Tigers Prospect Update: Bryce Rainer raking, 14th-round pick surging, new rankings

Scott Harris and the Detroit Tigers are going to have some tough decisions to make in the near future and one of those will center around the potential promotion of top prospect Bryce Rainer.

The Tigers’ first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft has been posting impressive numbers in High-A ball at West Michigan since his early-season call-up from Lakeland. Lately, however, he’s been absolutely raking.

Rainer, the No. 3 prospect in the Tigers’ farm system, opened the season with Lakeland and struggled a bit in 11 games, hitting .167 with a home run and five RBIs, but since getting to High-A, he’s been hitting the leather off the ball. He just hit his 15th home run of the season on Tuesday — his fourth in four straight games — and some fans are wondering why he has yet to be promoted to Double-A Erie.

After a breakout June where he hit over .350 with six homers, 21 RBIs, and an impeccable .478 on-base percentage, he slumped in July with just a .222 average. He’s gotten a second wind in August, perking back up and hitting .286 with five home runs, 11 RBI, and an on-base percentage just under .350.

On the season in High-A, he’s up to a .270 average with 14 home runs, 59 RBI, a .376 on-base percentage and .473 slugging percentage. He’s just raking right now.

Beau Ankeney is a name to know for Tiger fans

When you think of top prospects in the Tigers’ system, guys like Rainer, Zyhir Hope, Max Anderson, Kash Mayfield, and Josue Briceño all come to mind first, but there’s a surging 14th-rounder from the 2025 MLB Draft who is turning heads.

Although he’s not listed as one of Detroit’s top 30 prospects, Beau Ankeney is a name that all fans should get to know soon. He’s putting up some video game-like numbers in the minors this season but he’s really turned it up a notch since being promoted to High-A West Michigan.

With Lakeland, first baseman was hitting .279 with 15 home runs and 66 RBI but he’s been motivated by a recent promotion, it seems. In 16 games with West Michigan, Ankeney is slashing .352/.470/.815. He has 19 hits, seven home runs, and 17 RBI in those 16 games as he continues to mash against High-A pitching. He’s now up to 22 home runs and 83 RBI combined between the two levels.

Ankeney isn’t a household name yet because he was a 14th-rounder a year ago, but it also took Zyhir Hope a while to make a name for himself in the Dodgers’ farm system after being an 11th-round pick.

Buy stock now.

New Tigers prospect rankings prove Scott Harris competence

Harris continued to hear all the jeers from Tigers fans through the trade deadline as he dealt the organization’s top pitcher (and arguably the best pitcher in baseball) and a top-three starter for a handful of prospects.

Those prospects are now dominating the updated Tigers prospect rankings.

Zyhir Hope (No. 2), River Ryan (No. 4), and Kash Mayfield (No. 8) are all in the updated top 10 of the Tigers’ farm system rankings. Add in Cameron Flukey as another new guy who was selected in the first round by the Tigers in last month’s draft, and that makes 40 percent of the top 10 prospects being guys who weren’t in the system when July started.

There was also a huge riser in Brett Callahan who was hitting .269 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI in 96 minor league games between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo before getting called up to the majors last week. He had two hits, including a triple, and four RBI in his first two big league games with the Tigers.

When Max Clark eventually graduates from prospect status, Hope is going to assume that No. 1 spot in the Tigers’ prospect rankings.

The system’s soon-to-be No. 1 overall prospect and three more top-10 guys acquired via the draft and the trade deadline prove that Harris has what it takes to turn the organization into a perennial contender.

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