Tigers farm system takes concerning dive in 2 major outlets' rankings, and here's why

The Pirates' Konnor Griffin is the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball going into 2026, but the Tigers' Kevin McGonigle is the consensus No. 2. All of MLB Pipeline, ESPN, The Athletic, and Baseball America agree on that, and Max Clark falls somewhere within all of those outlets' top 10. Bryce Rainer and Josue Briceño also have places on every top 100 list, and Max Anderson got a nod at No. 91 from The Athletic.

The Tigers' decade of losing and picking toward the top of the draft has amounted to a major league contender and, within the last few years, a highly-touted prospect pipeline. Scott Harris is a prospect- and development- forward guy, and having four (sometimes five) prospects on every major outlets' list is a testament to that focus.

But it obscures a more uncomfortable truth about the farm system. Both ESPN and The Athletic's organization rankings put the Tigers at sixth and seventh, respectively. That doesn't square up well with one-fifth of every top 10 being made up of Detroit's prospects, but it makes more sense when you look further down the line and realize that the Tigers talent doesn't run that deep.

Tigers land at Nos. 6 and 7 on ESPN, The Athletic's farm system rankings

At the beginning of 2025, the Tigers were third on ESPN's list, second on Baseball America's, and first on MLB Pipeline's (Keith Law of The Athletic has stayed firm on seventh). So, why the overall drop?

After either Briceño or Rainer, who go back and forth between third and fourth-highest rated Tigers prospects, the Tigers have a remarkable drop-off in potential. There's Jordan Yost and Michael Oliveto, their surprise first pick last year who were on no one's radar; Cris Rodriguez, who hasn't cracked Single-A yet; Franyerber Montilla, who the second half of 2025 injured; and Thayron Liranzo, whose stock has plummeted since he came over in the Jack Flaherty trade.

Baseball America's top 30 ranking has zero pitchers within the top 10.

To put it simply, the Tigers are wildly top-heavy. If McGonigle and/or Clark get past prospect status this season, their rankings are likely to plummet even more in end-of-season evaluations.

Having a pipeline that's still in the top third of the league is still great, and the Tigers have built a contender on a mostly homegrown foundation, but it's not fun for fans to watch things slip.