Tigers' Day 1 draft strategy makes a lot more sense after Day 2 stunner

The Detroit Tigers made four picks on the first day of the 2025 MLB Draft , but perhaps the more intriguing storyline is the picks they didn't make.

Despite having the most wins in the Majors heading into the All-Star Break, the Tigers didn't take reliable, polished college players who could help them win now (or even in the next couple of years). Instead, they played the long game, continuing to draft like an organization that is deep in a rebuild and still several years away from contending.

The Tigers selected a pair of high school position players with their first two picks, confusing even the most experienced draft experts. In the first round, they took shortstop Jordan Yost at No. 24 overall, a late bloomer who was projected to go far later in the draft order. In the second round, at No. 24, they took catcher Michael Oliveto, a left-handed hitter committed to Yale (yes, that Yale).

Needless to say, both picks threw analysts for a loop, as did the fact that the Tigers waited until their third pick to draft a college arm – and perhaps not even the best college arm available, at that. With the No. 62 pick, they took Oklahoma right-hander Malachi Witherspoon, who throws gas but needs quite a bit of refining – again, not a guy who's going to help this team win in the immediate future.

Tigers' Day 1 draft strategy makes a lot more sense after Day 2 stunner

In going the high-risk, high-upside route on the first night of the draft, the Tigers seemed to be focusing more on long-term potential, rather than on immediate returns – a strategy that makes very little sense when you consider that Detroit's window for contention is, well, now.

Detroit's plan started to come a bit more into focus on the second day of the draft, however, when they got an absolute steal of a pick in the eighth round. With the 249th overall selection, the Tigers took outfielder Nick Dumesnil out of California Baptist University. The 118th-ranked prospect in the class according to MLB Pipeline, Dumesnil appeared to be trending toward a Day 1 selection due to the pop in his bat and his speed on the base paths, but instead fell to the Tigers on Day 2.

Carlos Collazo of Baseball America noted that the Tigers' selection of Dumesnil made their Day 1 strategy make "way more sense." With just under $11 million to spend on bonuses to sign 21 picks in the draft, they will likely be able to sign their earlier picks for well under their assigned slot values and dedicate more bonus pool funds to Dumesnil, whose slot value at No. 249 is just under $217,000.

So, while Scott Harris and company certainly took some major risks on Day 1 of the draft, they may very well lead to some major rewards in the future. Only time will tell if those risks pay off in the long term.

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