Detroit Tigers Top 25 Prospects: 15-11, Ecker, Voelker, Azocar, Maddox and Martinez

#15 Mark Ecker
Age: 21
Position: Relief Pitcher
2016 Minor League Affiliate: West Michigan Whitecaps

The first player selected by the Tigers in the 2016 draft after Matt Manning and Kyle Funkhouser, Ecker was simply dominant in his first professional season.

Like many recently-drafted relievers, Mark Ecker throws hard and misses bats.

Armed with a blazing fastball and multiple off-speed offerings, the right-hander was exceedingly effective with Connecticut and West Michigan last season.

Ecker allowed just three earned runs in 27.2 frames in the New York Pennsylvania League and the Midwest League. All told, he struck out 31 batters.

That equates to 10.1 punch outs per nine innings.

While the reliever’s strikeout numbers were impressive, he also limited mistakes.

The Texas A&M product allowed just 1.6 walks and 0.3 home runs per nine innings. He also posted an excellent 0.759 WHIP to go along with a .163 batting average against.

Potential Future Role With the Detroit Tigers

It isn’t difficult to envision Ecker as a future closing candidate if he can continue to post solid numbers.

Already racked up nine saves in the minors in his first professional season.

Long-term, he’ll face plenty of competition from the likes of Bruce Rondon and Joe Jimenez, but the potential is there for Ecker to make an impact late in games.