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

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.