The restocked Tigers farm system reached an intriguing intersection in 2020. Its top pitching prospects, the heart of the rebuilding effort that began four years ago, began to graduate to the big leagues last summer. At the same time, its buildup of hitting prospects accelerated with the selection of Spencer Torkelson with the top overall pick in what proved for the Tigers to be a hitter-heavy Draft.
The combination of pitching and hitting talent resulted in five Tigers among the top 25 in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list. It also resulted in arguably the deepest Tigers rankings in memory, certainly in the top 10, and the farm system ranks as the
second-best in baseball.
Only shortstop Willi Castro graduated from the top 10 of last year’s list. Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Isaac Paredes and Daz Cameron still qualify for now, even though they all finished last season in Detroit. At the same time, three of Detroit’s updated Top 10 joined the organization last year through the Draft, all position players.
As more prospects reach Detroit and stay there, the Tigers rankings will likely look a lot different. This year’s Draft, where the Tigers have the third overall pick, will further change it. For now, though, the Tigers are in the sweet spot of talent.
As Torkelson said after his Draft, “It’s a great time to be a Tiger.”
Here’s a look at the Tigers’ top prospects:
- Spencer Torkelson, 3B/1B (MLB No. 3)
- Casey Mize, RHP (No. 11)
- Riley Greene, OF (No. 21)
- Tarik Skubal, LHP (No. 24)
- Matt Manning, RHP (No. 25)
