| The Detroit News
With their outfield in need of any and all help, the Tigers added a low-cost candidate Thursday when they plucked Akil Baddoo from the Minnesota Twins as the third overall pick in the 2020 MLB Rule 5 Draft.
Baddoo, who is from Conyers, Georgia, is a 22-year-old, left-handed hitter who figures to help most at a corner outfield spot — should the Tigers decide to carry him on their active roster for all of 2021. Baddoo is 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, with speed and latent power that the Tigers believe could evolve.
Baddoo is not an unknown. He was regarded going into the Rule 5 Draft as a possible pick-up, with his lack of playing time the past two years the biggest hitch. Baddoo had Tommy John surgery in 2019 and played in only 29 games. He didn’t see regular activity until this autumn’s Twins instructional camp.
In four minor-league seasons, Baddoo — who was a second-round pick by the Twins — has a .249 batting average, .357 on-base percentage and .422 slugging average, which is rounded to an OPS of .780.
“Akil had standout tools when he signed out of high school, and we’ve definitely seen them on display during his time in professional baseball,” Al Avila, Tigers executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager, said in a statement. “We’ve seen the power, speed and defense from him, and are excited for him to work with our coaching staff. He’s got the rare athletic ability to be a high-level defender in the outfield and really impact the ball from the left side of the plate, and we look forward to him showing it this coming season.”
Baddoo was ranked the Twins’ No. 13 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
Rule 5 picks are available because they have had qualifying time in the minor leagues but aren’t part of the possessing team’s 40-man roster. An acquiring team pays $100,000 to the team from which the player is being assumed, with one-half of that purchase price returned if the player isn’t carried for the entire ensuing season on the active roster.
The Tigers were themselves dented in the early rounds of Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft. They lost right-handed reliever Will Vest to the Mariners with the draft’s 12th overall pick.
This is a developing story. Check back to detroitnews.com for more updates.