Detroit Tigers Mock Draft of first 4 selections in 2021 MLB Draft

The Detroit Tigers have the third overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. Following that, they will have four picks in the first 105 selections. That takes the draft just into the fourth round due to the compensation rounds and competitive balance rounds.

It is pretty well known that the Detroit Tigers will be adding another top talent with the third overall pick. The bigger question is: who? There has been plenty of theories on who will go early on in the draft.

With two prep shortstops at the top of the list, two Vanderbilt arms, a Louisville catcher, and a prep pitcher, there is a lot of speculation to be done. There are a couple of players the Tigers would be smart to select; the best scenario is the one where the team drafts Leiter.

In all honesty, prep shortstop Marcelo Mayer might be too good to pass up for the Pittsburgh Pirates, which would put the Texas Rangers on the clock at second overall. However, if the Rangers pass up Jordan Lawlar, I would be shocked. The Texas native is incredibly likely to go then, leaving the VandyBoys on the board.

This Detroit Tigers mock draft assumes this is the scenario and Al Avila gets himself a VandyBoy.

For this mock draft, I will go through and make picks through the first four rounds of the draft. After that, it will be five total rounds since the Tigers have the Competitive Balance Round A draft choice. The Tigers have seen General Manager (GM) Al Avila piece together some great draft classes.

The hope is that he can do it again in 2021 and continue to help the ongoing rebuild. Since these picks are based on my subjective opinions based on player rankings and who is slated/likely to be on the board, I will say I prefer collegiate-level talent.

It is not to say that the Tigers should steer clear of high-school talent, as I have them taking two in this cluster of five picks… I just prefer to see a heavier presence of collegiate guys.

That being said, let’s dive into the Detroit Tigers mock draft.

Round 1, Pick 3: Jack Leiter – RHP, Vanderbilt

This may be the dream scenario, but with more and more uncertainty rolling in on the first few picks, I thought I would let the Tigers win the draft right off the bat. However, selecting Vanderbilt University product Jack Leiter at three is a true dream come true.

Leiter is the best arm in this year’s draft, and his stuff is incredible. The right-hander projects to be a future stud in the big leagues based on his stuff. We’ve all seen someone with that same title in recent years; his name is Casey Mize.

While Mize is not a true stud yet, he is looking like he will be something great. If the Tigers can luck into Leiter at third overall, then Avila gets himself a gold star on the report card. The Vanderbilt pitcher should be taken round one, pick one but the prep shortstops might steal that honor.

Leiter carries a four-pitch arsenal but has seldom debuted the changeup a whole lot in college. But with a 2.16 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and 156 punchouts over 96 innings pitched, he really does not need to show it. His fastball that sits in the mid-90s and lately has been more in the upper-90s has great carry to it.

Pair that with two electric breaking balls, and that’s one heck of a way to go. Leiter uses a 12-to-6 breaking curveball, and a slider could become a wipeout type pitch. Both pitches induce swings and misses and cause trouble for opposing hitters.

Leiter’s presence on the mound is menacing and makes him a treat to watch. He is going to profile out as a menace on a big-league mound in the future as well. His stuff is nasty, and the short way to put it, the Tigers have Casey Mize, who wouldn’t want another top-tier pitcher.

Round Comp A, Pick 32: Jay Allen – OF, John Carroll Catholic (Fla.)

When the Detroit Tigers go to make their second draft choice of the first day, outfielder Jay Allen is the player to select. He’s ranked around this range on draft lists, and due to some personal “bias,” I think he would be a great choice here.

I have been fortunate enough to watch Allen lately with John Carroll in the Florida State Championships and some Perfect Game USA events. Allen is a high-school talent who profiles out as a player who will be fun to watch.

From what I have seen, Allen has the tools to become a centerfielder with blazing speed. Routine groundballs become close plays with Allen’s speed on the bases. In addition to the speed, he has shown the ability to drive the baseball, which will be developed over time.

His timing and swing look to be projectable and something the Tigers should not pass up on. The high school talent is incredibly athletic, and he’s another player who is fun to watch.

In the first round, Allen may be coveted by the Miami Marlins or Tampa Bay Rays, who may have better odds with his signability. However, if the Tigers do choose to select Allen, they will have to work against his commitment to play in college rather than turn professional.

He is currently committed to play his college ball for the Florida Gators. So signability may be an issue, but the Tigers should be able to work out an offer that fits with Allen and gets him to turn to professional baseball. But there is some risk with Allen at pick 32, though I still think this would be a great pick.

After seeing the tools on display in person, the speed is explosive, and his ability at the plate looks to be something that will only get better as he develops, grows, and gets older.

