The Tigers didn’t exactly hide what they think their farm system needs most.
Detroit’s 2026 MLB draft class came in heavy on pitching, and the message was clear by the time the club got into the later rounds on day two. The organization has been looking for arms, and this draft was another sign that pitching depth sits near the top of the priority list.
That urgency makes sense when you look at the system as a whole. Tarik Skubal is widely assumed to be traded at the deadline in August, and beyond him there isn’t a true star waiting in the minors.
MLB.com has only two pitchers in Detroit’s top 10 prospects, and neither has reached past Double-A. There are other arms further down the list, but none have generated much buzz.
Left-hander Jake Miller has been effective over the last two seasons, though injuries have slowed him badly.
Detroit has been trying to rebuild that part of the pipeline for a while now. The Tigers selected 14 pitchers in each of the last two drafts, so this wasn’t a one-off shift. Even so, they still haven’t landed that elite difference-maker they’ve been chasing.
The closest thing so far has been Jackson Jobe, who has been excellent in the minors when healthy. Staying on the mound has been the issue. He missed all of last season and half of 2026 because of Tommy John Surgery, though he is now making his way back.
This year’s class leaned hard into college pitching, especially in the first 14 rounds. Detroit’s first seven arms all came from the college ranks, with first-round pick Cameron Flukey leading the way.
Flukey is a 6'6'' right-hander with a 60-grade fastball and an 11.6 K/9 across 180 collegiate innings. The Tigers also used their third pick on right-hander Evan Dempsey, a two-way player who is expected to pitch professionally.
Dempsey put together a 2.88 ERA in 36 college games over three seasons at Florida Gulf Coast, including 25 starts, while showing he could contribute on both sides of the ball. Detroit clearly valued that kind of proven production.
The payoff may not come right away, but the draft points to a team trying to correct a weakness before it gets worse. The Tigers entered the season with the fifth-best farm system in MLB.com’s rankings, but after Kevin McGonigle graduated from the list, they slid sharply. Bleacher Report now has them 18th in baseball.
It will take time for this draft class to take shape, but the direction is obvious. Detroit knows the pitching depth needs help, and it has started making the kind of moves aimed at fixing it.
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