Detroit Tigers

Draft History
Parker Meadows - protection
4 - Henry Davis
22 - Heston Kjerstad
31 - Michael Busch
58 - Emmanuel Valdez
59 - Brandon Williamson
61 - Xavier Edwards
91 - Quinn Priester
102 - Jake Alu

2023
Riley Greene - protection
20 - Jhoan Duran
50 - Ezequiel Duran
80 - Josh Winkowski
109 - Ivan Herrera
140 - Jonathan Heasley

2022
Matt Manning - protection
7 - Vidal Brujan
35 - Tim Mayza
97 - Owen Miller
127 - Austin Wynns

2021
Casey Mize - protection
6 - Luis Campusano
27 - Lewin Diaz
36 - Jesus Sanchez
66 - Drew Rasmussen
96 - Andrew Young
144 - J.T. Riddle
174 - Eric Thames

2020
Spencer Turnbull - protection
10 - Trent Grisham
70 - Jaylin Davis
100 - Peter Lambert
122 - Kelvin Gutierrez
130 - Tanner Rainey

2019
Niko Goodrum - protection
7 - Tyler O'Neill
37 - Fernando Romero
58 - Kevin Kramer
67 - Dennis Santana
97 - Stephan Gonsalves

2018
no protection
2 - J.P. Crawford
30A - Amir Garrett
32 - Richard Urena
92 - Tanner Scott
119 - Gabriel Moya

2017
Michael Fulmer - protection
4 - A.J. Reed
76 - Jake Thompson
96 - JaCoby Jones

2016
Matt Boyd - protection
3 - Kyle Schwarber
33 - Jorge Lopez
63 - Darnell Sweeney
93 - Chris Rusin
123 - Alex Meyer

2015
Steven Moya - protection
4 - Daniel Norris
14 - Kennys Vargas
38 - Rafael Montero
57 - Robbie Ray
60 - James Jones
66 - Efren Navarro
104 - Hector Noesi

2014
Nick Castellanos - protection

2 - Mike Zunino
27 - Jake Marisnik
32 - Allen Webster
62 - Danny Valencia
92 - Chad Bettis
108 - Jose Dominguez

2013
Avisail Garcia - protection
20 - Dan Straily
22 - Darin Ruf
82 - Will Smith
89 - Casey Crosby
110 - Esmel Rogers
120 - Mike Nickeas

2012

Jacob Turner - protection
68 - Ezequiel Carrera
95 - Brett Pill
114 - Aneury Rodriguez
144 - Jeremy Moore

2011
Austin Jackson - protection

57 - Miguel Cairo
87 - Mark Grudzeilanek
92 - Jason Repko

117 - Luis Atilano
147 - Ronnie Belliard

2010
Rick Porcello - protection
50 - Kenshin Kawakami
110 - Lance Cormier
124 - Darnell McDonald
140 - Chris Jakubauskas

2009
Armando Galarraga - protection
75 - Ramon Santiago
79 - Craig Breslow
109 - Roy Corcoran
130 - Aquilino Lopez
139 - Cody Ransom

2008
Cameron Maybin - protection
41 - Dustin Moseley
74 - Augie Ojeda
106 - Delwyn Young

2007
Joel Zumaya - protection
2 - Howie Kendrick
53 - Carlos Marmol
65 - Joe Biemel
113 - Bryan Corey
130 - Raul Chavez

2006
Justin Verlander - protection
7 - J.J. Hardy
67 - Omar Quintanilla

73 - Dana Eveland
137 - Chris Widger

2005
Curtis Granderson - protection
2 - Casey Kotchman
32 - J.D. Durbin
62 - Jairo Garcia
63 - Val Majewski
74 - Brendan Harris
87 - Andres Blanco
131 - Ray Lankford

2004
Jeremy Bonderman - protection
10 - Chad Gaudin
40 - Kevin Correia
70 - Jeremy Griffiths
87 - Danny Garcia

95 - Edwards Guzman
100 - Noah Lowry
136 - Nick Punto

2003
Mike Maroth - protection

19 - Aaron Cook
21 - Colby Lewis
44 - Alexis Gomez
67 - Jason Romano
82 - Corey Thurman
97 - Tony Torcato

