3 Tigers prospects emerging as ideal trade bait at 2025 deadline

The Detroit Tigers are sitting in an enviable position so far this season. Not only does the club have the best record in the American League at the end of May, but they also have plenty of ammunition to get whatever help they may need at the trade deadline as they boast the top-ranked farm system in baseball.

Make no bones about it, the Tigers have moved on from being an up-and-coming young team and morphed into a true contender in an albeit weak American League. That said, their path to glory will be far from easy. The AL Central is shaping up to, surprisingly, be the most competitive division in the junior circuit, with the Guardians, Twins and Royals also playing solid ball.

Perennial contenders such as the Yankees and Astros also lurk, threatening the Tigers' chances at October glory, and one must also consider the Goliaths they would have to face coming out of the National League should the run extend that far.

All of this is to say, Detroit will need to dip into it's embarrassment of riches and pony up some real young talent in order to get the upgrades they need. However, not everyone will be on the table, and the team will have to be smart to extract the most value while hanging on to some of its most prized possessions.

These 3 Tigers prospects are emerging and prime trade chips

Jackson Jobe has had his ups and downs as he cuts his teeth and the MLB level, but the Tigers' top prospect will still exhaust that label soon as he is an integral part of the big league rotation. He'll be off the table in trade talks, as will 20-year-old Max Clark, whose mid-April slump has proven to be much ado about nothing.

That said, the Tigers will look to capitalize on prospects whose value is high, but who may have questions the team is unwilling to wait for them to answer. These three youngsters are prime examples who will likely be the primary assets dangled to draw in upgrades to the big league roster.

2B/3B Hao-Yu Lee

Hao-Yu Lee, 22, currently sits as the Tigers' No. 6 prospect according to MLB.com. Last season, the Taiwanese import turned in his best campaign to date for Double-A Erie, slashing .298/.363/.488 with a career-best 12 homers as he got more pull-happy in an attempt to generate more power.

The performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A Toledo, where things have not gone as well. Lee's strikeout rate has risen to 19.3% through his first 44 games while his newfound power stroke has disappeared, slugging just .399 so far.

It's not surprising to see a prospect initially struggle when reaching a new level, but, by July, a player of Lee's caliber could certainly find his groove. For Detroit, Lee doesn't factor as an option to fix third base with the big club in 2025, as a collection of players have underwhelmed there, and his spotty injury history makes him a bit of a risk moving forward.

However, his talent and versatility in the infield should be able to entice a rebuilding team to part with a veteran, and the presence of other, high-profile, infield prospects makes Lee expendable.

SP Troy Melton

Troy Melton, 24, finds himself in the trade bait category not because of a lack of potential, but rather mainly due to a roster crunch. Now repeating Double-A for the second time after last year's struggles at the level, the big righty is performing much better with a 3.51 ERA through his first seven starts.

Melton has tantalizing stuff, but is very much a work in progress as he learns to harness his secondary pitches and refine his command. In the meantime, he'll be Rule 5 eligible this offseason, meaning if he's not dealt, the Tigers will have to add him to the 40-man roster or risk losing him for nothing.

The pitching depth the Tigers possess at the upper levels of the minors means a 40-man roster spot probably isn't in the cards for Melton this winter. While his stock is swinging back up, the Tigers would be wise to deal him at the deadline as he's a volatile asset whose future role may be in the bullpen.

OF Roberto Campos

Soon-to-be 22-year-old Roberto Campos' status with the organization seems to be on shaky ground after the team declined to protect him ahead of last year's Rule 5 draft. While that decision hasn't come back to bite them, they may decide that now's the time to move him as a trade asset before they're faced with another hard choice.

The toolsy nature of Campos' profile should entice a nice return, even if he hasn't shown much evidence of tapping into it yet. Despite promising raw power, Campos has just two homers on the year and is slugging .415, all while his strikeout rate is rising to a career-worst 24.5% at Double-A Erie. He's experiencing a career-best walk rate and BABIP, however.

Another team may believe that they can unlock him, while the Tigers will be best served selling before his value can decline further.