Detroit Tigers bring in Mason Englert during MLB portion of Rule 5 Draft

Detroit Tigers claim Mason Englert in MLB portion of Rule 5 Draft.

For the Detroit Tigers, they had the sixth overall pick of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. As things got underway, they were technically able to move up to the fifth spot with the Kansas City Royals roster being full.

During the big league portion of the draft, the Detroit Tigers were able to settle on a right-handed pitcher that they felt would be able to bring benefit to the organization. With room on the 40-man roster, they opted to make a selection.

Scott Harris and company opted to bring in Mason Englert from the Texas Rangers organization. A former fourth-round selection from the 2018 draft has spent the last few seasons honing in on his craft. He has already been bumped onto the Tigers' Top prospect list, coming in at no. 26 on the list.

Englert was drafted out of high school, being quite raw but has since logged time with the Rangers organization. In 2022, he started with the team's High-A affiliate in Hickory. He then moved up to Double-A to join the Frisco RoughRiders before the end of the season for a quick stint.

Englert pitched in 24 games in total, accumulating 118.2 innings pitched overall. He pitched to a 3.64 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP and punched out 136 opposing hitters. The right-handed arm has a 6-foot-4, 206-pound frame and features a four-pitch mix.

He underwent Tommy John Surgery in 2019, per a Cody Stavenhagen tweet, and will bring a defined pitch mix to the table for the Tigers organization. His fastball is mid- to upper-90s, and his primary offspeed is a diving changeup and harder slider with lateral break. He's got a curve in the mix as needed.

Englert's fastball appears to tunnel well with the changeup. Both of them have some weight to it and are heavy. He repeats the arm action pretty well too. The breaking ball can be a little slurvy but seems to have some good bite and lateral movement; even when it looks more over the top and curvy, it's got a 10-4 shape.

The delivery is quick and fast-paced once he gets into the leg lift. It's athletic. The one thing that stands out is the parity between his arms and leg lift. His arms tend to lift higher up in his delivery, but the leg lift (which is quite big) lags at times.

It's a quick arm through the delivery, and he commands his pitches well. The Tigers have some work to do, but it seems like a promising addition. Teaching command is not the easiest, and he's able to locate and miss bats. Cleaning up some mechanical things and developing him to compete at a higher level will be the biggest tasks.

After all, he is a Rule 5 Draftee, meaning he has to stay with the big league active roster. If not, they must be offered back to the original team for $50,000. This means Englert has to stay with the Tigers' active roster after being drafted.

It seems like a smart choice but could lead to some stumbling from Englert early on as he jumps from basically High-A to the big leagues.