Round 2, Pick 39: Casey Opitz – C, Arkansas

With the 39th pick and kicking things off on day two, the Detroit Tigers should follow the same pattern as last year. Dillon Dingler may be fuming while reading this, but selecting Arkansas catcher Casey Opitz is more than worth it.

Dingler is an athlete; he has played all over the field. His catching tools are exciting, and I am not dogging him; he looks like he has got a lot to be excited about himself. I like Dingler and think he has a shot to be an in-house answer for the catching position.

But, Opitz has been incredible for Arkansas and would be a great addition to this organization. Opitz is a fun catcher to watch work, and while Arkansas fell short in their hopes of getting to Omaha, he had a great season.

Based on his tools and abilities behind the dish, selecting Opitz is worth it. He is a college senior, so he may not be all over draft lists, but his ability to handle pitchers, work the zone, and be a game manager is great.

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1381394301557542913?s=20

A high-energy player, Opitz would be a solid addition to the organization and would be able to work his way through the system at his pace. He chose to return to Arkansas for his senior season after going undrafted in the shortened draft of 2020, but he should be picked in 2021.

His 2021 season consisted of 54 games where he hit .255/.365/.346 with 18 total RBI. The hitting stats may not jump off the page, but he’s been a steady hitter for the Razorbacks. He would be someone the Tigers could take and know that his abilities behind the dish will be an asset to the team.

Round 3, Pick 74: Jose Torres – SS, N.C. State

When the Detroit Tigers pick rolls around in the third round, they should select Jose Torres of the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The shortstop’s draft stock is going to be rising as he worked to eliminate the number one ranked Arkansas Razorbacks with his home run in the 2021 Super Regional.

https://twitter.com/NCStateBaseball/status/1404236723140251650?s=20

However, Torres would be the perfect pick; while Opitz was the guy I chose at 39, the Tigers may be better served to select Torres there and go for Opitz here. But for what it’s worth, I had Torres as the third-round pick before the clutch home run, so I’m sticking to the Opitz in the second and Torres in the third plan.

The two-year shortstop at N.C. State hails from the Dominican Republic but went to high school in Maryland. Torres has been mighty good for the Wolfpack, and the stats show that. This past season, in 49 games, Torres slashed .292/.348/.535 with nine long-balls and 43 total RBI.

He is a shortstop who fields his position well and, as shown above, has some sneaky pop in his bat at the plate. A right-handed hitter who has a leg kick that pairs with a swing that looks to be pretty clean, he can barrel up the ball and make the opposing pitchers pay.

Torres would be another infielder to throw into the mix within this organization, one who should be considered exciting. If he continues to develop and become a power threat, the Tigers might stumble into a real nice future big-leaguer with this draft choice if all works out.

The Tigers will not be hurt by adding more prospect infielders, even if he moves, but with his abilities that appear to be pretty polished at short, he could look to solidify a path as a shortstop during his time in the team’s farm system.

Round 4, Pick 104: Cale Lansville – RHP, Thunder Ridge (Col.)

To close this mock draft out, I have the Detroit Tigers taking a flier on a high-school arm, Cale Lansville from Colorado. Once again, I still prefer the collegiate talent, but some of these high-school players are worth a look.

Lansville is a right-handed pitcher who has been a phenomenal prep school talent out of Colorado. His mechanics look to be pretty clean; he has high three-quarters, nearly over the top, arm action that plays well for his fastball and curveball combo.

He has worked his fastball up to 94 mph and sits in the low-90s. It’s a firm look and appears to have some life to it. It’s a high-spin pitch that is spin efficient as well; he could see a bump in velocity and sit in the mid-90s as well.

The opposing hitters already have enough to worry about with a deceptive fastball; Lansville makes it even tougher by dropping in a 12-to-6 hammer breaking ball. It’s a heavy breaking ball that disappears into the dirt or low at minimum.

There are times where he throws it a bit harder, and it gets some more tilt to it than the 12-to-6 hammer. Nonetheless, it provides trouble for hitters and keeps them off-balance. So even if he were to add a hard and tight slider to his repertoire ad distinguishing these two breaking balls as separate, it would probably work out quite well for him.

The Tigers would have some competition with another Tigers ballclub for Lansville. He is committed to play college baseball for the Louisiana State University Tigers, but they just announced that head coach Paul Mainieri is retiring. It is just speculation but, this may be some extra motive for Lanesville to turn to professional ball.

His stuff projects well, and he may not be the biggest starting pitcher, but Lansville would be a solid addition to the Tigers organization and farm system.

This wraps things up for this Detroit Tigers Mock Draft. Overall I had the team selecting three collegiate talents and two high-schoolers in their first five picks. The breakdown is the two pitchers to three position players as well.

Time will tell, but these are just a few possibilities for the Tigers early on in the 2021 MLB Draft.