Detroit Tigers: Brock Deatherage’s Excellent Debut

The Detroit Tigers’ tenth round pick hit three home runs in his first professional game with the Gulf Coast League Tigers.

Detroit Tigers’ fans, even die-hard ones, probably weren’t paying much attention to Brock Deatherage before Monday’s game. The outfielder from NC State was taken in the tenth round of the draft a few weeks ago. While he put up solid numbers in college, fans have understandly focused more on the earlier round selections, like Casey Mize, Parker Meadows and Kody Clemens.

Some of that attention shifted to Deatherage after he blasted three home runs in his first professional game, a 9-3 win for the Gulf Coast League Tigers over the Yankees East team in Tampa. This was the first time anyone in that league has hit three home runs in a game since Michael Knox did it on June 22, 2011.

So is Deatherage the Tigers new power-hitter of the future? Well, to judge him off one great game would obviously be foolish. But he is worth keeping an eye on going forward.

Who is Brock Deatherage?

Deatherage (pronounced, death-er-age, not ‘death-rage’ sadly) was originally drafted in the 29th round of the 2017 draft by the Pirates. He was coming off a not-so-great junior season, having hit .217 with just three home runs and eight stolen bases. He wisely elected to return to NC State for his senior year. That year, Deatherage broke out in a big way. He hit .307/.397/.548 with 14 home runs, 18 stolen bases and 41 RBI.

He hit two of those home runs on opening day of his senior year, during a doubleheader. “If that becomes a routine, I’ll be OK with it,” Deatherage commented after Monday’s game, referring to hitting multiple home runs in his debut.

At six-foot-one and 186 pounds, Deatherage looks more like a speedy outfielder type than a bruising slugger. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have room to grow however, and his sweet swing from the left side could definitely grow into a power stroke with additional coaching.

Next: Analyzing Picks 6-10

Deatherage wasn’t named in our late round picks to watch, but he certainly has the tools to make an impact in the Motor City someday. Heck, he’s off to a great start.