2002
Victor Santos - protection
15 - Dave Coggin
29 - Craig Wilson
64 - Brandon Inge
93 - Tike Redman
101 - Brian Roberts

2001

23 - Ray King
30 - Tony McKnight
102 - Derrick Turnbow

105 - Clay Bellinger
132 - Charles Nagy

2025 Detroit Tigers

2024: 72-90, 4th place in the AL Central

Overview: 2024 was a disappointing season for the Tigers until Lottery day. They were selected #2 in the lottery, becoming the big winner as they moved up from #10. Detroit has some high level prospects coming up and now a very high draft pick. Will that mean we will be seeing this team in the playoffs soon?

Starting Rotation: It’s Jose Berrios and then pray for rain in the Tigers rotation right now. Berrios is a very solid starter, but he needs lots of help. Casey Mize will give the Cats a lot of starts, but that’s all I can say. Matthew Boyd, Quinn Priester, Matt Manny, and Brandon Williamson are all limited for various reasons. Detroit management will have to address this at the draft or via trade just to make it through the season. Look for things to improve next season as Top Prospect Jackson Jobe should be filling a rotation stop.

Bullpen: The Tigers are another team with more than one closer. Jhoan Duran is the fan favorite here and should be the closer in 2025. Detroit has been shopping lefty Tanner Scott, but nothing has happened yet. If he stays, this will be a nice one two punch at the end of games. Josh Winckowski is a nice middle reliever and should see lots of appearances. Aging lefties Tim Mayza and Will Smith will have to hope they pitch well enough to earn spots this year. Drew Rasmussen is coming back from injury and will see some time. He could be an opener if Detroit wanted to go that route.

Designated Hitter: There is no DH on this roster. You could see multiple players getting at bats here. Not sure that is a bad thing, as it will allow Detroit to keep some excess position players if they can’t move them.

Outfield: One of the scarier batters in baseball is Kyle Schwarber. He has tremendous power and is in scoring position at the plate. His defense has gotten better, so he will not hurt the team in leftfield. Centerfielder Parker Meadows plays great defense and should be available for over half the season. Riley Greene will slide into center when Meadows must sit, but is much better as a corner outfielder. He is a very important piece for this team moving forward. Youngster Heston Kjerstad will be up some to cover rightfield, but Detroit needs to add another outfield or move a utility guy out there.

Infield: “C is for cookie that’s good enough for me.” Unfortunately it’s not for cookie in Detroit. Look for the Tigers’ infield to choke often. 2024 2nd round draft pick Michael Busch is a nice addition at 1st base to replace the retired Miguel Cabrera. He plays great D and has some pop. Shortstop is crowded, but both J.P. Crawford and Xavier Edwards could play a lot. Look for Edwards to get some time at DH. He has been rumored to be on the block, but Tiger fans want him to stay. 3rd base and 2nd base are sort of a mess. Ezequiel Duran is the only 3rd baseman on the roster and shouldn’t be relied on to make a full season. Vidal Brujan and Enmanuel Valdez will cover 2nd base and play good defense but are not going to help the offense.

Catcher: Detroit has a nice young group of catchers. Ivan Herrera and Luis Campusano will get the bulk of the starts behind the dish. Opposing base stealers will be licking their chops though. Henry Davis could spell these guys some and hope he continues to improve.

Outlook: I know that Tigers management is considering trying to make a run at the playoffs. To do that they will have to be aggressive on the trade front. They don’t have a ton to trade player wise without hurting the offense. They have some other options. They could draft a very nice starting pitcher at #2, they could draft a nice hitter (OF or 2B/3B), or they could trade down. I think the Tigers will miss the playoffs and possibly finish 5th in the division. It might not be a bad idea to stand pat and let these guys develop while adding another nice piece at #2. It’s tempting to trade Schwarber, but every team needs that banger, and Detroit will definitely need him to contend.