5 collegiate draft prospects Detroit Tigers fans should monitor this spring

Michael Sirota, OF, Northeastern

In one of the early Mock Drafts published by Perfect Game, the Detroit Tigers were selected to take Michael Sirota. The right-handed hitting outfielder has a toolsy profile that could get more and more attention with another loud spring. While North Carolina's Vance Honeycutt has a lot of attention as the twitchy and athletic outfielder on this year's draft board, Sirota is up there.

Michael Sirota is an uber-athletic 6-foot-3, 187-pound outfielder capable of playing all over the grass. He's toolsy in all five categories, with the potential to translate these tools to the next level. He's a right-handed bat, Connecticut native, and was drafted in the 16th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Dodgers but opted to attend school.

He bet on himself, and it worked out. Sirota's coming off a 55-game season in 2023, where he slashed .346/.472/.678 nine doubles, four triples, and 18 home runs with 54 RBI. He walked 44 times last season with just 49 punchouts while swiping 19 games on 21 attempts.

Sirota has a more closed setup with his stance and quick hands with an innate feel for the barrel. There's tons of polish that shows, with an exceptional feel for the strike zone. It translates to a great approach, spitting on bad pitches, not chasing often, and working on the barrel when the bat comes off the shoulder.

He hits the ball hard and hits it well, with some juice that's raw but projects. Being with Northeastern, he's not going to get the publicity that an LSU or Wake Forest hitter will, but he's someone who could very much so move up the board this spring. Keep an eye on Sirota this spring.

Tommy White, 3B/1B, LSU

Another collegiate prospect who will rise on many draft boards this spring is LSU's Tommy White. He's someone who could be in a position to be selected by the Detroit Tigers as one of the most exciting power-hitting corner infielder this class has to offer. It will be interesting to see how things shake out, but White is someone that fans need to monitor.

Conversely to Sirota, White plays for the defending national champions and will have a ton of attention and spotlight on him as LSU looks to "run it back" in 2024. White transferred into LSU for the 2023 season after a fantastic introductory as a Freshman in 2022 with N.C. State.

White is a 6-foot-1, 228-pound frame with a ton of strength in a physical frame. It's a right-handed stance that's wider with tons of power that projects to translate at the next level. There's some serious juice here, with 51 home runs in his college career and juice that grades out exceptionally well.

In 2023, he slashed .374/.432/.725 with 24 doubles, 24 home runs, and 105 RBI overall for LSU, with 23 walks and 41 punchouts. His in-zone whiffs could be cut down, but that's merely splitting hairs on a profile that bleeds tons of power and strength. He's labeled a corner infielder, and in the long-term, it projects for first base, but he's also played the hot corner for LSU.

While the in-zone whiffs can be a knock, there's also a massive amount of upside with two-strike hitting that gives him a boost right back. This clip shows how simple and smooth the two-strike approach is from White, staying short to it and using his feel for the barrel and raw power to just muscle balls and work on the barrel.

The point is, there's a lot of upside here with White, and he's someone that fans need to keep an eye on this spring as LSU looks to defend its national championship.

Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa

This spring, the Iowa Hawkeyes will have a star-studded rotation, but their primary arm will be making some serious noise. The Detroit Tigers fans should key in on this, as Brody Brecht is a flamethrowing right-handed pitcher who could garner serious attention ahead of this summer's draft.

A former wideout on the gridiron, Brecht has a downright electric arm with a power arm profile and a ton to like that could leave Tigers fans drooling come draft day. This year will be a big test for him to move further up the draft board in the first round or potentially slip further down.

Brecht has thrown 104 mph in a collegiate game and has a lightning-quick arm with a fastball that he holds velocity on quite well. Pair that with a wipeout slider with filthy depth, and reports from Iowa's camp state that this pitch has only improved further this off-season, which is something else to watch for this spring.

In 2023, after his breakout performance, Brecht finished the year with 16 starts and one relief appearance, where he pitched to a 3.74 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over 77.0 innings of work. He walked 61 batters while striking out 109 opposing hitters along the way.

He's a 6-foot-4, 235-pound frame and build with projectable body of a big-league arm. With power stuff and the potential to have improved the arsenal even further this year, it could be a big spring. Keep an eye on Brecht & the Hawkeyes this spring to see what he does. He could certainly move into the top half of the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford

The Detroit Tigers could very much so be interested in one of the premier backstops in this year's draft class. Malcolm Moore has been near the top of many draft boards and has room to keep moving up draft boards with a loud spring for the Stanford Cardinal.

Moore is a 6-foot-2, 216-pound backstop with the athleticism and excitement around him that is similar to that of Kyle Teel and the praise he got last year. Teel was an uber-athletic backstop with elite upside as a defender and plenty of polish with the bat as well -- Moore's in the same boat as a draft-eligible sophomore.

In 2023, Moore slashed .311/.386/.564 with 20 doubles and 15 home runs, with 63 runs driven in over 64 games. He logged 257 at-bats with 21 walks and 50 strikeouts on the season for Stanford. Depending on how the spring unfolds, another loud performance could solidify Moore as the top catcher off the board in this summer's draft. Keep in mind that this is only year two for Moore, after his Freshman All-American season in 2023.

He's a left-handed bat with a unique and unorthodox setup in the batters' box. He starts really open with an aggressive toe tap and very low hands in his stance. He lifts the leg and works inward to the ball with plus bat speed and incredible athleticism to get the barrel to launch.

It may be a weird setup, but Moore's got serious upside, and his innate feel for the barrel produces loud results. If he can back up his freshman performance with another exceptional performance for Stanford this spring, he's in the conversation in the top half of the first round.

Seaver King, SS/OF, Wake Forest

While LSU is the favorite of most to win this year's College World Series, Wake Forest will certainly have something to say, with a star-studded rotation and lineup with tons of prowess top-to-bottom. One of the newcomers who will provide plenty for this lineup will be Wingate transfer Seaver King, who the Detroit Tigers fans need to have their eyes on.

King comes to Wake Forest as a shortstop and outfielder with the athleticism and twitch to play wherever the Deacs need him. He's deemed a five-tool upside player, excelling in all assets with traits that should translate to the next level. He's a 6-foot, 190-pound frame, hailing from Georgia.

In 2023, King slashed .411/.457/.699 with 20 doubles, five triples, and 11 home runs over 53 runs driven in. He had 18 walks and 26 strikeouts over 219 at-bats while swiping 13 bags on 14 attempts. He then went to the Cape Cod league over the summer, slashing .424/.479/.542 with five extra-base hits and nine RBI over 59 at-bats.

There's a lot of excitement about what King could bring to the Wake Forest lineup in 2024. It's a really simple right-handed stroke with a good feel to get on a plane with pitches and some quickness to launch. There's strength to get on the barrel and lift the ball. Quick hands and jump off the barrel that are a recipe for success.

If King can come out and prove himself with Wake Forest in 2024, he could fly up draft boards. He had a massive year in 2023 with Wingate, parlaying that into a loud summer on the Cape. Now, he'll have the chance to try to replicate his success with Wake Forest in the spotlight.