Did Tigers strike gold with speedy and powerful small school seventh-round pick?

In the seventh round of the 2024 MLB Draft, around the time when pretty much everyone but the die-hard prospect watchers decided to change the channel, the Tigers took outfielder Jackson Strong with the 206th overall pick.

Well, maybe that's a little ungenerous, as Strong did still fall within Detroit's 11 first picks who will be owed slotted signing bonuses should they choose to go pro, but the pick was after the initial wave of announcements that got a primetime TV slot.

You're forgiven if you aren't aware of his prowess, but Strong just wrapped up his junior year at Canisius College in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, hitting .350 with a 1.104 OPS, 11 home runs, and 42 stolen bases this season. He's committed to the University of Kentucky as a transfer, but will ideally take the approximately $276,700 owed to him and go pro with the Tigers instead.

A guy with that many stolen bases and that high a slugging percentage (.622) might profile as someone who should've gone before the seventh round, but Baseball America pushed him down their rankings because of "concerns about his hit tool." Still, even the areas of his game marked for improvement aren't massive red flags in that range, and it looks like this could be a huge steal for the Tigers.

Tigers selected speedy, powerful Canisius outfielder Jackson Strong in the seventh round of the MLB Draft

Strong played nine games in the MLB Draft League this year, where he hit .275 with a .695 OPS, six RBI, and four stolen bases. He also graded out well as a defender, with a 1.000 fielding percentage. He was present at the Draft Combine just a few weeks ago, where he hit his way into becoming one of FanGraphs' "standout hitters" from the event. At the time, FanGraphs' MiLB expert Eric Longenhagen wrote that "Strong produced some of the most consistently authoritative contact in attendance."

The Tigers haven't been a particularly speedy bunch over the last few seasons — their 44 stolen bases this year ranks 26th in MLB, and they fared the same or worse by regular season's end in 2021 and 2022. Adding a baserunning threat to the pipeline is big for the Tigers, whose prospects do lack in speed apart from No. 1 prospect Max Clark.

Although Strong might not get as much attention as the Tigers' first, second, and third chosen prospects, there's a lot here to unlock and develop, and his progression through the minors will be one to watch over the next few years.