The Tigers’ farm system appears to be bouncing back.
Baseball America slotted the Tigers in at No. 16 in its organizational talent rankings, updated Thursday. That’s an 11-spot climb from this time last year, when Detroit plummeted to No. 27 after a No. 6 preseason ranking in 2022.
The Tigers boast three players — outfielder Max Clark (No. 18 overall), infielder Colt Keith (20) and starting pitcher Jackson Jobe (59) — in Baseball America’s top 100 prospects, added talent at the trade deadline, and in the draft, headlined by Clark, the No. 3 overall pick.
“This is a system on the upswing,” Baseball America writes. “The health and development of Keith has played a large role and drafting high enough to land Clark sure didn’t hurt. But Jobe’s return to excellent form, Dillon Dingler’s development and the steady rise of players like Ty Madden and pop-ups like Justice Bigbie gives Tigers fans some reasons for optimism.”
Keith, 22, has rocketed up prospect rankings in reaching Triple-A Toledo this season, while Jobe seems to have bounced back from lower-back issues that sidelined the 2021 No. 3 overall pick. Jobe, 21, owns a 3.00 ERA in 33 innings pitched across three levels in his return. He has 47 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.00, and is currently stationed at High-A West Michigan.
The Tigers added second baseman Hao-Yu Lee (No. 9 in the Tigers system, according to Baseball America) and shortstop Eddys Leonard (No. 24) in trade-deadline deals to help bolster their system.
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