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Tigers Prospect Update: Bryce Rainer, Ethan Schiefelbein, Max Anderson

ByEmma Lingan|
From left, Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, talks to manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Greenberg before Game 2 of ALDS at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
From left, Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, talks to manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Greenberg before Game 2 of ALDS at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers have graduated a number of their top prospects to the big leagues over the past couple of years, but their farm system doesn't appear to be any worse for wear.

One of their most recent additions, 2024 first-round pick Bryce Rainer, has already begun turning heads at Single-A Lakeland with the way he punishes baseballs – especially at such a young age.

"Rainer’s exit velos are just stupid," one American League scout told Emily Waldon of Baseball America. "Like, you’re doing that at 19? And he’s still gonna bulk. He ain’t even grown yet. That’s some crazy s***."

Rainer, the Tigers' No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has hits in eight of his last nine games, including three multi-hit performances. He has racked up three doubles, five runs, two homers and nine RBI in that span. On the season, he has slashed .260/.381/.440 with 13 hits and 10 RBI through 15 games.

Tigers Prospect Update: Ethan Schiefelbein among Baseball America's 10 'prospects to watch' in FCL

Another member of the Tigers' 2024 Draft class, left-handed pitcher Ethan Schiefelbein, has also earned high praise from scouts as he enters his first pro season in the Florida Complex League. The southpaw tossed three scoreless innings to earn the win in the first game of the Tigers' FCL season on Saturday, and Baseball America named him one of 10 FCL prospects to watch in 2025.

The Tigers selected Schiefelbein, who turned 19 in April, with the No. 72 overall pick in the Competitive Balance B round between the second and third rounds of the 2024 draft. He currently ranks as the Tigers' No. 14 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

Elsewhere in the Tigers' farm system, second baseman Max Anderson has been lighting it up at Double-A Erie. He's been off to a scorching hot start at the plate, slashing .326/.367/.565 with five homers and 22 RBI through 28 games, and he's been flashing the leather in the infield as well.

Anderson, selected in the second round of the Tigers' first Draft under president of baseball operations Scott Harris in 2023, often gets overshadowed by fellow top prospects Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark, both of whom were drafted in the first round that same year. But the 23-year-old is showing off tremendous power potential and bears watching as he works his way up through the Tigers' system.

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