FanSided

MLB Mock Draft Roundup: Who do experts have the Detroit Tigers taking in July?

By Matthew Scheidel |
Gators utility Wyatt Langford (36) with a home run during the bottom of the third inning during the
Gators utility Wyatt Langford (36) with a home run during the bottom of the third inning during the / Cyndi Chambers / USA TODAY NETWORK
3 of 4
Next

The 2023 MLB Draft is coming up. What do the experts think the Tigers will do at No. 3?

The 2023 MLB Draft is less than a month away now. The Detroit Tigers will have the No. 3 overall pick on July 9. They are slated to land a pretty good player no matter who they pick.

There really isn't a consensus name the Tigers will take. A lot of it depends on what happens with picks 1 and 2. They could end up with a college bat, one of the top high school bats, or the top college pitcher.

It's going to be an interesting night for the Detroit Tigers. Let's see what the experts have to say. We've gathered four mock drafts to see what people think the Tigers will do on draft night as of June 13. Let's get started with a mock draft from MLB Pipeline.

Jonathan Mayo, MLB Pipeline— OF Wyatt Langford, Florida

Mayo has the Tigers selecting Florida OF Wyatt Langford at No. 3 overall. He seems to the player Tigers fans want the most, so most fans would be happy if this is how the cards fell on draft night.

Mayo says that most of what he's heard is that the Tigers want the most advanced college bat available, so Langford would be a perfect fit. Some scouts like him more than LSU OF Dylan Crews, who has been the consensus top pick for most of this draft cycle.

If the Tigers ended up with Wyatt Langford, it would hard to complain. He's a great prospect and would bring an impact bat to the Tigers' farm system.

Prospects Live— OF Wyatt Langford, Florida

We've got another Langford sighting. Get used to that, because you'll be hearing a lot about him the closer we get to draft night.

Rather than just repeat what we already said, here's what Joe Doyle of Prospects Live said about why he made the pick for Detroit:

Langford checks a ton of live looks boxes, and even more once you dive into the numbers. The Tigers are thirsty for offense, and Scott Harris is known to be a progressive guy in talent evaluation. This is a good fit.
Joe Doyle, Prospects Live

It would indeed be a good fit. We would love Wyatt Langford here in Detroit.

Keith Law, The Athletic—OF Max Clark, Franklin, Indiana

The first non-Langford pick, Law has the Tigers going the prep route with Max Clark. He thinks both Clark and North Carolina prep OF Walker Jenkins has higher upside than Langford. He also says he could see the Tigers taking either of those three outfielders.

Here's a snippet of what Law had to say ($$$):

The Tigers need a win somewhere, with their last three first-round picks all struggling or hurt this year, although 2019’s Riley Greene might be turning the corner at the plate. Taking Langford would offer the easiest “win” of that type.
Keith Law, The Athletic

Law has his faults, but he isnt wrong when he says the Tigers need a win here. They need to hit on this pick. If that means taking the "safe" option with a college bat, so be it. But this pick needs to be a home run, no pun intended.

Baseball America—OF Wyatt Langford, Florida

And we're back on the Langford train. It makes sense given all the reasons we've already laid out. It's funny how I said at the beginning of this article that there isn't a consensus pick for the Tigers, because that makes three of the four mock drafts that we went over today mocking Langford to the Tigers.

Baseball America spent much of the time comparing Langford and Crews. Here's some of what they had to say ($$$):

Perhaps the biggest true separator between Langford and Crews is the additional prep history teams have of Crews and one full season of SEC performance data. Outside of that it’s similar. If you want a bit more pure speed and a tick more raw power, you could lean Langford, and if you want the center field profile and longer track record go Crews. Either way Detroit is getting an impact player.
Carlos Collazo, Baseball America

Again, you really can't go wrong if you're the Tigers here. You're going to be getting a good player no matter what,

It's worth noting that every one of these mock drafts had Crews going 1:1 to the Pirates and LSU SP Paul Skenes going 1:2 to the Washington Nationals. If Skenes goes in the top two, that would be ideal for the Tigers so they could ensure they have the choice of the bats they want.

Tigers call-up Brendan White; option Garrett Hill. Tigers call-up Brendan White; option Garrett Hill. dark. Next

Next
Home / Detroit Tigers Draft