The Detroit Tigers’ farm system appears to be heavy on hitters when it comes to their top-end talent.
Baseball America sees the Tigers replenishing their pitching at the top of this summer’s MLB Draft.
The outlet released its second “staff draft” on Monday, covering the first 75 picks in the draft, to be held July 11-12 in Philadelphia, including Tigers selections at No. 22, 61 and 69. Baseball America has the Tigers spending two of those picks on pitching, starting with prep righthander Coleman Borthwick at No. 22.
Borthwick is a 6-foot-6, 255-pound prospect out of South Walton High School in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.
“I like most of the high school arms on the board here more than their college peers, which is no surprise if you’ve followed my thoughts on the draft for a while,” writes Carlos Collazo, Baseball America’s MLB Draft reporter, who selected for the Tigers. “Borthwick is huge, yes, but he’s got an electric fastball/slider combo with great athleticism for his size and more advanced control than you might expect because of that.”
Geoff Pontes has the Tigers taking Florida State lefty Wes Mendes at No. 61. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Mendes owns a 2.43 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 11 starts for the Seminoles this season, with 86 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched as a junior.
“Mendes has enjoyed an excellent season at FSU and shows five different shapes,” Pontes writes, “including a fastball with good ride and extension. Perhaps there’s more velocity and better angles to unlock.”
Baseball America has the Tigers taking Luke Williams, a shortstop/outfielder from Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania at No. 69, which is a competitive-balance selection.
Any influx in pitching talent could help provide some balance to a Tigers farm system that, according to evaluators, is dominated at the top by hitters. In Baseball America’s list of top 30 Tigers prospects, hitters hold the top 10 spots. In MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Tigers prospects, hitters occupy the first nine slots.
Those lists will see some movement shortly, as Tigers rookie infielder and current No. 2 overall prospect Kevin McGonigle graduates from prospect status. Infielder Hao-Yu Lee, another top-10 Detroit prospect, also is on the major-league roster, and clubbed his first homer for the Tigers in Sunday’s 8-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Baseball America slotted Texas outfielder Aiden Robbins to the Tigers in first round of its first staff draft last month, in a selection made by Jacob Rudner, the outlet’s national college reporter.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers add pitching in Baseball America’s latest ‘staff draft’
Reporting by Daren Tomhave, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
