Tigers’ top prospect is off to incredible professional start after 10 K performance

The Detroit Tigers drafted Malachi Witherspoon in the second round of the 2025 MLB Draft. He just made the best start of his young pro career for the Tigers in Lakeland, pitching five strong innings while striking out 10 batters. He is definitely a guy to watch going forward.

Witherspoon allowed just three hits, one walk, and one run in the outing. His stuff was absolutely dominant and he looked filthy out on the mound.

Malachi Witherspoon shows Tigers his high ceiling in sizzling start

He made some history by becoming the first Flying Tigers pitcher since Gabriel Reyes to strike out 10 or more batters in a game. That may be more of a bad omen than a good sign, as Reyes is currently struggling in High-A for the Tigers, but the glass-half-full view is more fun to ponder.

Witherspoon was considered a guy with a live arm who struggled to locate his pitches when he was drafted. In college he had impressive strikeout rates but his ERA was always very high, so it was clear that he was rough around the edges when the Tigers got their hands on him.

He is far from a finished product, but the 21-year-old is showing real signs of improvement. So far this season for the Flying Tigers, he has a 4.35 ERA in six starts and 20 and 2/3 innings pitched. He's struck out 29 batters while walking only six, which is a positive sign for his command. In this most recent dominant start, he induced a lot of whiffs, so he can certainly miss bats when he is on.

The Missouri naive is currently ranked as the No. 10 prospect in Detroit's system. The scouting report notes his electric fastball but his breaking pitches are also deserving of praise. The Tigers have a strong pitching development program, so it seems like Witherspoon is the perfect guy who has all the talent in the world but just needs a little bit of refinement to help him unlock his full potential.

Baseball America viewed him as a breakout prospect candidate for the Tigers ahead of the season and his most recent start certainly lends credence to that assessment. He's got a long way to go, but if he keeps on refining his mechanics and working on his command, he's only going to get better.

One could argue he's the most promising young arm in the organization, and with so much uncertainty surrounding the rotation at the big league level following this season, the Tigers have to be hoping that Witherspoon becomes a key member of the rotation someday.

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