Detroit Tigers Scouting Report: RHP Mason Englert

Scouting Detroit Tigers' latest Rule 5 draft selection RHP Mason Englert

Physical Description

Long and strong workhorse frame; big feet, thick lower half, high waist, long arms. An average athlete that is physically maxed, 6-foot-4 height, appears accurate but may be 10-15 lbs over the 206-pound list. Injury history includes Tommy John surgery in 2019 and shoulder impingement pre-draft.

Mechanics

High three-quarters slot with moderate effort. Good extension and leg drive; repeats delivery well with good pace through the windup. Glove break and clawing arm action yield moderate deception. He fields the position well and leaves himself in a good defensive position following release. He shows slide-step but does not vary the pace to hold runners from what I see on film.

Fastball

Primarily works 91-94 mph; two-seam shows run and is primary fastball with an occasional four-seamer. Stays around the zone and shows the ability to work all four quadrants; generates swing-and-miss when utilized at the top of the zone. It compliments his breaking balls nicely; misses are mainly vertically within the zone. An average offering at the highest levels. Grade: 50

Slider

A distant fourth offering; thrown 85-87 mph with moderate movement. Maintains arm speed well but often lacks the teeth necessary to generate consistent swings and misses. Locates well down and away to right-handed hitters with success; struggles when thrown anywhere on the inner third. A below-average offering with minimal projection remaining. Grade: 40

Curveball

An inconsistent offering at 75-77 mph, often lacking steep downhill action as desired. 11/5 break that tends to get loopy and left up. Flashes average with a more slurvy but sharper movement profile. It shows the ability to throw for strikes in any count. A fringe offering with average potential if it converts to a slurve. Grade: 45

Changeup

A solid average offering at 83-85 mph; shows feel and throws with conviction. It lacks desired fade at times but maintains arm speed and locates well enough to get away with some inconsistencies in the movement profile. Comfortable to throw it to any hitter in any count. Grade: 50

Control and Command

Solid & average control with below-average command; able to stay around the zone with all four offerings; repeatability within the delivery, consistency with the arm slot, and balance all bode well for long-term success, but inconsistencies with pitch movement make hitting the glove consistently a tough task. Little remaining projection left. Control: 50 | Command: 40

Overall Thoughts & Projection

The Detroit Tigers selected Mason Englert in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft, meaning he'll either need to be retained on their major league roster in 2023 or returned to his parent organization, the Texas Rangers.

Englert checks in toward the back half of most Detroit Tigers prospect lists and will almost certainly be a long relief arm for the Tigers should he make the team out of spring. The multi-pitch reliever is becoming a hot new trend in baseball.

Considering he's likely to enter as a multi-inning guy, I'd be surprised if he were to scrap any of his pitches as part of the transition. In the end, Englert figures to be a spot starter or low-leverage relief arm at the highest levels with little projection remaining within the profile.

Role: 30 - Spot starter/low leverage relief

Risk: Low

ETA: 2023