Detroit Tigers: Forecasting The Best Prospects At Each Position

Take a look into the positive side of things, assuming the best-case scenario. Take a glimpse into what could be a solid Detroit Tigers team of the future by forecasting the future Tigers at each position.

The Detroit Tigers suck, let’s face the facts. It has been laid out plenty of times this year that the organization will not be suitable for quite some time. But in the midst of such lousy baseball being played, take a look at the farm system and what it could be breeding for the future.

GM Al Avila has not done the best job filling out the farm system (i.e., first base) or even really trying to acquire, sign, or draft, that true rookie of the year candidate. Working with what the farm system does possess offers a better look as to what the Tigers future looks like.

The following slides will look at the “All-Prospects Team” and who the best prospect will be from each position. Each position was chosen based off of the Fangraphs rankings, MLB Pipeline’s top prospect lists, Baseball America rankings, and some personal opinion based on judgment.

There is going to be players who could be on this list like Wenceel Perez and Joey Wentz, but picking one player makes the decisions a little tougher. In the case of Perez, he could show some more signs of a top-tier prospect before being considered over someone like Willi Castro or Isaac Paredes.

Not including Joey Wentz was more of a personal choice, Franklin Perez has the chance to be a solid pitcher if he can remain healthy. Wentz has to get acclimated to a new organizations’ farm system, come 2020 season the story could be different. There are plenty of prospects within the Tigers system. These are the nine players that I believe have the best stake at remaining around for the long haul and becoming everyday guys or consistent pitchers in the rotation.

The Tigers are not going to have this exact starting nine, and five-person rotation in, say 2022, guys like Matthew Boyd, Niko Goodrum, Dawel Lugo, and Miguel Cabrera could still be around taking up some spots, but picking a full “All-Prospects Team” these are the guys that make it up. Also a little teaser. The Tigers have no first baseman “prospects” worth anything, so the first base nominee is a player who is no longer a prospect. He was and could make a positional change to benefit himself and the team.

The best-case scenario would be that at least three to four of these guys pan out as solid major-league players, but in reality, not all of these guys are going to make it to the big leagues and be all-stars. The hope is that at least some of them do. Hopefully, some of them will provide assistance once the team starts getting back on track and looking like a competitive ball club again.