Tigers Land Powerful College Pitcher in First Round of Early MLB Mock Draft
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The Detroit Tigers have enjoyed pushing for an American League pennant the past two years. But there is a downside when it comes to the MLB draft.
The Tigers won’t select as high as they’ve gotten used to when they were not winning games. For the second straight draft, the Tigers will pick in the 20s, as Detroit has the No. 22 overall pick. After having selections in single digits in six of nine drafts from 2016-2024, it’s a small price to pay. And there is still plenty of talent to chase.
Baseball America (subscription required) published its first MLB mock draft for 2026 earlier this week, after the MLB Draft lottery set the final order for the first round. With the No. 22 pick, the publication has the Tigers taking a college pitcher for the first time since 2018 with TCU’s Tommy LaPour.
About Tommy LaPour
The scouts at Baseball America love LaPour’s frame, as he stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 230 pounds. He can already hit 100 mph on the radar guy and plays for TCU coach Kirk Saarloos, a former Major League pitcher who before becoming a head coach was a college pitching coach.
He transferred to TCU from Wichita State before the 2025 season and made an immediate impact on the Horned Frogs. He started 16 games and went 8-3 with a 3.09 ERA. He finished with a team-high 88 strikeouts and 90.1 innings while batters hit just .213 against him.
He was named a NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy Award semifinalist, NCBWA second-team All-American, Big 12 All-Tournament team and first-team All-Big 12 Conference. Before arriving at TCU, he was named American Conference newcomer pitcher of the year, all-freshman team and second-team all-conference.
Tigers Recent First-Round Picks
Going back to 2018, the Tigers have done a good job of finding Major League talent in the first round. That run started with pitcher Casey Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, who enters the 2026 season as Detroit’s No. 3 starter. The following draft, Detroit selected Riley Greene No. 5 overall. He is now a two-time All-Star and has hit 76 home runs since his MLB debut in 2022. In 2020, the Tigers selected Spencer Torkelson No. 1 overall. After slumping in 2024, he had a bounce-back season offensively in 2025 to help Detroit reach the playoffs for the second straight season.
In 2021, the Tigers went for prep pitching and drafted Jackson Jobe No. 3 overall. He made his MLB debut in 2024, started the 2025 season in the Tigers rotation and had to have Tommy John surgery before the summer. He could be ready to pitch late next season. Detroit’s 2022 first-round pick, infielder Jace Jung, made the opening-day roster but spent much of his season at Triple-A after he struggled in the Majors.
The future is bright in the minor leagues. Max Clark (2023) and Bryce Rainer (2024) both have great potential to make the Majors in the next few years. The Tigers also took two players in the first round last July — prep shortstop Jordan Yost and prep catcher Michael Oliveto.
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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