Tigers Add To Talented Prep Hitter Pipeline in New MLB Mock Draft
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The 2025 MLB draft features a strong class of prep hitters, and the Detroit Tigers, perhaps more than any other team, are positioned to capitalize on that.
After making the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons in their 2024 campaign, the Tigers will now pick outside of the top 20 for the first time since 2015.
Detroit has the No. 24 overall pick and will look to bolster a stellar farm system that has five prospects inside the top 100.
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They’ve been one of the better teams at producing Major League talent out of their first-round picks, particularly with prep position players.
In the last two drafts, they've hit on first-round picks Bryce Rainer, Max Clark, and Kevin McGonigle, who have all translated immediately well to the pro level.
With this year’s draft class boasting eight high schoolers in the top 15 of the MLB Pipeline rankings, the Tigers are expected to continue that trend.
Keith Law with The Athletic (subscription required) released his latest MLB mock draft and has them landing a position player out of IMG Academy in Florida.
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At No. 24, he has Detroit selecting second baseman/outfielder Sean Gamble.
“Gamble is the kind of high-upside athlete Tigers scouting director Mark Conner has always favored,” Law wrote.
Law projects that the infielder will move to center field eventually. Moreover, if he isn’t taken in the first round, he’s expected to go to college with a commitment to Vanderbilt.
He projects high school shortstop Steele Hall to the Kansas City Royals at No. 23 but notes that the Tigers would grab him if he falls or a college arm such as Riley Quick.
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Detroit will also pick again at No. 34 between the first and second rounds with a Competitive Balance Round A pick.
Gamble certainly fits the bill of a lefty position player out of high school, which describes Rainer, Clark, and McGonigle.
The Tigers have the luxury of choosing and drafting the best young player available instead of making need-based picks, thanks to their on-field success and the development of homegrown talent through their farm system.
This could potentially lead them to select Gamble at No. 24, given the flexibility of having two picks close together at the end of the first round.
For more Tigers news, head over to Tigers On SI.
Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com