Detroit Tigers draft board: 5 prospects to keep in mind for the first 5 rounds

Detroit Tigers need to consider sneaky good catcher, Kyle Teel.

Perhaps someone to grab with the Detroit Tigers Competitive Balance Round A pick is perhaps one of the more underrated prospects in this draft on the collegiate side, Kyle Teel. The University of Virginia product shines on both sides of the ball and would be nice to add to the organization, as catching prospects have not quite panned out well for the Tigers in recent years.

The Detroit Tigers still have faith in Dillon Dingler, but he is injured and away from the field anyways. He will get his chances, and frankly, adding in Teel does not become a roadblock for him right away anyways.

The investment with Teel is that he can make the jump into affiliate ball and pro ball and hold his own. How he has played in 2023 makes him look like an even more exciting prospect who should be able to accomplish that as he gets drafted and acclimates to an MLB organization.

Teel is a catcher in Virginia's program but also can play outfield, but he also has uber-athletic actions behind the plate with exceptional tools as a backstop, where he will likely stick long-term. He projects as an above-average defender with tons of athleticism behind the dish, but the outfield is a nice back-pocket thing to note.

He's performed exceptionally well in 2023 with a .445/.510/.672 with 11 doubles and six home runs with 33 RBI over 128 at-bats across 32 games. He's been mashing at the plate—a left-handed hitter operating from a 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame with strength and an athletic look.

He's got a compact stroke with quick hands to get the barrel in the zone and do damage. He's also shown the ability to make adjustments as well, being able to use the whole field rather than being, using stuck on a pull-side approach.

Teel's someone who's going to win at-bats, and after all, Harris preaches winning at-bats and dominating the strike zone, and Teel has certainly done that with UVA's program in 2023. If the Tigers want to jump on a catcher who a) has mashed in 2023 and b) fits the mold with a well-rounded profile, Teel is a guy to have near the top of their draft board.

If Teel continues to mash, he might just move up into the first round. The Tigers should consider grabbing him at pick no. 37 if the opportunity presents itself.

Detroit Tigers should consider collegiate arm Jackson Baumeister.

I know, I know, another collegiate arm. After pumping up Chase Dollander and Paul Skenes for the Detroit Tigers' third overall pick, suggesting another top-five round pick on a collegiate arm might cause riots amongst the fanbase. Still, the team needs to draft to help replenish the farm system.

Adding Florida State's Jackson Baumeister into their organization would surely do the job for them. He's someone who might get undervalued due to the pitching depth on the Seminoles' staff in the likes of Wyatt Crowell and Carson Montgomery, but Baumeister certainly deserves to be on the Tigers' draft board.

He may not be the established Junior pitcher that some of these other names are. But again, the projection is interesting and worth taking a flier on. There's a high ceiling for Baumeister, who has settled in quite nicely for the Seminoles' pitching staff. He's a draft-eligible sophomore and is worth spending a draft pick on.

He was a highly touted prospect coming out of Florida's prep scene. I got to see him pitch in the State Championship tournament his Senior year, and it was clear then that the tools had the chance to be special down the line. He may be someone to target in later rounds, but Baumeister is worth a look.

Baumeister is 6-foot-4, 226 pounds, with some length throughout the frame and strength present. He's a quick mover with a fast move down the mound. He works from a higher three-quarters arm slot and has a real whippy arm through release.

The fastball has carry to it, and it seems like a high-IVB pitch that hitters can lose as it travels to the plate. As noted in the tweet above, the heater works into the upper-90s, jumping out of the hand at 95-97 mph. The breaker is bigger, with a ton of depth to it. ,

It's a pitch that he throws softer, usually in the mid-70s, with bigger shape but has devastating depth to it. He's able to induce the swings and misses and misses barrels with the pitch. His third offering is a mid-80s changeup with a good fade that he's able to get some arm-side fade on it. He has a slider as well but primarily uses the three-pitch mix for success.,

The projectable body and stuff that helps him cruise through outings make him a dangerous addition to the Tigers farm system. In 2023 with the Seminoles, Baumeister has pitched in 9 games, making eight starts where he's logged 36.1 innings pitched. The right-hander has pitched to a 3.72 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP and has 54 punchouts to 16 walks.

While the numbers may not be jumping off the page like Paul Skenes and company, Baumeister is a pick that the Tigers could make to project on moving forward. He's worth of a look as the draft goes on through the first few rounds.

Detroit Tigers should consider Alex Mooney (again.)

The Detroit Tigers had a chance to grab Alex Mooney when he was coming out of high school on the Metro-Detroit prep scene in the Catholic League's very own Orchard Lake St. Mary's. He's moved on from OLSM and ended up undrafted in 2021 after he made it clear he would honor his commitment to Duke, to join the Blue Devils program.

Mooney is a draft-eligible sophomore, and he's more than deserving of the Tigers' attention as he has established himself at the collegiate level. He's become a captain of the Blue Devils' infield and is showing off the tools after being a premium prospect at the prep level.

The Tigers should jump on Mooney if he is there. He's got projectable tools that profile well, getting him into an organization, let alone his hometown organization, if the cards fall that way. Mooney has hit .339/.434/.480 with 13 extra-base hits and 23 RBI over 127 at-bats. Also of note, Mooney has 11 stolen bases for Duke.

He's a 6-foot-1, 185-pound right-handed hitting shortstop with tools to drool over defensively. Outside of signability, one of the knocks on him in high school was the strength component. But he has improved the frame by getting into a collegiate weight room and working with the Blue Devils' program.

He's still extremely quick-twitch with defensive instincts that make him someone who can stick at shortstop moving forward, but he could very well translate his tools to second or third base once into a big-league organization.

