Detroit Tigers prospects make their way onto 3 FanGraphs lists

Several Detroit Tigers prospects are on three lists that were dropped on FanGraphs.

Do you remember new wave music? There might be a few too young to remember this push of music that occurred between the late 70s to around the mid-80s, depending on who you asked. The Detroit Tigers are getting a “new wave” of prospects that are getting attention from national baseball analysis.

With Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson expecting to graduate from prospect status this season, there is an expected drop-off in the prospect rankings as two of the biggest prospects in all of baseball will be regulars for the Tigers.

If you pay attention to such things as rankings, then you know that depending on who you read, history has not been kind to Detroit Tigers prospects for rankings, but that seems to be a changing trend.

FanGraphs list number 1: The top 100 MLB prospects list.

Torkelson and Greene are ranked fifth and sixth on the MLB Top 100. Jackson Jobe is ranked 33rd and is the youngest pitcher ranked within the Top 50. The vibe myself and Chris Brown have been hearing that the Tigers are more than impressed with Jobe’s makeup early in camp. Here’s a snippet of what FanGraphs said about Jobe, as he is among the Top 10 pitching prospects on the list.

"“What makes Jobe potentially special is that some scouts see his fastball as his least impressive pitch. His high-octane, high-spin slider is a present plus offering, and his low-80s changeup features massive separation and projects as another future weapon if he can add more movement to it’."

Dillon Dingler is just outside of the Top 100, coming in at number 108. This is rather significant considering the “what if” he was healthy last season. There could have been a possibility that he could’ve joined Tork, Greene, and Ryan Kreidler at Triple-A if he was healthy. Still, that is significant for the Tigers as Dingler’s promotion from High-A West Michigan to Double-A Erie in 2021 was the first time since James McCann in 2012 that we have seen a catcher the Tigers have drafted go from High-A to Double-A in one season.

FanGraphs list number 2: ZiPS Top 100 Prospects

Now this list does not fit the “new wave” prospects motif as Torkelson (4), Greene (6) and Dingler (95) but this list is based on a projection system. How it works is takes data and puts out a projection. While that may sound super simple, there is a lot more to it, as Dan explains in the article. In case you were wondering why Jackson Jobe is not on the list, ZiPS does not use high school data.

FanGraphs list number 3: Who they expect to Make the 2023 Top 100

First up in the “Swing Change Breakout Candidates” list is infielder Colt Keith. This is a group of players, according to FanGraphs, who might be solid big leaguers given their current abilities, but could become impact players if they can change the nature and quality of their contact.

Keith made waves after being drafted out of high school and making it all the way to High-A West Michigan last season, all at the age of 19. He should start the season at West Michigan.

In the “Epic Bounce Back” category, right-hander Ty Madden made the list. With the Tigers working on his mechanics to improve his command and delivery, it would make sense on why he would be on this portion of the list. He appears already to have tremendous upside.