The 2023 Detroit Tigers MLB draft in retrospect

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PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 30: Kevin McGonigle #7 of the Detroit Tigers looks on during the singing of the national anthem prior to the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

With the 2026 MLB amateur draft only days away, and Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris going into his fourth draft as head of the club, it’s a good time to look back at his first three efforts. The 2023 edition was, of course, quite a good one. Harris and amateur scouting director Mark Conner, along with assistant GM and VP of the scouting department, Rob Metzler, crushed this draft comfortably. That we can say that only three years later is entirely a credit to Mr. Kevin McGonigle, who is already paying huge dividends and could prove their best position player pick of all-time. Of course, the Tigers found quite a lot of other talented players in that draft, and even beyond McGonigle it may go down as one of the club’s best since the draft was initiated in 1965.

The Tigers selected 21 players in the 2023 draft, ultimately signing 19 of them total. This was the first we saw of the club’s draft strategy under the new leadership group. As we’ve come to expect, they favored left-handed hitting prep players who play up the middle, a strategy that has continued to SS Bryce Rainer in 2024, and SS Jordan Yost and catcher Michael Oliveto in 2025 with their first round picks. They allocated quite a bit of money to lure a couple of promising, well regarded arms away from their college commitments, and added a sprinkling of athletic, small school players with good contact ability, as well as a selection of overlooked college arms and a JUCO pick to round out their first draft.

1- CF Max Clark (Franklin Community HS) $7,700,000

The talented young center fielder signed as the third overall pick in the draft and took an underslot bonus $641,700 under the recommended amount. He’s moved as quickly as hoped, and at age 21 is having a solid season at the Triple-A level while polishing his game for the big jump. Clark can really hit, rarely strikes out, takes his walks, and is developing into a force defensively and on the basepaths. The big question is how much power he’ll grow into, but he’s comfortably among the top outfield prospects in the game and seems likely to make his major league debut sometime before the end of the season. Yes, Wyatt Langford was probably the better pick based on speed to the major leagues, but when all is said and done, Clark may yet prove the more valuable player.

CB-A- SS Kevin McGonigle (Monsignor Bonner HS) $2,847,500

The Tigers locked up their new star infielder with a bonus that was about $540,000 over slot, using the savings from Clark’s bonus to double up on an elite pair of high school talents. Little more needs be said as McGonigle rocketed through the minor leagues despite a few injuries and is well on his way to an AL Rookie of the Year title, and may make a push into MVP conversation if the power starts showing up a little more as he’s settled into the league. This may turn out to be the best pick in Detroit Tigers’ history. It feels great for Tigers’ fans knowing he’s already locked up on a long-term deal.

2- 2B Max Anderson (Nebraska) $1,429,650

Anderson also signed for about $750,000 under slot, helping the Tigers spread their bonus pool around. The stout infielder has power and good contact ability, and just hasn’t yet developed a selective enough eye to get to that power at the major league level consistently. A solid infielder who is a bit light in the range department, most of Anderson’s value is going to have to come from the bat, but he’s handling Triple-A much better in his second look and doing plenty of damage. He’ll have to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason, so at least a look at the show later this season is pretty likely for the 24-year-old infielder.

3- LHP Paul Wilson (Lakeridge High School) $1,697,500

Wilson signed for about $750,000 overslot, passing on his commitment to Oregon State. He is the son of a former major league pitcher in Trevor Wilson, and was regarded as a very polished lefty on draft day. Like most of the Tigers prep pitchers drafted under Harris, Wilson spent most of his time on the injured list in 2024-2025, and was pretty wild on the few occasions when he did pitch. However, in recent weeks he’s completed some rehab work at the Complex League level and returned to Single-A Lakeland to hopefully, finally embark on his pro career at age 21. So far, Wilson has shown mid-90’s velocity with quality breaking and offspeed stuff that still needs a lot of refinement. He’s finally on his way, so we’ll just cross our fingers and hope he’s finally put the injuries behind him and gotten himself physically built up to handle the pro workload. This could still turn out to be a great pick, but for now those grades are entirely incomplete.

4- 3B Carson Rucker (Goodpasture Christian School) $772.500

This prep third baseman received an extra $145,000 over slot to pass on a University of Tennessee commitment. He had a strong arm and good defensive chops for his age, with some quality power potential as well. However, Rucker dislocated his left shoulder and tore the labrum in 2024 as well just four games into his pro career. That cost him that whole season, and he dealt with some injuries in 2025 as well. Now 21 years old, Rucker has power and can play a pretty good third base, but while he’s walked a lot more and been a pretty productive hitter for Single-A Lakeland, his strikeout rate has been sky high. Rucker is really just healthy and getting steady reps for the first time this season, so I wouldn’t jump ship just yet, but things certainly aren’t going according to plan in his case.

