Tigers reporter proposes intriguing theory for Scott Harris' 2026 draft pivot

The Tigers gave fans a lot to digest when they wrapped up their 2026 draft. College pitcher Cameron Flukey, Detroit's first overall pick, marked the first deviation from the team's usual draft strategy under Scott Harris. From 2022 through 2025, the Tigers almost always went with an up-the-middle prep bat with their first pick. Jace Jung was the only slight exception, and only because he came out of Texas Tech.

Detroit's 2026 draft class is unusually overwhelmed with college picks — 14 out of 20. They took their first high schooler, shortstop Dominic Pellegrin, in the fourth round.

Lynn Henning of the Detroit News pointed out that six is tied for the fewest under Harris, and asked Tigers front office members a pertinent question: did "that split have anything to do with the new landscape of college athletics, where players can be paid handsomely with NIL money by going to college rather than going pro early"?

Assistant GM Rob Metzler said, "I think it's just the way the draft board fell this year," but it's still an interesting thought experiment and could mark an organizational mindset shift going forward.

Could Tigers have avoided high school draft picks because of the changing NIL landscape?

The Tigers have a smaller amount of bonus pool money to use on this draft class than they've become used to — $9,165,100 in 2026 compared to $10,990,800 in 2025, $11,921,800 in 2024, and $15,747,200 in 2023. Flukey's contract is official and terms have yet to be revealed, but he might've signed an over-slot deal considering how he was ranked by evaluators, which would leave even less money to go around among the picks lower down.

The NIL incentivizes high school players to maintain their college commitments and try again at the draft later by offering the possibility to make far more money in college than MLB teams could commit beyond the first few rounds. The Tigers are certainly at risk of losing the three high school pitchers they took from the 15th through 20th rounds to college.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a Tigers fan complaining about the change of pace, though. Detroit's farm system has sorely lacked serious pitching depth, and Flukey will enter the mix quickly to remedy that.

However, this should be something to watch going forward, especially as new MLB CBA proposals threaten to take high school players out of the draft entirely.

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