MLB and the Detroit Tigers Bandwagon Thread

[iam416]

It was more fun to watch #58 (either) than 3t, 4 or 6.

So, take your rankings and shove them, twatwaffle

[AlabamAlum]

I hate him. I hope his bat splinters and gives him a blister.

Cuntmuffin.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Lotta love in this thread...

[AlabamAlum]

And the sonavabitch is out.

Good.

[THE_WIZARD_]

You need a good stiff scotch drink...

[AlabamAlum]

I hate the AS unis, especially the NL’s.

[AlabamAlum]

The NL’s pants look like they belong to the guy who buffs the floors of office buildings at 2am.

[AlabamAlum]

Black pants and dark navy shirts. Woof.

[iam416]

The Mariner color theme is a bad start and they managed to make it worse.

[iam416]

Guardos still in first!!!!

[AlabamAlum]

Finally. The NL gets a win. It’s been ages.

[Mike]

Sad day for AmerIca.

[Whitley]

Since there are some Braves fans here I thought I would drop Keith Law's (from the Athletic) assesment of the Braves draft.

Atlanta


Atlanta took Florida ace Hurston Waldrep (1) with their first pick, landing one of the best pitches in the entire draft class in Waldrep’s splitter, a wipeout pitch with huge bottom that drops right out of the strike zone at what seems like the last moment. His fastball shape is just mid and his breaking ball isn’t consistent, but he has to work on command more than anything else, as the splitter is so often out of the zone that he has to use his other pitches more to get to a point where he can use it as a chase pitch. There’s at least No. 3 starter upside here because he has such arm strength and a grade-70 offering in the quiver.

Virginia Tech right-hander Drue Hackenberg (2) always had good feel to pitch but his velocity crept up this spring to the point where he was 92-96 mph with tremendous sink and showed a plus slider. Lefties really destroyed him this year, however, and he’ll have to improve his changeup to be a starter, with mid-rotation upside if he can do so. He’ll be the fourth Hackenberg brother to play a sport professionally: Adam is the starting catcher for Double-A Birmingham in the White Sox system; Brandon has played minor league soccer for two clubs and was on Orlando City’s roster for one game; Christian was on the New York Jets’ roster for two seasons but never appeared in a game, later playing for the short-lived AAF’s Memphis Express.



Right-hander Cade Kuehler (2A) might have gone on day one had he not missed several starts in May due to injury; he has a max-effort delivery but gets good ride on a 93-96 mph fastball with a plus slider and a below-average changeup. He’s probably a reliever in the end, especially with no projection left to his body, but he has to at least go out as a starter. Oregon infielder Sabin Ceballos (3) won’t turn 21 for a month, as the Puerto Rican native spent two years at San Jacinto College in Texas before transferring to Oregon. He’s a strong kid with good plate coverage and ball/strike recognition, showing some vulnerability to breaking stuff down and away, with a pull-oriented approach. He’s almost certainly not a third baseman and may end up at first, limiting his upside.

Garrett Baumann (4) is a 6-foot-8 right-hander from the same high school that produced Riley Greene and Vaughn Grissom; he’s been up to 96 mph and after struggling early in the spring with his curveball switched to a slider that was much more promising. He’s a great projection high school arm now that he’s shown he has a functional breaking ball. Isaiah Drake (5) is the younger brother of NFL running back Kenyon Drake, most recently of the Baltimore Ravens. He’s a 70 runner and hyper-athletic, with a short swing geared for contact rather than power, although he’s definitely behind his peers in pitch recognition. Justin Long (7) converted to the mound this year after two years of (not) hitting at Rice as a catcher; he’s 93-95 mph and has touched 98 mph, mostly working with the fastball, although he has a hard slurve with some late break that he doesn’t command yet. He’s an interesting project as a reliever.

[AlabamAlum]

Thanks Whitley.

Braves host the White Sox today at 6:20. Morton vs Kopech. First of a three game set. Don’t get to see the CWS a lot. May drive over.

[Whitley]

And here is Keith Law on the Tigers draft

Detroit Tigers


The Tigers went for the high schooler at the third overall pick, taking Indiana outfielder Max Clark (1). Clark is the closest thing to a five-tool player we had in this draft, and if he hits in pro ball as expected he’ll be a star. He’s a plus-plus runner, makes hard and often loud contact, and can really play center field. He may also currently lead the Tigers organization in Instagram followers. They went back to the prep position player pool with Kevin McGonigle (1A), a shortstop from outside of Philadelphia who has one of the top hit tools in this year’s high school class. His left-handed swing is clean and simple, while he’s demonstrated an advanced command of the strike zone for his age so far. He’s going to have to move to second base, and there’s a split camp on whether there’s much more power to come from his 5-10 frame, but he should continue to hit even as the pitching improves.



Nebraska infielder Max Anderson (2) looks like he can just flat-out hit, showing more power this year, hitting good velocity, working the count, and ranking among the leaders in the Big 10 in most offensive categories. He’s going to start out at second base and will have to work some to stay there, with the only other spot for him in left field. I buy the bat, though. Lefty Paul Wilson (3) is the son of Trevor Wilson, who pitched for the Giants too recently in my mind for him to have a draft-eligible son. He’s got a plus fastball with good riding life to it, throwing two distinct breaking balls without great feel for either pitch yet. He’s had some consistency issues in the delivery, but did improve his control this past spring and should get over-slot money to buy him away from Oregon State. He’s a good projection high school arm, the kind of pitcher teams who want high school pitching should target after the first round.

Tennessee commit Carson Rucker (4) has a great right-handed swing that produces some power already and has the loft to lead to plus or better power down the road, especially given his frame. The Tigers announced him as a third baseman, moving him immediately off shortstop. Right-hander Jaden Hamm (5) comes straight over the top like an Iron Mike pitching machine, working 90-95 mph with a very vertical-breaking curveball and a surprisingly solid changeup given his arm slot. The Middle Tennessee State starter had a 5.31 ERA this year, in part because he walked too many guys (10.4 percent) but also because he doesn’t work that well to the outer or inner edges of the zone. Wake Forest catcher Bennett Lee (6), a transfer this spring from Tulane, makes a fair amount of contact but without any power; he’s a good enough receiver to maybe end up a backup. Pepperdine shortstop John Peck (7) doesn’t turn 21 until next week, but had a miserable spring, hitting just .272/.353/.441 after an atrocious summer on the Cape in 2022. He’s got a big leak after his stride, which may be why he doesn’t hit any kind of offspeed stuff, although he’s never shown great pitch or ball-strike recognition.