Detroit Tigers: 2 prospects who could be traded this offseason, 1 who should be untouchable

Scott Harris said he's open to trading prospects to make the Detroit Tigers better

The Detroit Tigers need to get better this offseason. There's no question about that. They also need to be willing to do that by any means necessary. Thankfully, president of baseball operations Scott Harris feels the same way.

At last week's GM Meetings, he said he's open to doing anything if it means making the team better—even if he has to trade prospects. That's something that was very refreshing to hear after years of only building the team one way or the other.

With this newfound information, we've come up with a couple of prospects who could be trade chips this offseason. The choices weren't as hard as I expected them to be. I thought about getting ambitious here and making some big names available, but I opted to stay relatively safe with this list.

I also chose one prospect that should be considered untouchable. The prospect I chose has really come into his own over the past year and put his name on the map. It made this a pretty easy choice as well. So without further ado, here's two Detroit Tigers prospects who could be traded this offseason and one that should be considered untouchable.

Two prospects who could be traded: OF Parker Meadows

Meadows was recently added to the 40-man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. Everyone figures he's in the Tigers' long term plans, but is he really?

Meadows is a former second-round pick back in 2018. He was always considered a project, being drated out of high school, but through the 2021 season, he hadn't really developed at all. He was very athletic, but he had little power and struck out a ton. It looked like he was a bust. He had become an afterthought in the prospect world.

That all changed in 2022, when the power finally came on and the strikeouts finally went down. Meadows hit 20 homers and put up a 124 wRC+ in the minors last year, while lowering his strikeout rate to 18.4% in Double-A. He tweaked his swing in the offseason, and it paid off. He has put himself back in the conversation amongst Tigers fans.

Because of this, Meadows' trade value has theoretically never been higher. He's coming off his best season, and while he's getting up there in age for a prospect at 23 years old, he's still got the tools and now a reworked swing that could make him a legit big leaguer.

You may ask yourself why the Detroit Tigers would trade someone that finally started developing last season, especially in a system so barren of hitting talent? Well, if they can maximize his value in a trade for a player that would make the major league roster better, it would be hard to say no.

One prospect who should be untouchable: 3B Colt Keith

You could probably guess who this was when I teased it at the beginning. Keith should be a top 100 prospect when all the lists come out next year. He's legit. He can rake.

In 216 plate apperance at High-A West Michigan, Keith slashed .301/.370/.544 with nine home runs and a whopping 150 wRC+. He almost certainly would have reached Double-A by season's end, but a freak shoulder injury while sliding into second base during a game in June put a damper on those plans.

Luckily, he was able to recover in time for the Arizona Fall League, where he picked up right where he left off. He slashed .344/.463/.541 with three doubles and three home runs in 61 plate appearance during the AFL. He cemented himself as the soon-to-be Detroit Tigers' No. 1 prospect with his performance.

Keith is a special talent, and as shown the abilty to do what it takes to improve. He noticed he was a singles-hitter in 2021, so he bulked up (subscription required) from 211 lbs to 245 over the offseason in an effort to hit more more power, and it paid off in a huge way.

Keith is far and away the best hitting prospect in the Detroit Tigers' farm system. He has a short, compact swing and can hit to all fields. Plus, he plays third base, a position of long term need for the Tigers.

With all that being said, Scott Harris would be crazy to trade Colt Keith. Unless you're getting an absolute superstar like Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper, or Julio Rodriguez in return, Keith should be untouchable in trade talks.