Detroit Tigers draft board: 4 sneaky good pitching prospects in the draft class

Detroit Tigers need to have Trey Beard on their draft board.

Not many folks will know who Trey Beard is, and that's okay. He's not Noble Meyer or Thomas White, the two big-name pitchers in this draft class, but Beard could be an attractive arm for the Detroit Tigers to consider, even if he's a day-three name.

On the Florida prep circuit, and even nationally, but especially in-state, Beard has some of the best stuff amongst pitches, especially left-handers. It's not as loud as other arms near the top of this draft class, but there's some sneaky value to be had here.

The left-hander operates from a long & loose arm with a ton of deception in his operation on the mound. It's a super fluid and clean operation that he repeats very well as he works through release, from a super high over-the-top slot, with trunk tilt that helps him get to that high slot.

Beard may only work the upper-80s into the low-90s, primarily operating around a 88-91 mph range, but the metrics on his fastball are unreal. He gets outlier numbers of IVB (induced vertical break), measuring out at 23-25 inches and getting up to 27 inches at the 2022 Perfect Game WWBA World Championships in Florida; take a quick look at him at that event here.

The fastball has a ton of swings and misses to pair with it, helping him pick up a ton of punchouts, being near the top of the state leaderboards this spring in Florida. He pairs his heater with a well-above-average changeup with a ton of depth and great tumble. It works in the mid-70s with softer look, but he replicates the delivery & arm speed to sell it incredibly well.

Besides the fastball/changeup combination, he has a curveball with bigger 12-6 action to it, as well as an upper-70s slider that has more of a lateral break to it. It's a true four-pitch mix that projects well at the next level. Here's a look at his pitch mix in action.

He's committed to play for Florida Atlantic University, but if the Tigers want to project on him and his outlier stuff, there's reason to believe that he could be an addition to target in the draft. The Tigers need to try and woo Beard away from Boca Raton and the FAU program.

Beard may not be some top-tier draft pick in the top ten rounds, but he's a day-three pick to keep in mind to find some projectable long-term value in a late-round pick. The Tigers need to have him on the back end of their draft board as someone to consider.