LAKELAND, Fla. -- It's difficult to find a top Tigers prospect who had a bad year in 2023.

Colt Keith posted a .932 OPS over 126 games at Double-A and Triple-A, earning a contract extension in the process. Jackson Jobe overcame an early back injury to strike out 84 and walk only six in 64 innings. Jace Jung led the system with 28 homers in his first full season. Parker Meadows and Sawyer Gipson-Long pushed for late MLB debuts, and breakout seasons from Keider Montero, Troy Melton and Justice Bigbie, among others, added needed depth.

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It's easy to look at those recent successes and believe they're reproducible with two 2023 top-40 picks in Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle. But there's a key difference in the developmental paths. Everyone in the previous paragraph is at least 21 years old. Clark and McGonigle -- both high schoolers this time last year -- are only 19.

Detroit is in for the long haul.

"It will be the same processes, but they're going to be even more process-driven if that makes sense," said Tigers vice president of player development Ryan Garko. "They didn't have those college years in a big program like Jace and some of the other guys have. So I think we do a lot more in the weight room, a lot more education around their bodies, around routines, around health, around the grind of the season. Everything's going to be new to them. There's nothing that can prepare you for a full professional season until you've gone and done it."

That isn't to say either lacks present tools, however.

Hailing from the Indiana prep ranks, Clark is a plus-plus runner with a cannon of an arm from center field. His left-handed swing and early approach give him the chance to be an eventual plus hitter. McGonigle's hit tool might be even better after he batted .315, worked 18 walks and struck out 10 times over 21 games in the Florida Complex League and Single-A Lakeland.

There are weaknesses too. Evaluators questioned Clark's power potential coming out of the Draft, and Garko noted that the teenager has worked on staying taller in the box and getting into his backside to drive the ball more easily. McGonigle, who was pulled from Detroit's Spring Breakout game with a left hamstring strain, has his own pop questions, and his future position is up in the air between shortstop and second base.

But in trying to make their young stars even more well-rounded prospects, the Tigers won't ignore what made them desirable Draft targets either.

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"I think we would never shy away from a player's strengths," Garko said. "So if a player is a power hitter that needs to work on making more contact, we're not going to take away the power. That's probably why we acquired the player in the first place. I think there are a lot of ways to be a really good player. We're just trying to lean into [figuring out] how you best impact a game."

As Detroit's previous No. 3 overall pick, Jobe's development might provide a roadmap. The right-hander stumbled a little out of the starting gate with a 4.52 ERA in 18 starts at Single-A Lakeland to begin his first full season, and after working on the rise of his fastball, adding a cutter and developing a plus changeup, he enters his third campaign as one of the game's best pitching prospects. Even if Clark and McGonigle similarly struggle a little, they'll be afforded the time and space to course-correct as all great prospects do.

"I think there's definitely a longer curve, but those two are pretty talented," Garko said. "They might shorten it up quite a bit."

Spring standout: Jackson Jobe

Jobe has pitched only one inning in a Grapefruit League game on March 12 against the Twins, and it might be the most-talked-about single-inning performance of the entire spring. MLB Pipeline's No. 25 overall prospect touched 101.8 mph for the fastest Spring Training pitch recorded by Statcast in 2024 and got five whiffs in his perfect 13-pitch frame. Those five whiffs came across four different pitch types too -- four-seamer, changeup, slider and cutter -- and that drove home how such a diverse mix, along with the velocity and special control, could make Jobe a factor for Detroit this summer, so long as he can keep last year's back issues in the past.

"I'm really happy with where my stuff's at," Jobe told reporters, including MLB.com's Jason Beck, after the start. "Now I've gotta stay healthy. That's my biggest concern over anything."

Breakout candidate: Josue Briceno

Briceno may have popped onto Tigers fan's radars when he clubbed a 111.7 mph double for the highest exit velocity in Saturday's Spring Breakout matchup against the Phillies. But the 19-year-old catcher, who signed for $800,000 in 2022, has drawn excitement in the organization for a lot longer.

The Venezuela native slashed .319/.402/.529 with seven homers and a 36/30 K/BB ratio over 55 games in the FCL and Lakeland last season. While he still needs work defensively to stick behind the dish, Briceno possesses a combination of power and discipline that has already caught the attention of Major League manager A.J. Hinch in spring workouts, and he could pop even higher than his current ranking of No. 19 if he carries the early performance over an even fuller campaign.

"In the box, he's one of those guys that you leave alone," Garko said. "He has a calm heartbeat, and it never gets sped up. He swings at strikes, so it's pretty impressive offensively. We've even sent him over to a Major League game, and he was under control. I think in terms of having an advanced approach for a young kid like that, he's one of our best."

Something to prove: Wilmer Flores

Once ranked as a Top 100 prospect, Flores moved to the No. 10 spot in the current Tigers rankings in part because his fastball velocity had dropped to the 90-92 range, and his results were more middling than in previous years (3.90 ERA, 82 strikeouts in 80 2/3 innings at Double-A Erie). The Tigers still added the junior-college product to their 40-man in November when he became Rule 5-eligible.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander has brought that velocity back with a vengeance in Spring Training, touching 99.5 mph in front of Statcast. Only Jobe, Jason Foley and Tarik Skubal have higher max velos among Detroit arms this spring. Flores has been consistently in the 96-98 range too, so this doesn't look like an early flash in the pan. His upper-80s cutter and low-80s curveball give him two more weapons, and while velocity isn't everything, it certainly gives him a leg back up as a 40-man member.

"It looks like he's lost a little bit of weight but also gotten stronger at the same time," Garko said. "He's just moving better. He was throwing hard last spring as well. I think this year the goal is how do we carry this now into April and May. Nobody works harder at the moment, so it's really good to see."