The Detroit Tigers' most coveted prospects in trade

1. RHP Jackson Jobe

This one is pretty obvious--most sites rank Jobe as the best prospect in the system, he's a former first-round pick, and despite some slow starts in Lakeland, he hit the ground running upon his late-season promotion to West Michigan.

Over his three starts for the Whitecaps, Jobe pitched to a 1.15 ERA where hitters batted just .175 against him. It's especially impressive considering he had just turned 20 and since his move was post-draft, many high-end college players likely started their respective pro careers there.

Jobe's build is fairly average for a starter; a compact frame at 6'2" with a high waist and a thick lower half. Jobe features the standard four-pitch starter mix, but his money pitch is his slider, which many scouts gave a 70 on the 20-80 scale out of high school and would qualify as 'double plus.'

Other teams would ask for Jobe mainly for the projection that remains within the profile. While MLB Pipeline has Jobe as the 38th-best prospect in the game, many feel he's maybe on the back-end of a top 100-type list currently. That said, he still possesses the frontline starter potential and has a good shot to cement himself firmly as one of the 25-best prospects in the league if he pitches well to start the season and following a possible promotion to Double-A as a 20 or 21-year-old.

Due to the investment that the Tigers have into Jobe already, Harris' comments about acquiring and retaining young talent, and Jobe's high status as a prospect, any deal involving him would likely have to involve a talented MLB player with multiple years of team control remaining.

2. Colt Keith

Shoutout to my friend James Chipman on this one, who was one of the few who braved the Florida heat last year to get some eyes on the Lakeland Flying Tigers and taught me everything I know about scouting. A player that almost immediately caught his eye was Colt Keith, who was an over-slot play by the Tigers in the fifth round of the 2020 draft.

Keith, who has since shifted from second base to third base, had an innate awareness of the strike zone as well as a natural ability to barrel the ball essentially from the start of his pro career. The power was never off the charts in 2021, but his ability to spray line drives all over the field reminded me of how he spoke about Isaac Paredes back when he was with the Flygers in Lakeland.

My good friends at Tigers Minor League Report have Keith as the best prospect in the system, and it's tough to argue against it. Keith hit to a .301/.370/.544 line in a year that was interuppted by a freak injury on the basepaths, but went to the Arizona Fall League and did more of the same: .344/.463/.541; good for a 1.004 OPS over 19 games.

Like Jobe, Keith is still 20, which makes him projectable--but he's already added considerable mass to his frame and with that his power has taken off--making the case to start the year in Double-A, though that might be a touch aggressive. Other teams would love his ability to barrel the ball while still taking his free passes when warranted.

Similarly, I'd only expect Keith to be part of a big package to yield back a young-controllable MLB asset in return, but I certainly would not fault other teams for asking.

3. Wilmer Flores

Flores could be one of the better undrafted free-agent pickups in Detroit Tigers' history. Brother of infielder Wilmer (Giants), the Tigers picked up his brother as part of the shortened five-round draft that happened as part of the pandemic in 2020.

Flores took off immediately and spent the entire 2022 year as a 21-year-old--a year in which he pitched mostly in Double-A. His resultsat Erie: 19 starts, 83.2 innings, 95 strikeouts, and a 3.01 ERA. His tall and sturdy frame is advanced for his age and he has a legitimate chance to start the season in Toledo as a 22-year-old.

There are still some inconsistencies within the arsenal that put Flores a tier below Jobe and Keith in terms of their prospect status and their value. Despite Flores' excellent 2.3 walks per nine in Erie, his shortcomings, particularly with his secondaries, bring some relief risk to the profile. Nevertheless, his fastball, which has hit 98 on occasion as a starter, makes him a prime candidate for a leverage role even if his ultimate destination is a relief role at the highest levels.

Flores can headline a deal but would be more of a match for someone that was maybe a role 50 player with a couple of years of control remaining, opposed to a young player with ample upside. Flores could also be a candidate for a prospect-for-prospect-type trade, which The Athletic's Jim Bowden stated was a possibility for the Tigers.

4. Cristian Santana

A versatile infielder that shows the ability to take walks and hit for power sounds like a nice player nice, doesn't it? That's a lot of what infielder Cristian Santana showed for the Lakeland Flying Tigers as an 18-year-old and his first full year stateside.

Santana was one of the few high-end international investments the Detroit Tigers have made over the years and while still fairly raw, has shown reason as to why he was so highly coveted out of the Dominican Republic.

Santana's batting average wasn't anything to get too excited over (.215), but his OBP (.379) signifies his strong on-base ability; a skill that has lacked on the Tigers' MLB club and throughout the system in recent years.

To other organizations, Santana would be a fine lottery ticket play in a trade--especially for clubs that are in the midst of a long-term rebuild--but being the Tigers have already spent significantly for him, it is unclear if Detroit would be satisfied with the type of return he might yield in trade.

Honorable Mention

These players would be nice compliments to any deal and perhaps just missed the list, but would still hold some value in trade discussions:

1. Roberto Campos

Campos was a bit of a mystery man for the Detroit Tigers before his signing--while he shows the ability to barrel the ball and has some strike zone awareness, many have wondered where the power is--just five home runs in 112 games for Lakeland in 2022.

2. Ty Madden

The compensatory pick in 2021 had an excellent debut season in pro ball--a 3.01 ERA while striking out 133 in 122.2 innings between West Michigan and Erie. He lights up radar guns, hitting 99 several times throughout the season, too. He's arguably the most valuable of this bunch.

3. Izaac Pacheco

2022 was a bit of a mixed bag for Pacheco--playing well for Lakeland and then struggling following a brief promotion to West Michigan. Still, his 3 home runs in just 18 games in High-A and his age (20) make him an intriguing option to opposing clubs.

4. Reese Olson

Strikeouts, anyone? Reese Olson was a strikeout machine for the Erie Seawolves in 2022--stockpiling 168 punchouts in just 119 innings of work. Many feel Olson is ultimately destined for a relief role at the highest levels, but he'll get every chance to prove he can't start until then.

5. Jace Jung

It's a small 30-game sample, but early reports on the former first round pick were a bit uninspiring for a 12th overall selection in the 2022 draft. Jung, however, was coming off a year in which he hit .335 for Texas Tech and could be a nice pick up for a team that feels they can improve upon his short .232/.373/.333 line in pro ball.