Detroit Tigers select outfielder Akil Baddoo in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft

The Detroit Tigers have selected Akil Baddoo with the third overall pick in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft.

It may not be that exciting for most Detroit Tigers fans, and some may not have even known it was taking place, but the Rule 5 Draft leaves the Tigers with a new player on the 40-man roster. The Tigers selected outfielder Akil Baddoo with the third overall pick in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft.

The Tigers had cleared space for the Rule 5 Draft earlier this week when they parted ways with Anthony Castro and placed him on waivers where the Toronto Blue Jays claimed him. He has been replaced by Baddoo, who was selected from the Minnesota Twins organization.

Baddoo is a former second-round selection from the 2016 MLB First-Year Amateur Draft who is just twenty-two years old. The last time he played an affiliated game was in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic that kept Minor League Baseball off the field.

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In 2019, Baddoo played in 29 games at the High-a level where he hit .214/.290/.393 with four home runs and nine RBI before an injury would leave him requiring Tommy John Surgery.

He will be back on the field and be someone the Tigers seem to believe in.

His 2018 season was much better for Baddoo at the Single-A level; he played in 113 games where he hit .243/.351/.419 with 11 home runs, 40 RBI, and 24 stolen bases.

Baddoo will have to make quite the jump for the Tigers during the 2021 season due to the Rule 5 rules.

Baddoo will join the 26-man roster and can not be removed from that without the risk of him being claimed or returned to the Twins. If the Tigers want to remove him, he would need to be passed through outright waivers; after that, he has to be offered to the Twins, who can choose to take him back.

The Detroit Tigers will have to get creative since Akil Baddoo must stay on the 26-man roster; expect Baddoo to get at-bats late in games.

That being said, the Tigers will likely be seeing Baddoo in the big leagues during the 2021 season. He will likely follow similarly what Victor Reyes did during his first season with the Tigers. Expect Baddoo to be worked into big leagues in a special way.

Baddoo will likely be the pinch-hitter who gets at-bats late in games, or there will be pinch-runner appearances or even just defensive replacements. The Tigers will have to ease him in since he has never played higher than High-A with the Twins organization.

It means that the Tigers outfield in 2021 is getting a little crowded, they should be looking to sign David Dahl, but that looks like a bigger task than it did after a further look. The outfield now has Baddoo, Travis Demeritte, JaCoby Jones, Victor Reyes, and Christian Stewart, who will compete for time.

Do not forget that the Tigers have Daz Cameron and Derek Hill, who spent time in the big leagues during the 2020 game season. It is not the most exciting selection but given his 2018 season results, and the intrigue of a former second-round selection was enough to warrant a Tigers selection.

Welcome to the Motor City Akil! Detroit Tigers fans can expect to see Baddoo on the field in 2021 at some point.