It's a teen takeover on the Tigers Top 30 Prospects re-rank
The top of the Tigers’ midseason prospect rankings should look awfully familiar. A lot of the names after the top three might look new.
While Max Clark and Jackson Jobe continue to lead the next wave of Tigers prospects, they’re both also among the top 10 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, with Kevin McGonigle not far behind. Detroit has five prospects among the top 64, and could add a sixth to the Top 100 soon if recently-acquired catching prospect Thayron Liranzo continues his hot start to his Tigers system since arriving in the Jack Flaherty trade.
That’s where the Tigers' rankings get a refresh from a busy July. Four of the seven prospects Detroit acquired leading into the Trade Deadline jumped into the Tigers’ Top 30. Six players selected by the Tigers in the 2024 MLB Draft have also been added. While top pick Bryce Rainer was always expected to rank high on the list, each of Detroit’s top five selections ended up being ranked. So did ninth-round pick Zach Swanson, who opted to forgo Oregon State and sign out of high school for well above slot value.
Four of the six Draft picks added were high school draftees. Add them to the four high-school picks from last year’s Draft -- plus two younger international signings -- and more than a third of Detroit’s top 10 is comprised of teenagers. That’s a youth infusion to a list that was weighted towards Triple-A and Double-A players not too long ago.
Here’s a look at the Tigers top prospects:
- Max Clark, OF (MLB No. 7)
- Jackson Jobe, RHP (MLB No. 8)
- Kevin McGonigle, SS/2B (MLB No. 33)
- Bryce Rainer, SS (MLB No. 61)
- Jace Jung, 3B/2B (MLB No. 64)
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:
Jump: Jaden Hamm, RHP (Preseason: NR | Midseason: 7) -- The Tigers’ fifth-round pick from last year’s Draft has been among the top pitchers in the High-A Midwest League, with a mid-90s fastball that plays up plus a buckling curveball and slider.
Fall: Wilmer Flores, RHP (Preseason: 9 | Midseason: NR) -- The hard-throwing right-hander seemed to be on a path to Detroit with a solid Spring Training but struggled at Triple-A Toledo before suffering a stress reaction in his shoulder. He started a throwing progression last month.
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New to the list
Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:
4. Bryce Rainer, SS (Draft)
6. Thayron Liranzo, C/1B (trade)
11. Owen Hall, RHP (Draft)
14. Ethan Schiefelbein, LHP (Draft)
18. Joseph Montalvo, RHP (trade)
20. Trey Sweeney, SS (trade)
21. Josh Randall, RHP (Draft)
22. Michael Massey, RHP (Draft)
26. Zach Swanson, RHP (Draft)
29. Eric Silva, RHP (trade)
Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.
Hit: 65 – Kevin McGonigle
Power: 60 – Jace Jung (Bryce Rainer)
Run: 70 – Max Clark
Arm: 65 – Clark
Defense: 60 – Clark
Fastball: 65 – Jackson Jobe
Curveball: 55 – Eric Silva (Jaden Hamm, Lael Lockhart)
Slider: 70 – Jobe
Changeup: 65 – Lael Lockhart (splitter)
Control: 60 – Jobe