How will Tigers achieve youth focus in Draft?

This story was excerpted from Jason Beck’s Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Tigers continue to mix in prospects at the Major League level, resulting in one of the younger rosters in baseball with more on the way. They’ll likely bring up more prospects as the season continues. But the process of adding talent to the system goes on.

If last year’s Draft – the first under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, assistant general manager Rob Metzler and amateur scouting director Mark Conner – was any indication, they’ll be going young with the upcoming Draft, which begins Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on MLB Network and ESPN from Fort Worth, Texas.

For the second time in three years, the Tigers will pick outside of the top 10 in the MLB Draft. But the 2023 Draft showed this front office’s willingness to get creative to find talent beyond the top pick.

While Detroit’s decision to select high school phenom Max Clark with the third overall pick drew attention, opting for the long game in player development with a five-tool athlete, the Tigers turned their comp pick later in the first round into prep shortstop Kevin McGonigle, using bonus pool savings to sign him over slot for the 37th overall selection and pry him away from a commitment to Auburn. Two rounds later, Detroit snared high school left-hander Paul Wilson and wooed him away from a commitment to Oregon State.

Four of Detroit’s top five picks were high school players. Clark and McGonigle are both MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects at 10th and 64th, and starting for Single-A Lakeland with a midseason promotion to High-A West Michigan eagerly anticipated. Wilson, currently in the Florida Complex League, is the Tigers’ No. 15 prospect. To some degree, it followed Conner’s track record from his previous role running the Draft in San Diego, where he brought in high school talent like MacKenzie Gore (the third overall selection in 2017), Ryan Weathers (seventh overall pick in 2018), CJ Abrams (sixth overall selection in 2019) and Robert Hassell (eighth overall pick in 2020).

“I think it’s important for everyone to remember some of the most talented players in our entire organization were high school drafts,” Harris said during last year’s Draft.

While the Tigers will go for the best player available, it’s no surprise that they’re most frequently linked to high schoolers in mock Drafts with the 11th overall selection. MLB.com’s Jim Callis in his latest mock, published Thursday evening, predicted Mississippi high school shortstop/outfielder Konnor Griffin if he falls outside the top 10. The reigning Gatorade National High School Player of the Year is MLB Pipeline’s top-ranked high school player available, followed closely by Harvard-Westlake shortstop Bryce Rainer. Other mock Drafts have linked the Tigers to interest in high-school left-hander Cam Caminiti, cousin of former MLB All-Star third baseman Ken Caminiti.

Both fit the Tigers’ organizational profile of dominating the strike zone. The hyper-athletic Griffin has a scouting report of strong contact for his 6-foot-4 frame, while Caminiti profiles as a consistent strike-thrower.

Beyond that top pick, however, the Tigers have four of the top 85 overall picks, including a competitive balance round B pick at 72nd overall. Detroit’s bonus pool of $11,921,800 ranks 12th-highest, including a $5,712,100 slot value for the top pick. That gives Harris, Metzler and Conner some maneuverability to take a chance on some high schoolers who might slip due to perceived signability or other concerns.