Detroit Tigers: Casey Mize makes big jump in MLB prospect rankings

Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Casey Mize, the number one overall pick in last year’s draft, made a major leap today in the updated MLB prospect rankings.

Casey Mize has been on absolute fire this season, especially since being called up to Double-A Erie last month. Now, last year’s number one overall pick for the Detroit Tigers is receiving some major recognition for his efforts so far this year in MLB.com’s updated prospect rankings.

Mize was ranked as the number 16 overall prospect in all of baseball before the start of the season. When MLB.com released their updated rankings earlier today, it showed that Mize has been moved all the way up to number six.

The jump also makes Mize the highest ranked pitching prospect in all of baseball. Essentially, if Detroit Tigers fans weren’t already excited about the potential Casey Mize possesses, they sure should be now.

Mize made quite the splash early on this season when he threw an incredible no-hitter in his Double-A debut for the Erie Seawolves on April 29th. In three starts with Erie, Mize currently holds a 2-0 record with a 0.95 ERA and has allowed just nine hits.

This move marks a big leap for Casey Mize, and as MLive’s Evan Woodbery points out, Mize could make an even bigger jump in the next wave of prospect rankings. Woodbery explains that the 22-year-old should eventually take over the number two overall prospect spot considering that the top four players on the current MLB Pipeline list have all recently made the jump to the major leagues and are likely to soon no longer be considered prospects.

With the Tigers in the midst of a giant rebuild, having a prospect like Casey Mize waiting in the wings helps to ensure fans that the team is moving in the right direction. The former number one overall pick is developing into a potential future superstar. When your organization is trying to rebuild like the Detroit Tigers are, there really isn’t too much more a fan can ask for.