Detroit Tigers Top Prospects: #10-#6, Smith, Baez, Hill, Alexander and Gerber

#10 Drew Smith
Age: 23
Position: Relief Pitcher
2016 Minor League Affiliate: West Michigan Whitecaps

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, the Detroit Tigers are developing another hard-throwing reliever.

Similar to the likes of Adam Ravenelle, Paul Voelker and some of the team’s 2016 draft picks, Drew Smith could be pitching out of Detroit’s bullpen for years to come.

Armed with a blazing fastball and a solid curveball, the former third-round pick has been excellent on the mound as a professional.

A reliever with the potential to pitch towards the end of games, Smith has done nothing but strike batters out in his minor league career.

Over the course of 79.2 innings in the last two seasons, the 23-year-old has struck out nearly a third (100) of the batters he’s faced (315).

All told, that’s good for 11.3 punch outs per nine innings.

It hasn’t just been the strikeouts either, Smith has done an excellent job of keeping runs off the board.

Since making his debut in 2015, the reliever has allowed just 17 total earned runs. If he continue at that rate, he could be pitching out of the Tigers bullpen sooner rather than later.

Potential Future Role With the Detroit Tigers

It remains to be seen who the Tigers’ closer of the future will be, but the team certainly isn’t short on options.

Smith could eventually pitch at the end of games, and gives Detroit another power arm to build around.