Three Detroit Tigers Prospects Who Could Benefit From Bounce Back Next Year
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The Detroit Tigers have become a team that will compete for playoff spots and even division titles. Impressively, they've done this largely through their own minor league system. Their best players, Tarik Skubal, Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson were all drafted by Detroit.
Drafting and developing was a core strength for the Tigers over the course of their rebuild, and it appears as if that will continue. Their system is loaded with top prospects Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark and Jackson Jobe appearing as if they're going to be key contributors going forward.
As good as the system is, especially at the top, a couple of prospects had down seasons in 2025. Those prospects could use a bounce back season in 2026 because some of them could make their debuts. Three, in particular, standout as players that could benefit from a good season: Thayron Liranzo, Jaden Hamm and Ty Madden.
C/1B Thayron Liranzo
Detroit has two catchers ranked in their top ten prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, and Liranzo is the lower of the two at number five. A 2024 Futures Game participant, Liranzo was acquired at that deadline in exchange for Jack Flaherty.
His standout season came in 2023 at Single-A when he hit .272 with 24 homers, 70 RBI and a .962 OPS. After being traded in 2024, Liranzo hit .315 with five homers and a 26:20 walk to strikeout ratio in 26 games. At Double-A in 2025, he had his worst season as a pro.
In 88 games, the 22-year-old hit .206 with 16 doubles, 11 home runs, 45 RBIs and a career low .659 OPS. Liranzo's power was down pretty significantly from 2024, going from a .408 slugging percentage to a .351.
Thayron Liranzo just destroyed that ball 😳 pic.twitter.com/iNNg0nmENd
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 2, 2025
The most notable drop off for him was the plate discipline. In 2023, Liranzo walked 70 times for a .400 on-base percentage and 75 walks for a .378 OBP in 2024. However, at the highest level he's played at so far, Liranzo walked only 47 times and had a career low .308 OBP.
Liranzo still has plenty of upside at just 22 at a premium position. The Tigers are loaded at catcher with both Dillon Dingler in the majors and Josue Briceño ahead of Liranzo in the minors, so it would've been difficult for him to break through at the position. However, the bat has been so good that the Tigers could have called him up to DH and even play first.
He'll need a bounce back in 2026 in order for his stock to continue to be high, but the power is still in there somewhere.
RHP Jaden Hamm
Hamm is Detroit's top pitching prospect after the graduation of Jackson Jobe in 2025. The right-hander was excellent at High-A in 2024, throwing 99 innings with a 2.64 ERA, 1.051 WHIP and 122 strikeouts, an 11.1 K/9.
The 23-year-old made two starts at Single-A in 2025, but spent the majority of the season at Double-A and struggled at the new level. Overall, Hamm made 22 starts and took a pretty significant step back. In 88 innings, Hamm had an ERA of 4.70 with a 1.352 WHIP and just 80 strikeouts, an 8.2 K/9.
Jaden Hamm did Jaden Hamm things tonight.
— West Michigan Whitecaps (@wmwhitecaps) June 22, 2024
WP, 5IP, 1R, 2H, 6Ks 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/5PzDX7l80f
Although the Tigers system is stacked with bats, they've graduated all of their best pitching prospects in recent seasons. With Hamm's down season, there wasn't an arm that stood out above him as a dominant starter in 2025. His bounce back is more important than even Liranzo.
Aside from Tarik Skubal, Detroit doesn't have any reliable arms in the rotation. Jack Flaherty had a down year, Casey Mize was bad in the second half and Jackson Jobe is out after having Tommy John. The Tigers might need Hamm in the big leagues in 2026, so he needs to have a good showing in the high minors to begin the year.
RHP Ty Madden
Madden was drafted out of the University of Texas in 2021 and already made his debut in 2024, but is still the Tigers' number 15 prospect. The right-hander came out of the gate hot, starting 26 and 25 games in each of his first two seasons.
In 2022, he posted a 3.01 ERA and 9.8 K/9 in 122 innings and followed it up with a 3.43 ERA and 11.1 K/9 in 118 innings the following season. It looked like the right-hander might fly through the minors and join the rotation in short order. He reached the majors in 2024, but it was his worst season as a professional.
Although he's on the IL, Ty Madden is an interesting pitcher.
— Remi Bunikiewicz (@RBunikiewicz) July 15, 2025
Here's a mini-thread at what piques my interest:🧵 pic.twitter.com/Az4xZk4yE3
He started the season with four starts in Double-A before reaching Triple-A where things started to go down hill.
Madden made 22 minor league starts that season and struck out 11.1 batters per nine, but he posted a 6.98 ERA and allowed 1.7 home runs per nine innings. He was unable to limit damage and even struggled with base runners period with a 1.593 WHIP.
He was called up towards the end of the year, making six appearances with one start. In 23 innings, Madden struck out 17 while allowing 11 earned runs, coming to. 4.30 ERA.
In 2025, Madden didn't pitch at any level and spent the entire year on the 60-day IL with a injury to his throwing shoulder. He may not be himself right away, but like Hamm, the Tigers might need him to contribute in the big leagues. He hasn't been effective since 2023 and Detroit could use that version of Madden to bring depth to the major league rotation.
