Analyzing the last ten Detroit Tigers drafts

2009 may have been Detroit’s least successful draft of the last decade. They used their first round pick on high school right-hander Jacob Turner. Turner posted great numbers in the low minors. He was the number 15 prospect in all of baseball in 2010, according to MLB.com.

Turner made his big league debut in 2011. He made three starts and posted an 8.53 ERA. At the 2012 trade deadline Turner was involved in one of Detroit’s best deadline trades in team history. Turner, along with Rob Brantly and Brian Flynn, was sent to Miami in exchange for Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez went on to win an ERA title in Detroit while Infante was a solid starter at second for multiple years.

Turner never panned out, having one successful season in 2013 in Miami’s rotation. He spent last season in the bullpen for the Washington Nationals, pitching to a 5.08 ERA in 39 innings.

Detroit’s second round pick was left-hander Andy Oliver out of Oklahoma State University. Oliver made seven starts between 2010-2011, pitching to a 7.11 ERA with a 1.83 WHIP and a 23/21 K/BB ratio. Oliver is still pitching in the minors, but has not been back to the big leagues.

Sixth rounder Daniel Fields, 11th rounder Adam Wilk and 21st rounder Giovanni Soto all played sparingly in the big leagues, but that was it from the Tigers 2009 draft class.