive in the 80s.

When Bill Lajoie took over as the Detroit Tigers’ scouting director in 1974, he brought more than a shift in draft philosophy, he brought a plan. With a limited budget, no full-time crosscheckers, and only 15 scouts covering the country, Lajoie knew he couldn’t compete with other clubs by simply outspending or having a ton of resources at his fingertips. What he could do was out-scout them.

As laid out in Character Is Not a Statistic: The Legacy and Wisdom of Baseball’s Godfather Scout Bill Lajoie, his strategy wasn’t just about finding players who could crack a big-league roster. Lajoie aimed to lock in as many future five-year big leaguers as possible, players who wouldn’t just debut, but stick, contribute, and shape the roster for years.

He thought in terms of five-year windows, projecting which players could become long-term assets. The goal? Draft and develop 20 legitimate major-leaguers who could stay in The Show for half a decade or more.

To do that under fiscal constraints, Lajoie often had to make creative decisions: selecting “senior signs” in the later rounds, aka  college players who he could get at a cheaper value,  finding overlooked players with polish and maturity, and identifying athletes with untapped upside. And most critically, he trusted his area scouts, not just to grade tools, but to understand makeup, projectability, and long-term growth.

Between 1974 and 1976, the plan worked to near perfection. In those three drafts, the Tigers added two future Hall of Famers, multiple All-Stars, rotation staples, bullpen pieces, and key contributors to their 1984 World Series roster. Lajoie wasn’t just drafting talent, he was building a championship.

1974 Draft Class: The Cornerstone Catcher and a Bird

Lajoie’s first draft sent a clear message: Detroit was now drafting for the future. That began with his first-round selection, Lance Parrish, a rare three-sport high school athlete who had received more than 200 football offers and signed a National Letter of Intent with UCLA. As detailed in the book, Character Is Not a Statistic, the Legacy and Wisdom of Baseball’s Godfather Scout Bill Lajoie, Parrish wasn’t heavily scouted by the Tigers in person and never participated in any of their pre-draft workouts.

In fact, he expected to be taken by a local team like the Angels, which told Chris and me back when he was the manager at West Michigan.  But Tigers area scout Jack Deutsch had tracked him closely from afar. Trusting his intel, Deutsch and Lajoie made Parrish the 16th overall pick.

Dick Wiencek, a veteran scout who served as one of Lajoie’s most trusted evaluators, also played a key behind-the-scenes role. While he’s more directly credited for his 1975 contributions, Wiencek had long helped establish internal draft boards and was instrumental in vetting players like Parrish and later Whitaker and Trammell. His presence helped stabilize Lajoie’s new system during its early stages, especially as Lajoie transitioned the department toward long-term development over quick returns.

In the 10th round, Lajoie leaned on his scouts again, in Dick Cusick, who made a passionate recommendation for a curly-haired right-hander out of Worcester, Massachusetts named Mark Fidrych. According to the book, Cusick described Fidrych as a “gut feel” guy, someone he believed would become a major league pitcher, regardless of what the traditional scouting reports said. Fidrych signed for just $3,000.

When he reported to Lakeland for mini-camp, he tried taking fungos with the outfielders until coaches told him, “you’re a pitcher now.” A year later, Fidrych would be the most talked-about player in baseball. He went 19–9 with a 2.34 ERA, started the All-Star Game, won AL Rookie of the Year, and singlehandedly revitalized fan interest in Detroit in the summer of 1976. While his dominance was short-lived, his impact—both on the field and at the gate—was enormous.

The 19th-round pick, Bob Sykes, made it to the majors as a back-end starter, but his true value came via trade. In 1978, he was dealt to the Cardinals for reliever Aurelio Lopez, who would anchor Detroit’s bullpen for years and play a pivotal role in the 1984 title.

Also drafted: Rob Picciolo (1st round, January secondary phase), a future big league infielder who did not sign with the Tigers. He later debuted with the Oakland A’s and enjoyed a solid career as a utility man, playing over 730 MLB games.