He's done well at controlling at-bats, being able to execute when the bat leaves his shoulder. It's a compact swing that can drive the ball to all parts of the field. He also does a good job getting the barrel directly to the ball and keeping it in the zone for a long time.

There's a good bit of juice in the bat too. At the prep level, he annihilated opposing pitching with big pop. He only has five home runs at the collegiate level, ten if you add his summer stats in the Cape Cod League.

Even if the pop does not show up as it was on the prep scene, he's got the potential to be a middle infield prospect who has a simple and fluid operation in the batters' box, punching balls all over the field, seeing them down, and using his quick-twitch movements to hustle out extra-base hits.

He projects as a high-upside defender with athleticism and the tools to pair. Offensively he projects as someone who should work to all fields and be someone who grinds out at-bats. There is lots to like about Mooney, and he is someone the Tigers should keep in mind as the draft progresses.

Detroit Tigers should grab Myles Naylor away from Cleveland.

The Detroit Tigers need to try to go out, and draft Myles Naylor before the Cleveland Guardians try to grab him to have all three Naylor brothers. Naylor, a Mississauga, Ontario native, has the big league bloodlines in the family and could be just as exciting as his older brothers, Bo and Josh.

Myles Naylor is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound middle infielder who's verbally committed to play his college ball at Texas Tech in the Red Raiders program. But the Tigers should have him circled on their draft board as someone who could be worth projecting on.

The carrying tool here is the bat. He has a different frame and body than his brothers, being more physical and athletic with room to keep getting stronger while in a pro organization. He's got a simple operation in the box, starting with an even base and a pretty simple setup. The hands start high, and the back elbow gets up as he lifts the leg to load up.

As he loads, there's a bit of barrel wrap. He's able to get the foot down and get the hands through the zone on a good path to do damage. There's a ton of strength that makes for some explosive contact off the barrel. Naylor's got the barrel control to back it up, too, getting on time for pitches and crushing them.

I've seen Naylor a few times since he was 16 years old on the Perfect Game circuit. The strength component continues to increase, and the results tend to be louder and louder contact. He's got the ability to rotate hard through contact and let the barrel do the talking with explosive contact.

It can be violent through contact at times, being that he rotates and shows off some bat speed to annihilate pitches. There's plenty to like about Naylor and reason to believe he can develop into a big-league prospect as he gets into an organization and further develops.

Defensively, Naylor's got a good feel for shortstop at the prep level. The frame could develop into that of a corner infielder, but he's got the defensive skillset to play short as it stands—good footwork working into a clean funnel.

He gets into throws with good whip on the arm on firm throws across the diamond. The arm strength is there, and he's got the makings of an infielder long-term, just more of a question if he sticks at shortstop or moves to the hot corner.

Either way, the tools are worth the Detroit Tigers taking a flier on. Plus, they could get him away from the Guardians, who have Josh Naylor on the big league roster, and Bo Naylor at the Triple-A level.

Detroit Tigers should invest in prep arm Garrett Baumann

Before you give me the riot act in the comments for suggesting the Detroit Tigers select a prep arm. He's someone that could very well be a "sleeper" pick. Not that he's an unknown talent, but someone who's all over many of the consensus draft boards, but the makeup is worth considering taking as an investment down the line.

Riley Greene might have a thing or two to say about this pick, as Garrett Baumann is an Oviedo, Florida native, and the two work out with one another in the off-season. Baumann has a ton of really intriguing aspects to him that make him worth a look in this summer's draft. He's committed to the University of Central Florida but will likely not step foot on campus.

First, he's an insane, 6-foot-8, 240-pound frame, and he's got the build of a massive and physical right-handed pitcher. For a big man, he moves exceptionally well with a repeatable delivery and fluid operation.

He starts upright, facing home from the wind-up, peering over his glove at the hitter before he gets a side-step going, dropping the glove down to belt level, and getting his right foot set on the rubber. He lifts the leg above the belt, around the letters, and then breaks to make his move down the mound.

Given the long levers in his 6-foot-8 frame, he can get that front side extended moving down the mound as he rides the slope. He opens up the front side and gets decent hip-shoulder separation at foot strike; nothing out of this world, but it's still a fluid motion, and he makes adjustments throughout his outings.

He works from a three-quarters arm slot with good arm speed. He's been able to pound the zone throughout his outings and work efficiently on the mound. After a quick clip of Baumann from this Spring at the NHSI event in Cary, North Carolina.

Baumann's got a three-pitch mix with a ton to like about it. His fastball gets into the upper-90s as he comfortably works 91-95 mph on most occasions; he's reached back for 96 and 97 mph, respectively, at Perfect Game events in the past.

The pitch has arm-side sink to it, and out of the three-quarters arm slot, it can be dangerous because the fastball is heavy. He pairs it with a slider with good bite and a spin profile above the 2,400 RPM range.

It can be a high-tilt pitch that he locates in the bottom third of the zone and below, looking for swings and misses. He shows the slider less than the changeup he features but has made strides with the slider, making it a much more effective piece of his repertoire. His changeup is easily his best off-speed pitch.

The changeup works the mid-80s with plenty of tumble to it, inducing a plethora of swings and misses. The pitch is filthy, simply put. He's made strides in better defining his pitch mix, and it looks like he could be a future stud.

The Tigers should take a chance on Baumann in such a large frame with strike-thrower makeup and a pitch mix that is exciting. He's worthy of consideration from the Tigers in this year's draft for sure. They need to keep him circled on their draft board this year as they continue to compile things as the Spring bleeds into summer in the coming months.