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Detroit Tigers: Five Prospects Who Could Break Into Top-100 Rankings

By Chris Brown |
Five of the Detroit Tigers' six draft picks in the 2020 MLB draft participated in instructional league play in Lakeland, Florida.
Five of the Detroit Tigers' six draft picks in the 2020 MLB draft participated in instructional league play in Lakeland, Florida.
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It’s Prospects Week here at Motor City Bengals, where we’re giving you everything you need to know about the state of the Detroit Tigers farm system.

If you haven’t already, you can check out our list of the Top 20 Detroit Tigers prospects, and a few more players who just missed the cut.

We also have you covered when it comes to areas of depth in the farm system, players with interesting tools, and even coverage of the 2021 MLB draft.

The Detroit Tigers currently have a highly ranked farm system, but it’s top-heavy, and we are likely to see a handful of players graduate out of prospect status this season. That’s good! The goal of all farm systems is to turn prospects into major leaguers, not to rank highly on MLB Pipeline.

But we also know rebuilding teams like the Detroit Tigers are striving to create the sort of self-sustaining drafting and development systems we see from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. Top prospects graduate, and new ones bubble up to take their place.

So that’s the focus of our article today. Here are the five Detroit Tigers players who could find their way onto Top-100 rankings lists next year if they have great seasons.

Detroit Tigers Potential Top-100 Prospect – Franklin Perez

LAKELAND, FL – Franklin Perez of the Detroit Tigers pitches. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
LAKELAND, FL – Franklin Perez of the Detroit Tigers pitches. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

This doesn’t seem all that likely after Franklin Perez’s underwhelming outing this week. His mechanics looked odd, his release point wandered, and his fastball sat in the 86-88 MPH range. It wasn’t want anyone wanted to see, but it was also somewhat understandable: Franklin Perez has barely pitched for three years. On the positive side, his curveball still had good shape and his changeup showed nice fade. If he can somehow recover his low-90s velocity and show progress in the minors this year, he could regain his top-100 prospect status from 2017 and 2018, when he looked like a good bet to become a mid-rotation starter

Detroit Tigers Potential Top-100 Prospect – Parker Meadows

LAKELAND, FL – Detroit Tigers prospect Parker Meadows looks on. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
LAKELAND, FL – Detroit Tigers prospect Parker Meadows looks on. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

The Detroit Tigers took Parker Meadows with the 44th overall pick in the 2018 draft, but they gave him the 28th highest bonus because they believed he was a true 5-tool talent. He still has those tools — the range and arm to be a plus outfield defender, and the power and speed to be a 20-20 threat in his prime — but he didn’t show much of a hit tool in 2019. And then the 2020 season was canceled, so we never got the chance to see if he improved last year. If he can figure out the hit tool, then it’s not hard to see Meadows rocketing into top-100 status.

Detroit Tigers Potential Top-100 Prospect – Dillon Dingler

DETROIT, MI – Dillon Dingler catches during Summer Workouts. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – Dillon Dingler catches during Summer Workouts. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

The Tigers landed Dillon Dingler with the 38th pick in the 2020 Draft, but he was generally considered a first-round talent. Baseball America ranked him as the #27 overall prospect in the draft, while MLB Pipeline ranked him 24th. That’s a pretty good starting point when trying to break onto a Top-100 list, and the fact he plays a premium position only helps matters. Dingler will presumably begin his pro career in High-A West Michigan, and all he really needs to do is show offensive promise while proving he can stick behind the plate. If Dingler makes it to Double-A Erie before July there’s a strong chance he’s a Top-100 prospect in 2022.

Detroit Tigers Potential Top-100 Prospect  – Gage Workman

Third baseman Gage Workman.
Third baseman Gage Workman. /

Gage Workman was Detroit’s 5th pick in the 2020 draft, but he may have more upside than anyone else they took, including his college teammate Spencer Torkelson. That may sound hyperbolic, but Workman has about as much raw power as Tork, but he also happens to be a switch-hitter with above average speed, a plus glove at third base, and a legitimate chance to stick as a shortstop. Workman is still extremely raw — there’s a reason he lasted 102 picks — but all the tools are there for him to climb prospects lists. He just needs to go out and perform in pro ball.

Detroit Tigers Potential Top-100 Prospect – Jose De La Cruz

Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers /

Jose De La Cruz is such a long shot to make a Top-100 prospect list that there are zero pictures of him in our system. So please enjoy the above photo of an adorable baby cheetah named Donni. De La Cruz doesn’t quite have cheetah speed, but he has some of the most raw power in system, to go along with a strong arm and a chance to stick in center field. The main problem here is De La Cruz has only played in the Dominican Summer League, and there’s a pretty good chance he never gets into full-season ball this year. He’s raw in all facets of the game, but De La Cruz has the physical tools to be an above-average big leaguer. To land on Top-100 lists next year he’ll have to show real growth on the skills front, and probably have to put up eye-popping numbers in Low-A ball.

Next. Detroit Tigers Top 20 Prospects. dark

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