Detroit Tigers

[jaadam4]

What the fuck! Are you f’ing serious? Langford was the best f’ing player and they went a HS? I’m done with this team.

[jaadam4]

I can’t believe this crap. Langford hit SEC pitching and was a top 3 talent who would have been ready sooner all for the these morons to save money. What an absolute waste. The Tigers are a complete bunch of dickless morons.

The only thing they could have done worse is to draft a HS pitcher in round one. Oh wait they already with Jobe in 2021.

[Whitley]

Tigers select #37 overall Kevin McGonigle SS, Monsiger Bonner High (PA)

(Keith Law take below)

McGonigle's best tool is the bat, as he's hit good pitching well and has the swing and understanding of the strike zone to keep that going into pro ball. He's a shortstop now but has to move, probably to second base, where he'll be fine. The one knock I heard on him this spring was that you can't project much more power here than there already is, although I think he'll get to average power in time. It's a real bet that he's a .300+ hitter and will do enough of everything else to make him an above-average regular. I'm in the camp that says he'll do it, or is at least likely enough to do it to be picked up here.

McGonigle is one of the better pure hitters in this year’s high school class, which is saying something because this year’s high school hitter group is historically strong. He showed very well on the showcase circuit last summer and on his school’s trip to play in a tournament in Las Vegas this spring, which helped his cause substantially as he hasn’t seen quality pitching at home, playing mostly other private schools in the Philly suburbs. He’s a left-handed hitter with a clean, simple bat path and quick wrists, and he’s shown excellent ball-strike recognition between last summer and this spring. He hasn’t faced much good velocity, especially not this year, so there’s some projection to the hit tool based on the bat speed and the swing itself. He doesn’t always land strongly on his front side – he transfers his weight well, but his front leg isn’t always in position to “receive” it, so to speak, which I think will cost him at least a half a grade of power until it’s remedied. McGonigle, who is off the case, is committed to Auburn, and he’s the sort of player who could launch himself into the top five with some strong batting lines for three years in the SEC.

[Whitley]

I can’t believe this crap. Langford hit SEC pitching and was a top 3 talent who would have been ready sooner all for the these morons to save money. What an absolute waste. The Tigers are a complete bunch of dickless morons.

The only thing they could have done worse is to draft a HS pitcher in round one. Oh wait they already with Jobe in 2021.

It is a viable critique about taking a HS player over a college player even in a very strong HS hitter draft this year. However, Clark is not a reach, he has been a consistent top 5 guy in the draft. At one point in Jan/Feb, there was some talk about him being the 1-1. He is a pure CF meaning when he gets to the bigs--Riley Greene will move to a corner. His max out ceiling is Mookie Betts while his prospect comp is Druw Jones and current mlb comp is Kevin Keimeier.

I know it was against HS comp in Indiana but he hit .646 with an .808! OBP this year. The best HS hitter in an excellent class that has a very good idea about the strike zone. He could be a future leadoff hitter. Excellent wheels (MLB.com rates his running at a 70 on the scouting scale.

I thought Langford would be the pick but Clark isn't a reach. Teel would have been a reach.

[Whitley]

Max Clark mlb.com scouting report

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 70 | Arm: 65 | Field: 60 | Overall: 60

Clark is the best prospect to come out of Indiana since Bryan Bullington went No. 1 overall in 2002 and the state's best prepster ever. Gatorade's National Baseball Player of the Year, he's a viable candidate for the Pirates with the top pick. Besides his physical ability, he has excellent makeup and a penchant for rising to the occasion, such as when he provided a clutch homer against Canada and three hits in the gold medal-winning game against Taiwan at the 18-and-under World Cup in September.

Clark has four tools that grade as at least plus, starting with his hitting ability, which some evaluators rate as plus-plus. He has a sweet left-handed swing and a mature approach that focuses on smoking line drives from gap to gap. He presently concentrates on making hard contact rather than launching balls, but his bat speed and projectable strength should translate into at least 20-homer power that he already hints at in batting practice.

Clark is a double-plus runner and his quickness makes him an asset on the bases and in the outfield. The Vanderbilt is a no-doubt center fielder who enhances his physical ability with his reads and routes. He also has a well above-average arm that produces fastballs clocked up to 97 mph when he takes the mound.

[Whitley]

Kevin McGonigle SS mlb.com scouting report


Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

Growing up just outside of Philadelphia, McGonigle loved watching Phillies legend Chase Utley do his thing. As a gritty, left-handed-hitting middle infielder, McGonigle has the chance to follow in his idol’s footsteps as an early-round pick, particularly after hitting pretty much everywhere he went on the summer showcase circuit.

