Detroit Tigers: A look at who is eligible for 2021 Rule 5 draft

The Detroit Tigers will have some decisions to make as we take a look at Rule 5 eligible players within the minor league system.

As the MLB postseason continues, several teams are working on who they are going to keep on their 40-man roster. On the flip side, for some teams, there is not a lot of decisions to be made. For the Detroit Tigers, there are a few players within their minor league system that they must make a decision on or risk losing in the December Rule 5 draft.

When the Tigers selected outfielder Akil Baddoo in last year’s Rule 5 draft, it is a safe assumption that every fan said “who?” But the decision made by the Tigers front office turned out to be a good one. As far as who Detroit will select in this year’s draft if at all,  that article will come in the upcoming month when teams announce who they will leave unprotected.

This season among the players in the minor league system who are eligible, several have improved their stock as they rose through the system. Development-wise, the Tigers have made strides as a few late-round pitching draft picks came through when they were promoted.

Position player-wise, they face the same situation. The changes in the front office personal like Ryan Garko being the new Vice President of Player Development could bring change on the types of players the system will have.  Philosophies, which began to show themselves within the pitching ranks, are starting to manifest themselves in the recent draft picks.

Let’s start with the pitchers who will be Rule 5 eligible and how a few could force the Tigers’ hand. The data used for the charts comes from FanGraphs.