Tigers 1974 Draftees Who Reached the Major Leagues:

1975 Draft Class: Whitaker, Rozema, and the Eye of Wiencek

If the 1974 draft laid the foundation, the 1975 class began to show just how refined Detroit’s internal scouting process had become particularly thanks to longtime scout Dick Wiencek. Wiencek, who had been with the organization since the pre-draft era, was one of Lajoie’s most trusted evaluators.

As outlined in Character Is Not a Statistic, Wiencek had an uncanny ability to identify future major-leaguers, especially the kinds of five-year contributors Lajoie prioritized. In 1975, he made one of the most important recommendations in franchise history: a quiet, instinctual second baseman out of Martinsville, Virginia named Lou Whitaker.

Detroit selected him in the fifth round. Over the next 19 seasons, Whitaker became a five-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove winner, and one half of the longest-running double-play combo in MLB history alongside Alan Trammell. His 75.1 WAR ranks among the best second basemen of all time, a Hall of Fame-caliber career found in the middle rounds because Wiencek saw the value others missed.

One round earlier, in the fourth, Detroit selected Jason Thompson, a slugging first baseman from Cal State Northridge. Thompson made three All-Star appearances between 1976 and 1986 and was a regular power threat from the left side, one of the most productive Tigers hitters of the late ’70s.

The 1975 class also produced right-hander Dave Rozema, drafted in the secondary phase. While he never reached the star level of his draft peers, Rozema embodied Lajoie’s draft philosophy: a player who might not generate headlines but could give the club five-plus years of quality innings. Rozema debuted in 1977, won 15 games as a rookie, and was still contributing during the 1984 World Series run.

Also selected in 1975:

• Tom Brookens (1st round, January secondary): A longtime third baseman and key member of the 1984 World Series team. He played over 1,200 games in a Tigers uniform and later served as a coach and a manager for the Erie SeaWolves.

• Dave Tobik (1st round, January secondary): A right-handed reliever who pitched for Detroit from 1978 to 1982, eventually tallying 26 saves over his MLB career.

While Bruce Berenyi (19th round) didn’t sign with Detroit, he eventually reached the majors with the Reds and Mets.

This class provided two everyday starters for nearly a decade, a bullpen piece, and role players, exactly the kind of multi-tiered talent Lajoie aimed to stockpile across the roster.

1976 Draft Class: Trammell, Morris, Petry: Tigers Hit Pay Dirt

The 1976 draft is the crown jewel of Bill Lajoie’s tenure as scouting director, and it once again showcased the combined instincts of the Tigers’ veteran scouting corps, especially Wiencek. By the end of that year’s draft, Wiencek had accomplished something that may never be replicated: he signed six players who would go on to reach the major leagues Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, Steve Kemp, Dan Petry, Dave Stegman, and Steve Baker.

Wiencek would go on to sign 72 future big league regulars in his career, but the 1976 haul stands as the most productive single-year class ever assembled by a single scout in Tigers history.

Trammell (2nd round) and Morris (5th) became Hall of Famers. Dan Petry (4th round) was a dependable starter who logged over 1,200 innings for Detroit and won 19 games in 1983. Steve Kemp, taken first overall in the January regular phase, became a 1979 All-Star and regular middle-of-the-order bat for the Tigers.

Beyond the star power, the class included:

• Pat Underwood (1st round), a serviceable lefty who made 30 starts in the early ‘80s.

• Dave Stegman (2nd round, Jan-Sec), who contributed off the bench and was later traded.

• Roger Weaver and Kip Young, both of whom pitched in Detroit’s bullpen.

• Glenn Gulliver, who reached the majors with Baltimore after starting in the Tigers’ system.

Also notable: Detroit drafted Ozzie Smith in the 7th round, though he did not sign. He re-entered the draft and went on to become a Hall of Famer with the Padres and Cardinals.

By the numbers, the Tigers drafted and/or signed nine future MLB players in 1976, a staggering figure that underlines how successful their scouting operation was under Lajoie and longtime area scout Dick Wiencek, who was responsible for signing at least six of them. It was a class that didn’t just supply stars, it filled out a roster.

While many remember 1976 as the “Trammell and Morris” class, it was far more than that. The 1976 class didn’t build one or two key players. It built options. It built flexibility.

Tigers 1976 Draftees Who Reached the Major Leagues:

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