Breaking down 11 players Detroit Tigers could select at No. 11 overall in 2024 MLB draft

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Breaking down 11 players Detroit Tigers could select at No. 11 overall in 2024 MLB draft

Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press · Detroit Free Press

Sun, Jul 14, 2024 ·

12 min read

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The Detroit Tigers will have to wait.

The Tigers — for just the second time in seven years — will make their first-round selection in the MLB draft outside of the top five picks, at No. 11 overall in the 2024 edition. The player the Tigers pick depends on what other teams do before them, beginning with the Cleveland Guardians , winners of MLB's second-ever draft lottery, picking No. 1 overall.

It's the second draft for president of baseball operations Scott Harris, assistant general manager Rob Metzler and scouting director Mark Conner.

YEAR 1 OF HARRIS: Tigers select high school outfielder Max Clark with No. 3 pick in 2023 MLB draft

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Here are 11 players the Tigers could select once their slot rolls around Sunday night at the Fort Worth Stockyards in Texas , with insight from Prospects Live director of draft content Tyler Jennings :

LHP Cam Caminiti

Age:17.

School:Saguaro High School ( Arizona ).

Vitals:6 feet 2, 195 pounds.

Bats/throws:Left/left.

What Jennings said:"I think the hype is pretty legit with him. He's been holding 96-97 mph late into his starts. His fastball really gets on guys pretty quick, and he's got some crossfire deception to his delivery that can be a nightmare for lefties. The biggest thing was the breaking balls weren't all that great last year. I think the slider was better than the curveball, but the slider looks like it's gotten better and needs a bit more oomphs still, but at the same time, he's projectable, athletic, has a really easy delivery, good changeup in there. He also has big-league bloodlines. He is (1996 National League MVP) Ken Caminiti's cousin , and teams are going to value that. Being as young as he is for the class, and the kind of body he has, I think the hype is pretty real with him."

OF/SS Konnor Griffin

Age:18.

School:Jackson Preparatory School (Mississippi).

Vitals:6-4, 215.

Bats/throws:Right/right.

What Jennings said:"He has a chance to play on the left side of the infield, but he also could be a center fielder, right fielder with the speed and the arm. I've got him as the highest upside of a prep bat in this class. Really projectable and physical at the same time. It's a great mix for the body. Potentially plus power with a lot of bat speed and loft to the swing. The hit tool got back to what it was. He was hurt last year (shoulder injury), so he didn't really hit all that well. He also has been up to 96-97 mph on the mound with really good extension. Some teams may like him as an arm, but ultimately, I think you could put him in right field and shortstop, and I think he'd do well at both positions. Probably right field over center field. With the body, he might be too big. Probably third over shortstop. He's definitely got the arm to make it work."

3B/OF Seaver King

May 25, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Wake Forest utility Seaver King (5) seen on deck against Florida State during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-USA TODAY Sports

Age:21.

School:Wake Forest.

Vitals:6-0, 195.

Bats/throws:Right/right.

What Jennings said:"He is one of the most exceptional athletes in this class. While he is aggressive at the plate, his bat-to-ball skills are pretty solid. He's got robust power that's more of a line-drive swing right now, but he's shown that he can smack line drives out of the ballpark at like 110, 111 mph (exit velocities). He has really good zone coverage, too. Earlier this year, (Duke left-hander) Jonathan Santucci peppered him with backfoot sliders and came in with a 95 mph fastball at the eyes, and he just turned on it to the left-center field gap at, like, 106 mph. I've never seen somebody be able to change eye levels like that at the plate. I think shortstop and maybe even center field are legit chances for him. He had to play both of those positions this year as an injury replacement. The arm strength is pretty good. He's got the range to make everything possible. He's a good runner. Overall, he's a loud toolset, and if you can get the approach to simmer down a little bit, I think he's one of the best players in the draft."

1B Nick Kurtz

Age:21.

School:Wake Forest.

Vitals:6-5, 240.

Bats/throws:Left/left.

What Jennings said:"Very, very good eye. It's a stupidly high walk rate, even if he is a bit passive. It's a great combo of hit and power. He was injured to start the year (shoulder injury), but he did get better on both sides of the ball. He's a really nimble first baseman for a guy that's like 6-6, 240. He's a pretty good athlete, as well. He gets down the line pretty well. He's a better runner than you would expect from a guy that's built like a defensive end. He really improved as the year got on. He had a really bad start to the year because he was hurt, but that midseason tear he had, where he hit 14 home runs in nine games, was ridiculous. I'm a little scared with the college first base demographic for him, because it's not a good track record, but if he succeeds, he's the one that can debunk that little bump in the road."

OF Braden Montgomery

Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery (6) is helped off the field by the medical team after a brace is placed on his right leg during the game against Oregon at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas, on June 8, 2024.

Age:21.

School:Texas A&M.

Vitals:6-2, 220.

Bats/throws:Switch/right.

What Jennings said:"I think if he didn't get injured (ankle in the College World Series), he's a top-five bat, in my opinion. He's a switch-hitter, but I don't think he's going to be a right-handed hitter going forward because the right-handed splits are not great, but from the left side, it's plus power with an accurate barrel and a good bat path. I think teams are really going to value that. As a lefty, it was something like an 85% contact rate, and he really doesn't expand the zone all that much. I really like that side, personally, for him because the ball jumps off the bat and he rotates well, and I think he can be a legit right fielder with a 70 arm (on 20-80 scouting scale). It's a really legit profile. If somebody can improve the righty swing, I think he could be a switch-hitter, but right now, he'll have to stick to being a left-handed hitter, but teams are definitely going to value that kind of stuff from the left side."

2B Christian Moore

Age:21.

