Detroit Tigers prospect Paul Wilson is a dark-horse to be special

Detroit Tigers prospect Paul Wilson is flying under the radar.

The Detroit Tigers selected left-handed pitcher Paul Wilson, a 19-year-old prep arm from Oregon. He was a third-round draftee of the Tigers last summer after grabbing prep standout Max Clark with the third-overall pick in the draft. Wilson was good friends with Noble Meyer, the 10th overall pick in last summer's draft.

It was noted that the two were neighbors and surely worked out together growing up. Something must be said about the path the two Pacific Northwest talents took to the big leagues. But Paul Wilson is the one who ended up with the Tigers. Not that Meyer was a real target for them, but Wilson will bring much more to the table than it seems.

Gambling on prep arms is always risky, but the Tigers made a good investment by selecting Wilson. He's going to be a fun player to watch develop along his "Road to Detroit," and he's a really promising talent to keep an eye on, even if it will be years before he gets to the big-league level.

Wilson's a 6-foot-3, 205-pound southpaw with a lean and slender build. There's a lot of length to his frame, with long levers and looseness to his movement on the mound. He's got a higher-set waist, with the length really showing in his lower half. Not to mention, he's the son of a former MLB pitcher, Trevor Wilson, so the bloodlines are there.

Wilson consistently works into the low 90s and was up to 94 mph during his prep career. The heater has good shape with high-IVB numbers that allowed him to miss bats and induce the swing-and-miss. He pairs it with a sweeping slider that worked the 76-81 mph mark for the most part, flashing a bigger curveball in the mix in the low-70s. He also has a changeup that was in the low-80s, a pitch that he turned over well.

It was a four-pitch mix in high school as a prep arm that was lively and allowed him to have success. While he went down into California for travel ball events and was center stage during the Perfect Game National Showcase, there's plenty of reason to be "in" on the pick of Wilson.

The third-rounder has four pitches, outlier stuff, and a projectable frame to do nothing but dream on. A left-hander up to 94 mph is intriguing enough, but a good body and full arsenal make it even more fun. It'll be pretty interesting to see what the Tigers' development staff does with his pitch mix/arsenal, and it will be interesting to see how he develops.

He may not get much respect in most media outlets' Top Prospect Lists, but Wilson is a dark horse prospect within the Tigers farm system that people need to keep their eyes on.