McGonigle, who also won a gold medal on USA Baseball’s 18u team, might be one of the best pure hitters in the class, at least in terms of bat-to-ball skills. He’s not afraid to be aggressive and attack fastballs early in counts, trusting his innate knack for finding the barrel and his overall approach to not chase pitches out of the zone. If there’s any question about his offensive profile, it’s about his future power, but he showed plenty of extra-base, and over-the-fence, pop to all fields against excellent competition over the summer.

An average to fringy runner, McGonigle’s high baseball IQ and aggressive nature help his baserunning and his defense. His hands work well and he has an average arm, but many see the Auburn recruit needing to move to second eventually because of his range, just like his baseball role model did. That might put more pressure on his bat, but most evaluators think he’s more than ready to answer that challenge.

[Whitley]

Max Anderson #42 overall 2b Nebraska

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 45 | Field: 40 | Overall: 45

Gatorade's Nebraska high school player of the year in 2020, Anderson had committed to play at Texas A&M but the Aggies didn't have a roster spot for him after several veterans gained an extra year of eligibility following the pandemic shutdown. He opted to stay home and play at Nebraska, where he won the Big Ten Conference freshman of the year in 2021. After providing consistent production in his first two college seasons and two summers in the Cape Cod League, he led the Big Ten in hitting (.410), slugging (.766) and OPS (1.224) in 2023.

Anderson has a quick right-handed swing and a knack for finding the barrel that allow him to make consistent hard contact. He stays inside the ball and excels at using the opposite field, with 10 of his first 13 homers this spring going to right field. He makes more groundball contact than is optimal, but his combination of bat speed and strength should give him average power.

Almost all of Anderson's value will come from his bat, with scouts seeing the upside of a Ty France or righty-hitting Max Muncy. He can make routine plays at second base in college but isn't suited to play there as a pro with below-average speed and range and fringy arm strength. He played third base in his first two seasons with the Cornhuskers but lacks the arm for the hot corner, so first base may be his best option despite him being short for the position.

[froot loops]

I have no problem with taking high school positional players. The worst thing a team can do is draft for need or how fast he can get to the majors. MLB draft should always be BPA. Every decision made should be independent of what the major league team is doing.

There is a lot more risk to high school players, because the bust rate is higher. If you are taking this higher risk path, you need to spend money on the big league team while you are building your farm. I said this back when they started this woeful rebuild, but they didn't listen to me.

[chemiclord]

If you are taking this higher risk path, you need to spend money on the big league team while you are building your farm.

Meanwhile, Chris Ilitch says...

[Forsh]

I would've taken Langford ... too bad Crews didn't slip

[Whitley]

I would've taken Langford ... too bad Crews didn't slip

Yeah. I was hoping for that. The Nats got a really good one.

The last time the Tigers took a HS position player was Riley Greene. Having a true CF and the kid profiles as a leadoff hitter could be really awesome. He will move Greene to a corner which will save wear and tear on Greene.

[jaadam4]

In 3 years you hope Max Clark can turn into Langford. This was a budget money pick and it’s fucking infuriating. Langford was the pick and they were cheap.

[Cody_Russell]

I would still compare it to the Jobe/ Madden strategy. Though yes, the last time the Tigers drafted someone like Max Clark, it certainly worked out with Greene.

Marcelo Mayer vs Jackson Jobe + Ty Madden. While Mayer isn’t in the big leagues yet, he’s the #4 ranked prospect by MLB.com. It appears that the Red Sox have the early lead on this draft day decision.
Now we will have to compare Wyatt Langford vs Max Clark + … Kevin McGonigle? Going to be years before we know. Big gamble for Scott Harris with this decision. Seems like the potential is incredibly high for Clark.

and it’s not really a big deal for this like the NBA or NFL draft. Very small piece of the puzzle to determine the future success of the Tigers.

[chemiclord]

Oh, it was absolutely a cheapskate miser move... but it was also hypothetically a better potential player down the line. So, I get that much.

This is what the only successful team on the cheap does, the Tampa Bay Rays. They throw out a whole bunch of cheaper HS prospects, and hope to hit on a couple. They would also blanch and pass on the supposed $10 mil deal that Langford (allegedly) wants.

The issue is that there's a reason why Tampa is the only cheap team that does this effectively with anything resembling consistency, and I'm not at all convinced the Tigers are going to be able to replicate it. Firstly (and most obviously) it requires an investment in the farm and minor league development that Chris I. has not shown any inkling he wants to spend money on either.

[froot loops]

It's weird that the high school high profile player is an under slot guy.

It may be a cheapskate move, but it isn't a cheapskate move we saw during the late 90s.