Thursday, October 01

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DETROIT – The Tigers entered the summer with a maturing farm system feeling the impacts from a series of promotions to Detroit, still with very good prospects at the top but questions about depth. The past month has provided a makeover.

Between last month’s MLB Draft and last week’s Trade Deadline, arguably no organization had as much of an infusion of high-end talent as the Tigers, and their updated Top 30 prospect rankings reflect it. Half of the updated top 10 was not in the organization at the start of July. They’re now up to five prospects in the MLB Pipeline Top 100 for the first time since the start of the 2025 season, though Max Clark’s eventual graduation from prospect status will drop that count back to four.

Four of the Top 10 additions came from Detroit’s Trade Deadline deals. The other, right-hander Cameron Flukey, was the Tigers’ top pick in the MLB Draft. The fact that Flukey, a standout pitcher at Coastal Carolina who dropped to Detroit’s spot due to a rib injury that shortened his college season, debuted on the list outside the top five is a tribute to the newfound depth in the system.

Just as important to the Tigers’ fortunes is the infusion of pitching to a hitter-loaded system. A month ago, High-A West Michigan left-hander Ben Jacobs was the Tigers’ top-ranked pitching prospect, having just climbed the list to No. 5. Now, balance has been restored. Half of the updated Top 10 are pitchers, including Jacobs at No. 7. 

“I think there was a little bit of imbalance for us before we got to this month where we had a lot of position player talent,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said last week. “I think we were a little bit lighter on the pitching side, and the opportunity to add River Ryan, to add Kash Mayfield, to add Cameron Flukey and some other really interesting arms in the Draft, it really changes the trajectory of this organization.”

Here’s a look at the Tigers’ top prospects:

1. Max Clark, OF (MLB No. 13)

2. Zyhir Hope, OF (MLB No. 28)

3. Bryce Rainer, SS (MLB No. 48)

4. River Ryan, RHP (MLB No. 66)

5. Josue Briceño, C/1B (No. 69)

Complete Top 30 list » 

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:

Jump: Brett Callahan, OF (Preseason: NR | Midseason: 19) – Callahan has shown steady improvement at each level since the Tigers drafted him in the 13th round in 2023 out of St. Joseph’s. The difference this season is health; he already has set a career high for games played, which goes with career bests in home runs, doubles and stolen bases. If the power translates in Triple-A, he could be in line for a call to Detroit.

Fall: Franyerber Montilla, SS (Preseason: 12 | Midseason: 30) – After an ACL tear in his left knee ended his breakout season last July, the question with Montilla was how he’d look coming back to action. Unfortunately, Montilla played in just three games in June before injuring his right knee on a non-contact play. He went back on the full-season injured list.

New to the list

Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:

2. Zyhir Hope, OF (trade from Dodgers)

4. River Ryan, RHP (trade from Dodgers) 

6. Cameron Flukey, RHP (first-round Draft pick) 

8. Kash Mayfield, LHP (trade from Padres)

10. Brady Smith, RHP (trade from Dodgers)

17. Tyson LeBlanc, SS (second-round Draft pick)

18. Evan Dempsey, RHP (second-round Draft pick)

26. Will Adams, 1B (11th-round Draft pick)

Best tools

As rated on a 20-80 scale, where 50 is average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 60 – Max Clark

Power: 60 -- Josue Briceño (Zyhir Hope, Bryce Rainer, Cris Rodriguez, Thayron Liranzo)

Run: 70 – Clark

Arm: 70 -- Rainer

Defense: 60 – Clark (John Peck)

Fastball: 65 – River Ryan

Curveball: 60 – Lucas Elissalt

Slider: 60 -- Ryan (Malachi Witherspoon)

Changeup: 60 – Brady Smith (Kash Mayfield)

Control: 55 – Cameron Flukey (Mayfield, Evan Dempsey)

On Thursday, Keider Montero, Tyler Holton and Kenley Jansen combined to shut out Cleveland without recording a strikeout, the first strikeout-less shutout by an MLB team since then-Tiger Rick Porcello went the distance against the A’s on July 1, 2014. Which former AL strikeout champion was the starter the last time the Tigers did that before Porcello?

A. Mickey Lolich

B. Frank Tanana

C. Virgil Trucks

D. Justin Verlander

• Josue Briceño was promoted to Triple-A Toledo earlier this week after slugging eight home runs in just 17 games with Double-A Erie following his return from wrist surgery. He hit a three-run double Tuesday in his first game as a Mud Hen.

• Cameron Flukey made his pro debut on Wednesday, tossing 1 1/3 hitless innings for Single-A Lakeland with two walks and two strikeouts. He threw five different pitch types, including a fastball that topped out at 95.3 mph.

D. Justin Verlander

Verlander tossed eight scoreless innings without a walk or a strikeout against the Twins on May 17, 2006, before Todd Jones pitched a scoreless ninth. The Tigers have three strikeout-less shutouts in the last 20 years, while the other 29 teams combined have one.

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