More juggling, calculating, speculating – and hoping – were part Monday of what the Tigers insist was a fruitful second day of selecting in the 2023 MLB Draft.
The Tigers went big early in scooping-up a pair of prep hotshots they seem sure they can steer from college commitments.
Paul Wilson, a poised, 18-year-old left-handed starter from Lake Oswego, Oregon, was snagged by the Tigers with their first turn Monday, in the draft’s third round.
They followed by going for their fourth position player in Detroit’s first five 2023 choices: Carson Rucker, a shortstop from Madison, Tennessee, who was on his way to the University of Tennessee ahead of the Tigers’ fourth-round bid to make him an immediate pro.
It was otherwise a day of piggy-backing from pitchers to position talent with the eight picks from Day Two of the draft, with a final 10 selections wrapping up the 2023 MLB flesh-feast Tuesday.
“I can say we got players we really liked, from scouting and analytics and player development perspectives,” said Mark Conner, the Tigers first-year director of amateur scouting, appraising Monday’s haul. “We got a lot of excellent players we really like.”
If Tigers draft-fiends were looking Monday for a potential later-round prize, they might have gotten one in the day’s most fascinating pick: 18-year-old, right-handed pitcher Jatnk Diaz, 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, and an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who, because of tangled admissions issues with his high school, sat out his senior year and pitched for the Williamsport Crosscutters in the MLB Draft League.
“Honestly, if we’re talking about scouting opportunities, he (Diaz) is truly an example,” said Conner, who along with Tigers assistant general manager Rob Metzler, raved Monday about the consortium of scouts and Tigers staffers who have made this draft year nearly idyllic in the eyes of those charged with overhauling Detroit’s draft-day fortunes.
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“A big, strong man with a lively fastball,” Conner said of Diaz. “A big, exciting player. We’re thrilled.”
A day the Tigers insisted was particularly gratifying was set in motion by those first two dice-rolls on talented teens courted by two big colleges: Wilson (Oregon State) and Rucker, who now isn’t expected to join the Vols.
How is each being courted by the Tigers? With extra cash likely shaved from under-slot deals (MLB assesses dollar-values for each of the slots in each round) the Tigers likely have made with two of their three Sunday draft picks: Max Clark, who was Detroit’s first-round prize, and Max Anderson, a University of Nebraska infielder the Tigers got with the draft’s 45th-overall turn.
Metzler conceded, artfully, that the Tigers on Sunday and Monday were piecing together options and puzzle-pieces that fit Detroit’s scouting wishes – and fit within MLB’s rather rigorously policed bonus-allowances each team is handed.
“I would say we’re really pleased with the preparation from our whole group to give us opportunities to weigh each pick in each draft class entirely,” Metzler said, measuring his words. “Every pick has influence on another pick.
“There’s a bonus system, and resources, and we’re going to be as aggressive as possible to use each dollar. You have to maximize each opportunity as best you can.”
They doubtless pushed heavy dollars at Wilson, the first pitcher chosen by Detroit in this year’s MLB sweepstakes. He is the son of eight-year MLB reliever Trevor Wilson and has the size (6-3, 180) and pedigree that sold Tigers scouts.
“He’s got good arm action and delivery, mid-90s fastball that flashes upper 90s, slider, curveball, change-up – really, really good projection. Just a lot of upside with him,” Conner said.
“A lot of the staff is super-excited about him and pumped to get him.”
Rucker, also, was a possible trophy the Tigers chased with scouting zeal and with calculators whirring as Detroit wagered what it might take to win his signature on a fourth-round contract.
“He projects really well,” Conner said of a right-handed hitter, 6-2, 195, who in time probably will shift to third base. “He’s got some strength to him. Probably, he’ll fill out and long-term we’ll see. But he’s got a really good swing and emerging power.
“Another thing is that, for his size, he shows you plus-speed, and a really, really good baseball internal clock.”
The Tigers took four more starting pitchers in the latter rounds (including Diaz) as well as a catcher (Bennett Lee from Wake Forest) and a shortstop (John Peck, Pepperdine).
They’ll put a flourish, they hope, on the Tigers front office’s new draft practices, during Tuesday’s final 10 rounds.
Monday’s Tigers selections
Third round: Paul Wilson, LH pitcher, Lakeridge High, Lake Oswego, OR, 6-3, 180: Has nice DNA in that his dad, Trevor Wilson, pitched eight seasons in the big leagues. Fastball in low 90s, with a strong second-pitch slider. Tigers will lure him from his Oregon State commitment.
Fourth round: Carson Rucker, SS/3B, Goodpasture Christian High, Madison, Tenn., 6-2, 195, RH batter: Potential steal here in that Rucker was headed to Tennessee but now is expected to sign an over-slot deal and bring the Tigers significant left-side infield talent, eventually at third base. Power is there now and could develop into plus-power as he migrates through the Tigers farmlands.
Fifth round: Jaden Hamm, RH starter, Middle Tennessee St., 6-1, 190: Not a super-big arm or awesome velocity here, but Hamm has back-end rotation projections and a strong curveball that hints at a broader and stronger repertoire. Conner repeated Monday, several times, that Hamm has exceptional skill for spinning a baseball.
Sixth round: Bennett Lee, C, Wake Forest, 6-0, 215, RH batter: More likely a solid back-up MLB catcher, with good defense, and the knack for taking a walk (think: Scott Harris and Detroit’s first-commandment creed about strikes). His experience playing grand-stage baseball with first-round pitching talent (Brett Lowder) makes Lee a nice investment for a team in endless quests for catching.
Seventh round: John Peck, SS, Pepperdine, 6-0, 185, RH batter: Great bat-speed and exit-velocities, but so rough in so many ways that a load of development work lay ahead if Peck is to become even a part-time option for a MLB club.
Eighth round: Jatnk Diaz, RH starter, 6-4, 215, Hazleton Area High, Williamsport Crosscutters MLB Draft League, 18 years old: Could someday be a whopper of a story from this 2023 draft. An immigrant from the Dominican Republic who didn’t qualify because of red tape for high school the past year. He pitched instead in the MLB Draft League – and wowed a few Tigers scouts who love that they were able to lasso Diaz. A big young man, with big stuff.
Ninth round: Hayden Minton, RH starter, Missouri State, 6-3, 210: He had 96 strikeouts in 84 innings the past spring and profiles as one of those less-polished big lads who could use a steady dose of development doctoring on Lakeland’s baseball tracts.
10th round: Andrew Sears, LH starter, Connecticut, 6-3, 210: Another pitcher with strikeout stuff (74 in 62 innings). “He’s a big-bodied left-hander,” Conner said, “who’s shown ability to log a lot of innings. He has a low slot that adds a lot of deception and pitchabilty. He’s a left-hander just coming into his own.”
Lynn Henning is a freelance writer and former Detroit News reporter.
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