Draft: "Way-too-early" thoughts on the Detroit Tigers 2024 draft plans

The Detroit Tigers will be able to be strategic with their money.

With that in mind, the Detroit Tigers are in an interesting position heading into the 2024 MLB Draft. The Tigers have the 11th overall pick in the first round and then pick again at 49th overall, with the 11th pick in the second round. They only have these two picks inside the top 50 picks.

In 2023, the Tigers picked third, had a high pick in the second, and had three picks inside the top fifty, with two of them being inside the top 40 due to their compensation round pick that was used on Kevin McGonigle. The team's bonus pool was $15,747,200 per MLB dot com's reports for the 2023 draft.

It will not be the same with the Tigers picking 11th. But, for context, the 11th overall pick had a $5,253,000 slot value in 2023. The Los Angeles Angels only had one pick in the top 50 after forfeiting their second-rounder for signing qualified free agents. So, their bonus pool is not a good comparison.

A better comparison for Tigers fans is the Arizona Diamondbacks, who picked 12th overall in 2023 (Tommy Troy, IF, Stanford) and 48th overall (Gino Groover, IF, NC State). Those two picks carried a value of $6,180,000. Troy signed slightly over the slot, and Groover was exactly at slot, speaking to the gymnastics to the MLB Draft, as mentioned earlier.

However, the Tigers are likely to be in a similar situation. They'll have money to play with and a chance to use it strategically. They could sign a player under slot, saving money for later rounds beyond the Top 50 picks, with hopes of signing that gem later. This equates to wooing a prep prospect away from attending college/honoring a commitment, and taking a chance to develop him within the organization.

It's a risk, but saving money early allows for more chances to sign players over slot later. On the flip side, the talent level obviously decreases in later rounds. With only two Top 50 picks and no comp round picks, they could try to play games and spend up high, going over slot like the Diamondbacks did with Troy.

What does this mean for the 2024 draft class?

This draft class is full of college bats. There's a significant emphasis on the college players at the top of the class. The first few names off the board will be college bats who produce the best in '24. But teams will take the tools with players, and again, bats will rule.

The mid-point of the first round, when the Detroit Tigers pick and beyond, is when the tide could change. Some of the premier college arms could come into play if the bats run dry this spring during the college season. There's plenty to watch in the college season this spring for fans wondering who will be the next wave of Tigers draftees.

But it will be interesting to see the Tigers' approach. It's a bit of a weaker year on the prep side. Eight players are in the top 30, and only two could go into the top 10 as of now. But that's as of February 1st. Things could change throughout the spring. Who knows, maybe the Tigers will go rogue and select Caleb Bonemer, which would be about a 10-15 spot stretch in the eyes of some.

Bonemer's a Lansing kid hailing from Okemos, Mich., and he is the real deal. He's going to be the first-rounder. The question is just how high the prep shortstop will go. Detroit would have the money to offer him a good bonus and get him into the organization. But as the title suggests, it's "way too early" to narrow things down.