The Athletic names 2 more possible Tigers first-round picks on the eve of 2026 draft

The MLB Draft starts on Saturday and the Detroit Tigers have a great chance to boost a farm system that hasn’t gotten a lot of love lately from big publications like Baseball America. The Tigers hold the No. 22 overall pick, and Keith Law of The Athletic mentioned two interesting names the team might be considering.

Law projects the Tigers will go with left-handed high school pitcher Carson Bolemon in the first round but he also writes, “The Tigers are probably going for upside, though I did hear them on some lower-ceiling infielders this week like Taj Marchand or Aiden Ruiz.”

That would be an interesting move. It would make sense to go with a guy with a higher ceiling, but if Detroit wants guys with a pretty high floor, Marchand and Ruiz fit the bill.

Marchand is a high school shortstop from South Carolina who grades out as an above-average hitter with a strong arm. He would add to the team’s organizational strength up the middle, a lane Scott Harris loves to travel in.

Tigers may add more promising infielders to farm system

Obviously, Kevin McGonigle has graduated from prospect status, but he figures to play up the middle for the Tigers for a very long time. Bryce Rainer is currently on fire in the minors and could be due for a promotion soon. Plus, other infielders litter their top-15 — Max Anderson, Jordan Yost, Franyerber Montilla, and John Peck.

Aiden Ruiz would be another addition to that strength. Ruiz, another shortstop, is committed to Vanderbilt. He’s seen as a strong defensive shortstop who has a ways to go at the plate, so Detroit would have to develop his offensive skills further.

Bolemon would represent more of a risk since he is a high school arm and those can be wild cards — but he does have wicked stuff. It really may just come down to how much risk the Tigers want to take. Teams usually pick the best player available, so even though they already have quite a few young middle infielders and are light on pitching, that doesn’t mean they’re going to draft for need at the big league level.

We’ll have to see what the Tigers decide to do, but the fact that Law threw those two names into the mix suggests they might decide to go the middle infielder route (again) rather than rolling the dice on Bolemon.

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