Detroit Tigers Mock Draft 2.0 — the first five rounds

The 2021 MLB Draft is just days away, and the anticipation/dread among Detroit Tigers fans is palpable. Here at MCB we’ve been trying to scratch that draft itch for months, with player profiles, position primers, and retrospectives.

And today we offer our second mock draft. We did our first mock draft a little more than a month ago, with five MCB contributors alternating selections for the first 40 picks of the draft.

We decided to take a different route for this mock, with seven MCB contributors each making picks for the Detroit Tigers, and only the Tigers, through the 5th round. Detroit has six picks (3, 32, 39, 74, 104, and 135) in the first five rounds.

The rules for this exercise were fairly simple:

• Player must be ranked at or below their draft spot on MLB Pipeline’s list
• Players can only be drafted once

The first rule doesn’t apply to the #3 pick, but that pick is arguably the least interesting in this mock. There are probably just four players the Tigers would take in the first round, and it’s likely only two of them will actually be available.

Is MLB Pipeline’s draft list the best? Probably not, but it’s free and easily accessible, and accuracy isn’t really the the point of this mock. Our goal is to introduce you to a small number of the 100+ possible players who might be selected by the Tigers after the first round.

And with that, let’s begin the mock. Jon won the draft lottery and makes the first selection.

Detroit Tigers Mock Draft 2.0 – First Round, Pick 3

Pipeline Rank: 8

Jon Says: The Tigers brought in House for a two-day visit to Lakeland. This likely gave them a final look at the 70 grade power and the rocket arm that’ll keep him on the left side of the infield. House is the youngest of the four prep SS phenoms, and the extra development time is valuable. The Tigers are very likely to get House and then draft a bushel of college arms from that point forward.

Next up is Rogelio…

Pipeline Rank: 7

Rogelio says: So this might come as a shock, but I’ve been thinking about this hard for a while. Since I think Mayer will not be there and Leiter I think will bring drama, I’m going with Jobe. They will pick up a bat later in the round.

On to Kellen’s pick…

Pipeline Rank: 1

Kellen Says: It’s a longshot that Mayer is available when the Tigers pick at 3, which speaks to his standing as the best prospect in the draft class. Mayer has a silky smooth left handed swing and projects to have above average hit and power, all while having a decent chance to stick at shortstop long term. You guys made my job easy, lol.

Moving on to Joe…

Pipeline Rank: 2

Joe Says: As the Tigers have started graduating their highest level arms to the majors the question has started to arise, who are the next arms in the system. In this scenario, the question gets answered with the selection of Jack Leiter. The polished Vandy product is considered by many to be the top arm available in the 2021 draft.

Next up it’s Mike…

Pipeline Rank: 5

Mike Says: I’ll take the 55 Power and 70 arm. Can never have too many catching prospects and he could also be a candidate to slide to 3rd base if needed and he doesn’t stick behind the plate.

Now on to Chris…

Pipeline Rank: 3

Chris Says: I’ll go with Jordan Lawlar with my pick. He might be the most well-rounded of all the shortstop options this year, and he’s probably the one most likely to stick at the position.

And finally Jake gets to pick…

Pipeline Rank: 4

Jake Says: I’ll go with Kahlil Watson here. It’s a long shot of course (and probably my seventh choice too, if we’re being honest) but if Detroit decides to get cute with bonus pool money, Watson would fit into Detroit’s newfound affection for position players early and give themselves the ultimate test to prove they can develop shortstops.

So there you have it. Seven cracks at the number three pick, and not one of them used on Kumar Rocker. What other surprises does this mock have in store? Hit the jump to find out…