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

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.