The Tigers injected a ton of mostly pitching talent this year, taking eight arms in their first ten picks. They came away with the top high school pitcher in the class as well as by some accounts the second best college pitcher in the class (fifth on my board). While the previous wave of Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Alex Faedo, Beau Burrows, Tarik Skubal, and Kyle Funkhouser has been fairly hit and miss so far, Detroit is hoping to lay the groundwork for the next wave of pitching with names like Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden, and Dylan Smith, then possibly catch some lightning in a bottle with a more under the radar guy like Tyler Mattison, Tanner Kohlhepp, or Jordan Marks. While the system has no shortage of corner bats, Izaac Pacheco adds another one with a huge ceiling as well. It's kind of funny to write because I'm not the world's biggest Ty Madden fan, but getting him at #32 is still an absolute steal no matter where you land on him, so that's easily my favorite pick of this draft class for them. One last interesting trend I noticed was that their second, third, and fourth picks all grew up in the Houston area.
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1-3: RHP Jackson Jobe, Heritage Hall HS [OK]. My rank: #8.
Given that all four top prep shortstops were still on the board, many Tigers fans were unhappy with this pick and while I wouldn't have taken Jackson Jobe in this situation either, there's no denying that the Tigers got their man and that Jobe is an absolute stud. He entered the spring as arguably the second best pitching prospect in the high school class behind Andrew Painter, but the combination of a slow start for Painter and a hot one from Jobe flipped that convincingly and by July, he was the top prep arm by most accounts. Jobe is relatively new to pitching and earned serious draft buzz as a shortstop, but has rapidly and continually improved since stepping on the mound. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and can run it up to 97-98, all without a ton of effort. His slider is his best pitch, coming in with ridiculous spin rates that cause it to suddenly disappear at the last second, combining close to ideal power and shape and flashing plus-plus. Jobe also spins a sharp, above average curveball that is fully distinct from his slider, and he also throws one of the better changeups in the prep class. Everything plays up because he fills up the strike zone consistently, with above average control and average command that should only get better with more experience. The 6'2" righty is a great athlete that repeats his delivery well and holds his stuff deep into games, and he still has some projection remaining. Combining the power, deep arsenal, athleticism, and feel for pitching in general, there really isn't much to dislike here, with the only knock on Jobe (aside from his demographic) perhaps being his age, as he turned 19 a few weeks after the draft. That's really not a big issue given how new he is to pitching and how quickly he's taken to it. Prep right handers are very, very risky, but the Oklahoma City native has true top of the rotation potential and the Tigers are all in. Committed to Ole Miss, he instead signed for $6.9 million, which was $321,200 below slot value but still marked the second largest bonus in the class behind only Jack Leiter.
CBA-32: RHP Ty Madden, Texas. My rank: #18.
By ranking Ty Madden 18th, I was actually one of the low guys on him, as he came in at #9 at MLB Pipeline, #12 at Baseball America, and #13 at Prospects Live. He had one of the most complete profiles in the college pitching class and was largely expected to be off the board somewhere in the 8-15 range, and I don't think the Tigers even dreamed he'd be available at pick 32. Even if I was a bit lower than most on his outlook pre-draft, there's no denying that Detroit got incredible value here, especially given he didn't require a massive above slot bonus. Madden largely met the sky-high expectations set on him coming into the season, posting a 2.45 ERA and a 137/44 strikeout to walk ratio over 113.2 innings perhaps highlighted by a complete game, two hit shutout of Houston while striking out fourteen on March 5th. He was hit just a touch harder in Big 12 conference play (3.71 ERA, 60/20 K/BB in 53.1 IP), but he was still largely consistent and went at least six innings in sixteen of his eighteen starts and only allowed more than two earned runs on four occasions. An absolute workhorse, he sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and has run it up to 99, holding that velocity deep into games. Madden adds a slider and a changeup which switch back and forth as to which is better, with the slider looking plus on some days with late bite and the changeup looking above average on others. The 6'3" righty fills up the strike zone with both and has one of the best combinations of stuff and command in the class, effectively deploying his three pitches to work through lineups multiple times. Really, it's almost the perfect profile and perhaps five to ten years ago, he would have been considered a slam dunk top ten pick with a shot at the top five. The only knock here is approach angle, as the Houston-area native comes from a very high release point that puts steep angle on all of his pitches. That used to be a desired trade, but nowadays teams are looking for flatter angles that enable the fastball to ride up in the zone, whereas Madden is mostly confined to pounding the bottom of the zone with all of his pitches. The game is always changing and perhaps this once again becomes a valued profile, and either way, he certainly has the command and stuff to be effective living around the knees. He projects more as a #3 starter than an ace, but has a very high floor and has proven fully durable in Austin. He signed for $2.5 million, which was $242,700 above slot value and roughly slot for the 28th overall pick.
