The Tigers came out of the 2026 MLB Draft looking a lot like a team that knew exactly where the board was taking them.
Detroit used all 20 rounds Sunday and came away with 20 players, but the real story was the balance of the class: 14 college players and just six high-schoolers, tied for the fewest under Scott Harris, who has run baseball operations since 2022. The Tigers also took only two prep players in the first 10 rounds, then added another high-school bat in the 11th when they grabbed Will Adams out of Hoover High School in Alabama.
That split naturally raised the question of whether the new college-athletics money game - NIL, in particular - is pushing more teenagers toward campus instead of straight into pro ball. Tigers assistant general manager and vice president Rob Metzler didn’t bite on that theory.
"We're always aware of the baseball landscape, said Rob Metzler, assistant general manager and vice president who oversees the Tigers' scouting. "I think it's just the way the draft board fell this year."
The Tigers’ first prep player came off the board in the fourth round Saturday, when they selected shortstop Dominic Pellegrin out of Louisiana. Later, in the eighth round, they took third baseman Robert Omidi from St.
Martin Secondary School in Ontario. Pellegrin is committed to Tulane, while Omidi is committed to Kentucky.
That matters because Detroit’s bonus pool is just over $9 million, and more than two-thirds of that is expected to be funneled toward the top three picks, all of them college players. First-rounder Caeron Flukey, a right-hander from Coastal Carolina, carries a slot value of more than $4 million by himself. Pellegrin’s slot is worth $614,500, and Omidi’s is $225,300, numbers that can become part of a tougher negotiation if either player decides college is the better path.
Once the draft gets past the 10th round, the math gets even trickier. Teams can still work to sign players, but the slot values disappear, which means clubs have to juggle bonus money and signability to make sure the class actually comes together.
That’s what makes Adams such an interesting pick. Detroit took the 18-year-old first baseman and corner outfielder in the 11th round, 336th overall, despite MLB.com ranking him 102nd on its pre-draft list. Adams, Alabama’s Gatorade high school player of the year, had been the subject of some buzz before the draft and was even mentioned as a possible second-round name.
His commitment to LSU likely scared off plenty of teams, but the Tigers clearly liked the bat. MLB draft analysts described Adams as having one of the "prettiest left-handed swings" in the high-school class, and Detroit said the swing is shorter with some pull-side power in it.
Mark Conner, the Tigers’ director of amateur scouting, put it simply: "He's got a chance to be a pretty dynamic hitter and we're excited to have him."
Of course, that only matters if Adams signs. The deadline for draft picks is 5 p.m.
July 27, and if a player doesn’t sign, a club loses that slot value from its bonus pool. After the 10th round, though, there’s no penalty for not signing a player.
Metzler declined to discuss the signability of any individual pick, but he said the organization did its homework.
"I would highlight the relationships ... our staff make with players to understand what their goals are and what's going to be their best development path," Metzler said Sunday. "I thought we were very prepared for what options might come our way and we're excited with how it played out."
Detroit’s other high-school selections were right-handed pitchers Dustin Dunwoody in the 15th round out of California, Jack Byers in the 17th round out of New Mexico, and Will Zielinski in the 20th round out of Alberta.
On Day 2, which covered the final 16 rounds, the Tigers also showed a willingness to target players they valued more highly than where MLB.com had them ranked. Three of their first seven picks fit that mold: Oregon shortstop Maddox Molony, taken 187th while ranked 176th; Omidi, taken 246th while ranked 207th; and Adams.
Tigers 2026 MLB Draft picks
First round: Cameron Flukey, RHP, 6-16/210, Coastal Carolina
Second: Tyson LeBlanc, SS, 6-0/200, Kansas
Competitive balance: Evan Dempsey, RHP, 6-2/205, Florida Gulf Coast
Fourth: Dominic Pellegrin, SS, 6-1/175, Holy Cross HS (Louisiana)
Fifth: Declan Dahl, RHP, 6-3/200, Louisiana Tech
Sixth: Maddox Molony, SS, 6-2/208, Oregon
Seventh: Brady Ballinger, 1B, 6-2/225, Kansas
Eighth: Robert Omidi, 3B, 6-1/200, St. Martin SS (Ontario)
Ninth: KJ Ward, RHP, 6-5/255, Park University-Gilbert
10th: Jack Turner, RHP, 6-1/195, New Mexico State
11th: Will Adams, 1B, 6-2/203, Hoover HS (Alabama)
12th: Tyler West, OF, 5-1/175, Salt Lake CC
13th: Jeff Johnston, RHP, 6-0/200, Auburn
14th: Edwin Alicea, LHP, 6-5/240, South Florida
15th: Dustin Dunwoody, RHP, 6-2/185, Royal HS (California)
16th: Michael Lane, RHP, 6-1/205, Delaware State
17th: Jack Byers, RHP, 6-3/195, Artesia HS (New Mexico)
18th: Drake Meeks, RHP, 6-4/215, Southern Mississippi
19th: Cade Rusch, RHP, 6-3/195, Bellarmine
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