Detroit Tigers Draft Picks: Top First-Round Picks Since 2000

Detroit Tigers front office members have had a fair amount of success in drafting players in the first round since the turn of the century. Here are the five best.

Detroit Tigers teams have generally been built on talent acquired from outside the organization. Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Ian Kinsler, Jordan Zimmermann and J.D. Martinez all started their respective careers with other organizations.

However, despite that, the team has drafted a number of big league players in the first round dating back to the turn of the century.

A number of players selected by the Tigers were dealt in bigger trades in order to acquire Major League talent that helped the team win. Prospects such as Jacob Turner (selected in 2009), Chance Ruffin (2010) and Jonathon Crawford (2013) were dealt for the likes of Anibal Sanchez, Doug Fister and Joakim Soria.

That’s all without mentioning Cameron Maybin (2005) and Andrew Miller (2006), who were moved to the then Florida Marlins as part of the Miguel Cabrera trade highway robbery.

There are also some prospect that remain with the organization. Derek Hill (2014), Beau Burrows (2015) and Christin Stewart (2015) are three of the team’s brightest minor-league talents. In fact, this very publication ranked them as the second, third and eighth best prospects in the Detroit Tigers’ system.

Hill profiles as a speedy, leadoff-hitting center fielder with upside on defense, while Burrows will eventually join the rotation thanks to a blazing fastball and some solid off-speed offerings. Stewart, meanwhile, has gotten off to a stellar start with Lakeland this season. The corner outfielder has mashed 13 home runs in just 38 games. He’s also accumulated 30 RBI, 23 runs scored and 23 walks.

The Detroit Tigers have made some solid choices in the first round of the draft in years past, here’s a look at the top first-round picks since 2000.