2-39: SS Izaac Pacheco, Friendswood HS [TX]. My rank: #47.
The industry was a bit split on Izaac Pacheco, but his fans saw one of the best power bats in the country just demolish local pitching this spring after a solid, if at times uneven, run through the summer showcase circuit. He produces massive raw power from the left side, a product of the strength, bat speed, and leverage he can produce from his 6'4" frame. That enables him to put on a show in batting practice and in games when he gets a hold of one, which he did frequently this spring. There are more questions about the hit tool, as he has a tendency to pull off the ball looking for pull side home runs and strides towards first base rather than towards the pitcher in his load. Additionally, Pacheco can chase at times as well and swing over the top of breaking stuff. Because of that, he might move a bit more slowly at the outset, but the Tigers believe he could be a few mechanical tweaks and a refined approach away from flipping from a below average to an above average contact hitter. If he does, the power will certainly play, and he has a chance for 30+ a year if he makes enough contact. Drafted as a shortstop, Pacheco probably fits better at third base in the long run because he's not all that quick, but he is excellent a vacuuming up the balls he can get to and with his plus arm, he could be a plus defender at third base. So really, the only question here is on the hit tool (admittedly the most important tool), and if Detroit can get that figured out, it's a great all-around profile for the second round. Rather than attend Texas A&M, the Houston-area native signed for $2.75 million, which was $843,200 above slot value and roughly the value of the 25th overall pick. Through 14 games in the FCL, he's slashing .200/.322/.300 with a home run and 22 strikeouts.
3-74: RHP Dylan Smith, Alabama. My rank: #68.
Detroit went back to the college pitching ranks and drafted a third kid in a row from the Houston area, scooping up Dylan Smith after a huge breakout year at Alabama. After two unremarkable years pitching out of the Crimson Tide bullpen, he ratcheted things up with a 3.84 ERA and a 113/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 98.1 innings as a starter this spring, capping it off with a complete game win over Rider in the Ruston Regional. Like Ty Madden, he was a bit more hittable in conference play (4.89 ERA, 68/15 K/BB in 57 IP) and especially prone to the long ball. The stuff is nasty, with Smith sitting in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and getting up to around 95-96, and he shows great feel to spin the baseball with a distinct slider and curveball that are both above average. The slider is a bit ahead of the curve, while he flips in a solid changeup that should continue to work for him in pro ball. For now, the control is ahead of the command, but he does pound the zone and with an athletic 6'2" frame and delivery, he'll likely continue to tighten it up within the zone. That should help with his home run issues, and he has a chance to pitch in the middle of the Detroit rotation in the not too distant future. There's certainly a lot to work with and a lot working for him already. The Houston-area native signed for $1.115 million, which was $270,800 above slot value.
4-104: RHP Tyler Mattison, Bryant. Unranked.
Tyler Mattison had a chance to be drafted last year, but when the draft was shortened to five rounds, those hopes largely went away. It ended up being a blessing in disguise for Mattison, who had the best year of his four year Bryant career this spring, posting a 2.46 ERA and a 95/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 80.1 innings and earned a much higher draft selection than he would have had. He may be a fourth year player but he's extremely young for the class and more or less age appropriate for the class below, so age isn't really much of a factor here and we can evaluate him along the same lines as most of the third year class. His fastball has been steadily ticking up and now sits in the low to mid 90's with some 98's and 99's, coming from a steep angle similar to the similarly-named Ty Madden. He adds a curveball that shows good depth and is coming along nicely, as well as a newer slider and a more established changeup that looks above average at times. The 6'4" righty has proven durable so far and significantly improved his command in 2021, giving the look of a #4 starter. He didn't face the strongest competition in the Northeastern Conference but the stuff is trending up quickly and should be able to rise to the challenge in pro ball. The far Upstate New York native signed for $400,000, which was $160,000 below slot value.
5-135: RHP Tanner Kohlhepp, Notre Dame. My rank: #154.
