Tigers prospects whose stock dramatically rose during 2024 season

The Tigers' second half of the 2024 season has been all about the rookies. Colt Keith has been there from the start, but Detroit has since called up eight others — Keider Montero, Ty Madden, Dillon Dingler, Bligh Madris, Wenceel Pérez, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Jace Jung, and Trey Sweeney — as the season's worn on.

Although Madris is back in the minors, the other seven have stayed put in the majors and have turned the team around into one that makes the future look very, very promising. Maybe even the near future — the Tigers are a half-game out of the final Wild Card spot as of Thursday.

Although fans would've much preferred to see the Tigers buy stars (and probably would still like to see a couple of those introduced in the upcoming offseason), the rookies, all of them still on (or at one point were) on the Tigers' top 30 prospects prospects list, are showing out. A few have all but cemented their places on the Opening Day roster next season.

Tigers prospects whose stock dramatically rose during 2024 season

Jace Jung

When the Tigers DFA'd Gio Urshela, it presented a perfect opportunity for Jung, their No. 5 prospect this season. Jung had generated some noise during spring training when he batted .333 through 18 games, but AJ Hinch was firm on Jung staying in the minors and getting reps in Triple-A. But then the Tigers dumped Urshela and needed another third baseman, and Jung was the clear option. He was batting .257 with a nice .831 OPS in Triple-A through 91 games, so it looked like it was his time.

He needed some time to settle into the majors, but he's slowly gound his groove over the last couple weeks, so something is clearly clicking. Although he's still waiting for that first major league home run and his power's been down overall since he came up, he's walking more than anyone expected him to (AJ Hinch once said he might rival Javy Báez in his disdain for walks, which wasn't the compliment Hinch thought it was).

Jung is the perfect solution to something that's been a long-term problem for the Tigers: he can play third base. Although his fielding is one of the lower-rated parts of his game and he'll need to get his power up to where the Tigers expect it to be to really solidify his place on the roster next season, he's already got everything the Tigers like. He's cheap, he's promising, and he can play an important infield position.

Trey Sweeney

Sweeney's promotion was announced just before Jung's, and it was certainly deserved but still surprising given his limited time in the organization before they gave him his MLB debut. He came over in the Jack Flaherty trade along with Thayron Liranzo, who is now the Tigers' No. 6 prospect but is still down in High-A. Sweeney only played 11 games in Triple-A with the Tigers, but he hit .381 with a 1.114 OPS and Wenceel Pérez had recently gone onto the IL with an oblique strain, so taking a chance on Sweeney just made sense.

The Tigers put Sweeney at shortstop full time pretty much right after he was called up, as Javy Báez was down with a hip issue and officially went onto the IL on Aug. 23. He'll cede the position to Sweeney for the rest of the season, as Báez underwent a season-ending surgery on Aug. 26. Like Jung, Sweeney needed some time to settle in at the plate, but he's been on fire the last two weeks. He has four homers and 12 RBI over his first 22 major league games.

Sweeney is the perfect solution to the Tigers' Javy Báez problem. He might not be as good a defensive player (though his defense and arm are two of the higher rated parts of his game), but quite literally any bat is better than Báez's. If the Tigers finally decide to part ways with Báez in the offseason, Sweeney is the clear full-time replacement.

Jackson Jobe

With the Tigers' rotation down to two through all of August, with Casey Mize and Reese Olson both consigned to the IL and Flaherty gone at the trade deadline, fans were calling for their No. 2 prospect (and highest-ranked pitching prospect) to get his moment in the majors. Jobe has been dominant in Double-A all season, despite an IL stint, but the Tigers have made it clear that they would not accelerate Jobe. Although they wanted to get him to 100 innings this season in Double-A, the Tigers promoted him to Triple-A on Sept. 8 with just 73 2/3 innings pitched with the SeaWolves.

Jobe's promotion means that we could very plausibly see him in the majors toward the mid- to late- months of 2025. The 2024 Tigers have shown a lot of promise that they'll be real contenders throughout the season next year, so adding Jobe, if he can perform as well in Triple-A, could be final ingredient to getting the Tigers into the postseason.

These are big 'ifs,' however. The Tigers were able to call up Sweeney and Jung this season because, after the trade deadline, all hope for a playoff push seemed lost. Although they've turned into big factors in Detroit's threat for a Wild Card spot right now, their promotions were basically "screw it" moves to test out some new blood, and they may not have the same leeway next year.

Still, it feels more likely than not that Jobe will get his much-hyped debut in 2025. With the way he's been pitching, he could confirm that the Tigers' approach to team building and roster construction, which has been much hated by fans, might've been the right move after all.