The Detroit Tigers certainly have a “type” when it comes to prospects, and that type is typified by a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher with high velocity and a good pitch mix. There’s nothing wrong with that, either, as it exemplifies a high-use/high-value player that can either be developed within the system or traded as needed.
The Tigers tend to think of prospects in that term of dual-value player, and it makes sense, but unfortunately, it also means they periodically miss out on drafting high-value position players that garner much excitement in the system.
With that in mind, let’s look backward and ask “Which prospect was one the Tigers should have picked instead?”
To make it easier, here’s a good database of the draft picks by year, so you can see who was selected around the same time the Tigers made their first picks, to get an idea of who they might have taken instead: Baseball Almanac Draft by Year
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