Tanner Kohlhepp is taking a long road to Detroit, having grown up in Wisconsin, begun his career at Tennessee, transferred to Iowa Western JC, and now finished off at Notre Dame just a few miles south of the Michigan border. He really found his stride in South Bend and put up a career year with a 3.08 ERA and a 65/22 strikeout to walk ratio over 61.1 innings mostly out of the Irish bullpen, often working two, three, four innings at a time. Kohlhepp shows a mid 90's fastball that can hit triple digits in short stints, adding a whole host of secondaries in a slider, cutter, and changeup. None stands out as a true plus weapon, but coming from his funky sidearm slot, they all miss bats darting in different directions while the big fastball keeps hitters from cheating to get to them. There's some effort in his funky operation that may keep the 6'4" righty from starting long term, and he'll definitely want to get better about hitting his spots within the zone, but his size and deep arsenal do give him a chance. He gets both lefties and righties out consistently and holds his stuff over multiple innings. Even if he does end up back in the bullpen, where he's fully comfortable, in my opinion there's no harm in running him out there as a starter and just seeing what happens. He is very old for his class and turned 22 in May. The Eau Claire native signed for $400,000, which was $14,000 below slot value.
7-195: LHP Brant Hurter, Georgia Tech. My rank: #195.
Brant Hurter had a chance to pitch his way into early round consideration in 2020, but Tommy John surgery took that opportunity away and he had to try again this year. Now nearly 23, he's coming off an up and down but all around solid campaign in which he posted a 3.90 ERA and an 83/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 85.1 innings, numbers that were really marred by a couple of tough starts against Louisville and Notre Dame. He sits around 90 with his fastball that can get up to 94-95 and adds a slider that looks plus on its best days, and usually at least above average. Hurter mainly sticks with those two pitches but can flip in a changeup when he needs to, and if he's going to start in pro ball, he should be able to incorporate that pitch more into his arsenal. The big 6'6" lefty has an interesting operation in which he doesn't really extend that far down the mound with his lower half, working around and then over the top of his plant leg to put some angle on the ball. Regardless, he consistently fills up the strike zone and aside from the Tommy John, he has proven durable so far and has thrown 187.1 innings in his three healthy seasons. Given his age and lack of velocity, I'd probably like to see him pushed to the bullpen and just work off the hopefully bumped-up fastball and slider, where he could move quickly. The Atlanta-area native signed for full slot value at $241,000.
9-255: RHP Garrett Burhenn, Ohio State. Unranked.
Though they haven't taken a player from Michigan or Michigan State since Jake Bivens and Grant Reuss in 2017 (neither of whom made it out of complex ball), the Tigers drafted an Ohio State Buckeye for the third consecutive season after Andrew Magno in 2019 and Dillon Dingler in 2020. Burhenn was on scouts' radars in the Midwest as an underclassman, but he really pushed himself forward by reinventing himself over the pandemic. After showing pretty ordinary stuff in 2019 and 2020, everything got a little crisper in 2021 and he finished with a 3.81 ERA and a 91/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 80.1 innings. His fastball sits in the low 90's with good spin, while his slider is an above average pitch and his brand new curveball works well off the slider. He also throws a changeup that looks like a solid average pitch. Burhenn has always pounded the strike zone, but he tended to get hit hard when he left his average stuff over the plate, but now that everything has improved a half grade, he's missed more bats and more barrels. The 6'3" righty has a durable frame and now has 192.2 collegiate innings under his belt despite the pandemic robbing him a full middle season, and his simplified delivery should help him stick as a back-end starter. The Indianapolis native signed for full slot value at $160,800.
16-465: RHP Jack Anderson, Florida State. Unranked.
This one might seem a bit under the radar, but Jack Anderson always caught my eye despite having more famous teammates. He had a strong year out of the Florida State bullpen and put up a 2.48 ERA with a 45/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 40 innings, usually working about one to two innings at a time. Anderson works with a low 90's fastball, a sharp mid 80's slider, and a changeup that gives him a third average or better pitch. He pounds the strike zone with everything and after walking three in his season-opening tuneup against North Florida, he went on a run of fourteen consecutive appearances without a free pass spanning 27.2 innings and struck out 35 in that span. I'm not usually a fan of college relievers, but I'll cut some slack in the sixteenth round despite the Tampa native's lack of a plus pitch because I think he'll make everything work really well together. If the Tigers can perhaps bring another tick of velocity out of his fastball, which I think is possible given his sturdy 6'3" frame, he has a chance to get into some high leverage situations down the line. He signed for $125,000.
