Detroit Tigers Top 30 Prospects for 2023: 25-21

23. Brant Hurter - LHP

In 2021, the Detroit Tigers went out and drafted left-handed pitcher Brant Hurter as a seventh-round selection out of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets program. Hurter, now 24 years old, is fresh off his first season with the organization. He started the season with the Single-A Lakeland Flying Tigers but got all the way up to the Double-A level in 2022.

Hurter, a 6-foot-6 & 250-pound southpaw with a physical mound presence, is still looking to hang on as a starter. He totaled 25 appearances with 18 starts across the three levels during the 2022 season. He accumulated 106.2 innings pitched while managing a 3.71 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP with 136 punchouts.

His time in Double-A with the SeaWolves did not go swimmingly, but growth in 2023 might help him settle in better as a part of the Double-A pitching staff. That being said, let's dive into what Hurter brings to the table in a quick synopsis.

Hurter's got the physical mound presence aforementioned. He uses a side-step into a leg lift around the letters with some coil as part of the leg lift. It's a longer arm stroke through the back, working from a three-quarters slot with some whip-to-the-arm action.

In terms of a pitch mix, he's got a fastball that will get into the low-90s with a nasty slider to pair. The pitch has good tilt and depth to it and has horizontal. He also has a fading changeup in the mix to round things out. Hurter fills up the zone and throws strikes which is crucial to his success on the mound.

A swing-and-miss slider with an excellent changeup to back it up helps him really round out the pitchability. Even though the fastball will not overpower you, his ability to locate makes him a solid option.

Even though Hurter is a starter at this time, I could see him running out of time as a starter at some point. Converting him to a bullpen arm with a three-pitch mix and the ability to locate could play. A shorter outing where he can ramp up the fastball velocity and utilize his pitch mix could serve him better.

For that reason, I project him to have a better ceiling as a left-handed relief arm than as a starter. He comes in at no.23 on the Motor City Bengals Top 30 Prospects list heading into 2023.