Detroit Tigers Top 20 Prospects: Midseason Update

Detroit Tigers Prospect Newcomers

This slide doesn’t offer a ton of surprises. The Detroit Tigers added four players from the MLB Draft and one at the trade deadline who we felt were worthy of inclusion on the updated list.

Number 13 – RHP – Dylan Smith

There were brief rumblings about Dylan Smith wanting more money than the Tigers had left to spend, but in the end Detroit was able to ink their 3rd-round pick for $1.15 million — roughly $270K more than the slot recommendation. Smith had a solid junior season at Alabama, and he’s an athletic pitcher with a starter’s arsenal, limited miles on his arm, and some room for growth.

Number 12 – RHP – Reese Olson

Detroit’s lone move at the trade deadline was acquiring Reese Olson from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Daniel Norris. Olson has pretty impressive stuff, with four distinct offerings that all flash as above-average or even plus pitches. He’s been working as a starter, and the Tigers may continue to use him as such, but Olson’s effortful, trebuchet-like delivery and lack of pinpoint command suggest a future in the bullpen.

Number 10 – IF – Izaac Pacheco

The top position player drafted by the Detroit Tigers this year, Izaac Pacheco is technically a shortstop right now, but he’s such a large young man that, despite some surprising athleticism, practically everyone expects him to move to third base in the future. But the Tigers didn’t select him for his glove, they took him for his bat, which offered some of the best power potential in the entire draft.

Number 6 – RHP – Ty Madden

Ty Madden was one of the most consistent and effective starters in college baseball this year, but he slid in the draft, apparently due to concerns about how his fastball would play in pro ball. The MCB crew had no such concerns — in fact all six of us independently ranked him sixth on our lists — and we think there’s still mid-rotation upside here, with a reasonable fallback option as a Kyle Funkhouser-style reliever.

Number 5 – RHP – Jackson Jobe

Despite going 3rd overall in the 2021 draft and earning some frankly hard-to-believe grades for his stuff, Jackson Jobe slides in at “just” fifth on our list. He should throw a few innings this year, and as such he could climb the ranks fairly quickly, but for now we remain a bit cautious because of the troubling history of high-school pitchers…something about which we’ll write more soon.