3 prospects likely to debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2023

The Detroit Tigers will be giving lots of at-bats to young hitters

Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has made it a point that he wants to give at-bats to young players. The Tigers have a lot of young hitters, and it seems like they're going to get every chance possible to succeed.

The team also has a lot of prospects knocking at the door of the big leagues. Some of these prospects had big years in the upper minors in 2022 and are ready to take that last step and receive that call-up to the majors.

The Detroit Tigers seem intent on letting the kids play, for better or for worse. They could either be really fun to watch in 2023, or really bad. Nevertheless, quite a few prospects will be making their major league debut in 2023. Here's a look at three of them.

3B/OF Justyn-Henry Malloy

Malloy was acquired in the Joe Jimenez trade during last month's Winter Meetings, and he had a breakout year in the Braves' system in 2022. He flew through the minors last year, going from A-ball all the way to Triple-A by season's end. As Scott Harris said when he acquired him, he's been dictating his own development.

His on-base percentage was over .400 at both High-A and Double-A, with his walk rate ranging anywhere from just under 15% to 18%. He doesn't have a ton of raw power, but he did hit 22 home runs in the minors last year, which suggests that he could be starting to develop some more pop.

Defensively, he's a third baseman by trade, but got some time in the outfield last year. Sadly, there's a reason for that. He had a whopping 24 errors at third base between Low-A and High-A. The Braves moved him to left field when he got to Double-A, where he was much better.

If you really want to get a sense of what Malloy is all about, I highly recommend you watch or listen to this interview that Tigers Minor League Report did with him. Once he starts talking about his approach at the plate and his general routine, I can almost guarentee you will fall in love this kid.

Malloy seems like a lock to make the big leagues this year, and for good reason. He could be a nice bat for the Tigers for years to come.

SP Reese Olson

There are other position players that could be called up this season, but I wanted to include a pitcher this time around. We'll go with Reese Olson, who may end up being Al Avila's best trade acquistion.

He has fantastic stuff. His slider and changeup are lights out. He as a solid fastball as well. The main thing with him is his command. He struggles to command his fastball, which has really hurt him at times.

He was on the verge of a promotion to Triple-A when June came around, and the fastball command started leaving him a bit. As a result, the walks went up, and the outings became shorter.

Because of this, some people, myself included, have specuated that a move to the bullpen may be in his future. The fastball command wouldn't be as big of an issue, and it could potentially play up out of the 'pen.

He struck out 12.64 batters per nine last year, so again, the stuff is going to play no matter what role he ends up playing. The Tigers are going to give him every opportunity to stick as a starter, and they should. A starter is more valuable than a releiver at the end of the day. But if they decided to move him to the bullpen, he could be a lights out reliever.

In fact, if he does indeed make his big league debut this year, it will probably be as a reliever. If the Tigers need an extra arm out of the bullpen, whether it be for a doubleheader or for an injury, he'll probably be one of the first names they call. He'll still be a starter in the minors, and that's likely still be the long term plan for him, but debuting as an extra arm seems like the most likely possibility.