School:Tennessee.

Vitals:6-1, 210.

Bats/throws:Right/right.

What Jennings said:"He's an interesting one. He really didn't hit well before the year, but he came out and started hitting the ball more. There's improved plate discipline, and the approach looks better. I would put a 60 on the power, maybe even a 70, if people want to go that far with it. There's a ton of bat speed, there's loft to the swing, and he really mashes the baseball. I've had guys tell me he could play shortstop, especially in a pinch if you really need it, but I think he's more of a second baseman. He has good range, but the arm strength lacks a little bit, but the bat at the end of the year was amazing. Hitting a cycle in the College World Series for the second time ever is pretty special. If you put a 45-hit, 60-power label on that kind of bat, it's going to go pretty well for him as long as he doesn't revert back to what he was last year."

SS Bryce Rainer

Harvard-Westlake High School shortstop Bryce Rainer.

Age:19.

School:Harvard-Westlake High School (California).

Vitals:6-3, 195.

Bats/throws:Left/right.

What Jennings said:"The Corey Seager comps are legit. It's the same kind of body, same kind of build. For him, the bat got a lot quicker this year with more bat speed, and he's stronger than he was last summer. The power plays to all fields. I think it probably will be plus at the next level. When I saw him a couple of months ago, he was hitting balls at 110 mph (exit velocities) with a metal bat. I think he can play shortstop. He's got the range and the arm strength to make it happen. He's also been up to 95-96 mph on the mound with an easy delivery, if a team wants to go that route. At the end of the day, with the improvements with the bat, I think he's probably going to be a shortstop long term."

MORE ABOUT HIM: Bryce Rainer solves Tigers' shortstop problem if available in 2024 MLB draft

3B Cam Smith

Age:21.

School:Florida State.

Vitals:6-3, 224.

Bats/throws:Right/right.

What Jennings said:"I really liked that the approach he had from the Cape Cod League last year came with him to the ACC this year. His whiff rates cut down a lot. His chase rate cut down, like, 12%. He's a very powerful young man with a flatter swing plane, so it's more line-drive power right now than it is over the fence, but he hit the ball very hard, averaging over 93 mph in exit velocity. If somebody can add loft to that swing, I think he's going to be a very formidable threat offensively. I think he's a legitimate third baseman with the footwork and fluidity to stick there. I think the hands need a little bit of work, but overall, I think it's a pretty safe bet that he's a top 10-15 pick. Seeing the transition he made from last year to this year, it really makes it optimistic for a team that takes him."

LHP Hagen Smith

Arkansas Razorbacks starting pitcher Hagen Smith (33) throws against the Ole Miss Rebels in the first inning at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 22, 2024.

Age:20.

School:Arkansas.

Vitals:6-3, 225.

Bats/throws:Left/left.

What Jennings said:"He had a pretty dismal end of the year. His regional start, he got lit up by Kansas State. Compare him to (Wake Forest right-hander) Chase Burns, I think some teams may take Hagen based on the left-handedness. Also, the fastball has been up to 100 mph, really low release point, flat approach angle, has good carry upstairs, missed bats at, like, a 42% rate this year, which is insane to think about. I put the slider as a 70-grade pitch because it's a mid-80s yakker with a two-plane break, lots of spin, and it just dives off the plate, and hitters can't locate it at all. The changeup has good promise, too. It's an average, maybe above-average, pitch. The command improved. He can tunnel his pitches, and there's a ton of deceptions with the delivery, too. He's gotten bigger and hides the ball very, very well coming from a wider release point. I mean, he struck out 17 in six innings to start the year. If that's the upside you have with that kind of arm, I think he's going to go pretty high."

OF James Tibbs

Florida State Seminoles right fielder James Tibbs III (22) hits a double against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the fifth inning at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 18, 2024.

Age:21.

School:Florida State.

Vitals:6-0, 201.

Bats/throws:Left/left.

What Jennings said:"He's more of a metric darling, if anything. He struggles with lefties a bit, but he mashed righties this year. He has a ton of juice in the bat. There's a ton of bat speed, and he's got pretty solid bat-to-ball skills. The biggest thing is he's no longer a first base-only type of bat. That was the biggest thing coming into the year, where guys only thought he was a first baseman, and that puts too much pressure on the bat, but he got to right field, and he looks pretty solid out there with good routes and a good arm. But I think you're really buying the bat there. You might be worried about a platoon split with the struggles against lefties, but he hit, like, .430 against righties, and he hit, like, 28 home runs this year. There's just a whole lot to like with the bat. If he can improve lefty problem, the lefty splits, I think he's probably got the highest upside of any of the college bats in this class. It's really a complete package."

RHP Trey Yesavage

ECU pitcher Trey Yesavage is among the top college baseball players in North Carolina. The Pirates are currently the highest-ranked team in the state.

Age:20.

School:East Carolina.

Vitals:6-4, 225.

Bats/throws:Right/right.

What Jennings said:"I think he's the third-best starting pitcher in the entire class. He's been up to 97-98 mph with the fastball and will sit in the mid-90s from a steeper plane, which does hamper it a little bit, but also, the offspeed coming from a higher slot works well for him. I think the slider is plus in the mid-80s with a shorter break to the plate. The splitter is now plus. He can throw it confidently to right-handed hitter. It's a low-80s split-change with diabolical fade and depth to it. And he's got a curveball that he hasn't really used this year that I really like. It comes from a higher a slot and comes straight down in the low-80s, the same velocity band as the changeup. Overall, I think you're looking at three or maybe even four average of better pitches with average or better command. I think he's got a chance to really break out with any team that selects him."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .

Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2024 MLB draft: 11 players Detroit Tigers could select at No. 11

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