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

Detroit Tigers draft board update: 4 pitchers to keep in mind.

The Detroit Tigers will be busy this draft season as they continue building their board. While there's been a lot of movement among most of the updated draft boards across media outlets, things will continue to change as the summer inches closer.

After all, the Detroit Tigers, like all other 30 teams, are going to be spending time doing their due diligence on hundreds of players to ensure that they have their ducks in a row and know which players they think they can draft AND sign to piece together a good draft class.

It's not a simple process to choose players, especially with prep players who have college commitments they can choose to honor. There are a lot of players out there for the Tigers to consider as the team pieces together a draft class.

When it comes to the draft class, the most upside and value comes in the early rounds, but sometimes there is reason to believe that value can be found in a late-round pick or with someone who gets taken later on who has projectable and valuable traits.

Let's dive into some of those players. Especially when it comes to pitchers, let's talk through four different pitchers from the later rounds of this draft class, meaning they will not be picked on Day 1 and are likely to be a middle or back end of Day 2 draft choice. (The way things stand now, at least)

**Also, selfless plug here. Please head over to the MCB Draft tab on the site after reading and check out the rest of the draft content, or head over to the MCB Draft Board, which is essentially a working document with everything Detroit Tigers fans need to know about the draft.**

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.

Detroit Tigers may try to woo Aidan Knaak away from Clemson.

The Detroit Tigers may not be grabbing many prep arms early on, but they should consider Aidan Knaak from the Florida prep scene. Knaak pitches for Bishop Verot HS in Southwestern Florida and has some of the best stuff in the state.

Knaak is committed to playing at the next level as a part of the Clemson Tigers, but the Detroit Tigers should try and swoop in and sign the right-handed prep arm. He may not be the most sign-able arm in the class, but he is someone the Tigers could certainly project on for the future.

Knaak is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-hander with a projectable frame that should keep developing at the next level. It's an athletic look with great movement on the mound. He has good control and moves down the mound with a smooth delivery out of the wind-up and the stretch.

He works 90-93 mph on the fastball with good carry to it, being a problem for the opposition this spring. The pitch plays well at the prep level, though I do think it could get hit as he gets started into pro ball. I'd like to see that velocity climb a little bit, which I believe is in the tank, which speaks to the projection on him.

He shows a changeup that works the upper-70s and into the low-80s with a high-spin profile, being a non-traditional look. It's a plus-pitch now that would play at an above-average level in a pro organization right now. Making sure we're crystal clear here, that's not to say he has an MLB-ready changeup that could play on the mound for the Tigers, but it could give affiliate-ball hitters fits.

The pitch has a ton of depth to it; he can let it rip, and it's a problem for the opposing teams. He has a feel for more of an over-the-top 12-6 or 11-5 shaped breaking ball that has hammer depth/shape to it, working the low-70s. He'll also show it with a more lateral shape in the upper-70s, more of a slider shape to it.

Here's another look at Knaak, this time in an overlay from another one of his starts from this spring that I got to see. Another dominant outing at the prep level, two overlays showing the FB/CH tunnel and the FB/BB tunnel.

The selling point here is the changeup and the pitchability. He mixes pitches, attacks hitters right out of the gate, and commands the zone. He's not going to give up hard contact. Sure, he'll give up a knock here and there, but he's only given up a couple of truly hard-hit balls the entire spring over several outings I've seen him.

In one of his outings, he punched out 15 over a complete-game seven-inning outing. Allowed only three baserunners, with only one ball in play in the air. It's a really intriguing profile to consider, and while he's also someone who could very well end up on campus looking to show growth, there's a lot to like & project on here.

Knaak is someone the Tigers should consider. It's worth considering if the signability is not too big of a concern. Time will tell, but he's someone Tigers fans should know about.

Detroit Tigers should have Hudson Leach on their draft board.

The Detroit Tigers should dip into the Mid-American Conference and consider taking a standout right-handed arm with truly impressive stuff. Hudson Leach has been pitching for the Miami RedHawks in 2023 after transferring in from Creighton.

He's battled some injury troubles, only pitching 22.2 innings pitched over two seasons with Creighton. But, now that he's with Miami and seemingly shaken off the injury bug, he's up to 28.1 innings pitched on the year with a 3.81 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and an outlandish 46 punchouts.

Leach has unreal stuff that should make scouts drool with his ability to break off two different 3,000+ RPM breaking balls. The curveball even flirts around the 3,100 mark, working the upper-70s/low-80s with a disgusting 12-6 hammer shape.

Paired with the slider that works more in the mid-80s with a tighter shape. It's a tight-spin lateral pitch that can tunnel well as a deviation from the fastball and his curveball. The middle ground between his primary fastball and his go-to curveball allows him to pitch efficiently and set up hitters for an uncomfortable at-bat.

Speaking of the fastball, he's your prototypical 90-93 mph right-hander, though he's reached back for as much as 96 mph this spring. It's a loose, long, and whippy arm slot that creates some angle on the heater. The fastball looks like it has some high-IVB numbers, which helps it play up in the zone.

He truly has a fully defined pitch mix. He can get you with the two breaking balls or bring out a changeup with a ton of depth to it that misses bats. He's not afraid to throw the pitch against right-handers either, which makes it a truly deadly four-pitch mix.

Leach is your typical bigger and physical frame right-hander. He's that low-90s arm mph mid-major arm that teams roll out; while he's working out of the bullpen for the RedHawks, he's been great in extended relief, which begs me to think there's a chance he could start, though the relief profile is safe.

The difference between Leach and the other mid-major righties working the low-90s is his offspeed stuff. The profiles of his offspeed pitches are hard not to fall in love with. As was mentioned, the injury history there had been a problem in the past, but he's been healthy and on the mound for the RedHawks in 2023.

Plus, we are talking about the Tigers team that has been no stranger to pitcher injuries. Not that they should go out there actively looking for players with sketchy medical profiles. But if the Tigers can get Leach and save some slot money, there's a ton to fall in love in with his pitch mix at the next level.