5- RHP Jaden Hamm (Middle Tennessee State) $397,500

Things started off smashingly for Hamm. His overhand delivery produced a pretty spectacular riding fastball that sat 94-95 mph and touched 97. The Tigers encouraged him to pitch up in the zone, and helped him refine the heater along with his wipeout curveball. He was also making progress on a slider by spring 2025. Hamm got some mention at the ends of various top 100 prospect lists heading into the 2025 season. Unfortunately, he struggled through a difficult campaign at the Double-A level that saw him deal with the dreaded dead arm syndrome.

His velocity started dipping down to 90-91 mph and sometimes worse, and while the Tigers shut him down eventually, he hasn’t pitched yet this season and there are no details about his status. All we can say is that he hasn’t had Tommy John surgery, and so shoulder trouble seems the likely culprit. He’ll be 24 in September, but he had looked good at Double-A before the troubles began, so there’s time for him to get back on track.

6- C Bennett Lee (Wake Forest) $297,500

Lee has developed into a decent catching prospect, with good defensive skills and plenty of leadership ability, but not a whole lot to write home about at the plate. The 24-year-old just isn’t going to hit at the major league level, although with a little improvement, it’s possible he could end up a Triple-A depth catcher who sees time in the major leagues as an injury replacement down the road.

7- SS John Peck (Pepperdine) $247,500

The 23-year-old John Peck was an early example of the Tigers hunting athletic, contact oriented up-the-middle defenders from smaller schools or with lesser college pedigrees, and getting them at bargain prices to help balance out the bigger bonuses given elsewhere to the prep picks. Peck has developed nicely, filling out his six-foot frame and developing above average raw power to go with pretty good skills on the infield. A right-handed hitter, Peck still needs to be more selective in his swing decisions, but he’s hit his way rapidly through the minor leagues considering his draft stock, and is tracking as a future utility infielder with some pop who can play just about anywhere on the diamond. Heck of a good value pick.

8- RHP Jatnk Diaz (Hazleton Area HS) $247,500

Diaz was a fun story on draft day, as the young right-hander’s senior season was washed out by ineligibility due to his travels to the Dominican during the COVID pandemic. He basically took it upon himself to coach himself up as a pitcher and was popping 95+ in short bursts after getting in outstanding shape on his own. Diaz got help from others in the local baseball community to get the word out and the Tigers caught wind of him and picked him up as another good value pick with the physical potential to develop into a pretty good pitcher. It’s been slow going, as Diaz has dealt with several injuries as well. He’s back in the Complex League after struggling at the Single-A level, and that mid-90’s velocity has been only occasionally in evidence. He’ll turn 22 in the next month, so next year may be his last chance to show he can stay on the mound and start making some real progress.

9- RHP Hayden Minton (Missouri State) $162,500

Minton recently got promoted to Double-A Erie. He’s a decent minor league starter with a pretty good breaking ball. Something else is going to have to pop in terms of stuff to make him a really viable prospect, as the hoped for 2026 breakout isn’t panning out for him. Now 25 years of age, he’s running out of time but should remain a quality org arm for a little while longer while he tries to take the next step.

10- LHP Andrew Sears (Connecticut) $167,800

Another excellent value pick on the path to making good is this intense left-hander, currently dealing for the Double-A SeaWolves after an injury to start the season. Sears profiles more like a swingman type than an obvious, future major league starting pitcher, but ongoing development of his changeup could change that assessment. He works quickly and aggressively, attacking hitters from a low three-quarters slot with a good fastball-slider combination. Sears should be up to Triple-A by year’s end, and will provide starting and middle relief depth to the Tigers in 2027 and beyond, and possibly more.

11- SS Jim Jarvis (Alabama) $175,000

Jarvis was yet another excellent value pick as a light-hitting, plus defensive shortstop with enough tools to make him a viable bench player. The Tigers flipped him from the Double-A level to the Atlanta Braves at last year’s deadline for reliever Rafael Montero. That’s probably not going to end up hurting them, but Jarvis was recently called up by the Braves to work off the bench, making him the second player from the Tigers 2023 class to reach the major leagues.

12- RHP Andrew Dunford (Houston County HS) $367,500

Dunford was another injury plagued prep pick from this class who was eventually released. The Astros picked up the 21-year-old and currently have him rehabbing with their Complex League club.

13- OF Brett Callahan (Saint Joseph’s) $197,500

Of all the high quality value selections the Tigers made with unheralded, small school players, Callahan is tracking to be the best of the bunch. The left-handed hitting outfielder is capable of playing all three positions and features a strong, accurate throwing arm that argues for a long-term corner outfield gig. He’s always pulled a lot of balls in the air and is now showing occasional bursts of plus raw power as well. Those batted ball tendencies got him on our radar from the start, and after battling injuries in 2024-2025, Callahan tore up the Double-A level this spring and is now working at the Triple-A level. His power and zone discipline gives him quite a lot of upside, but it’s his defense and base stealing ability that makes him a complete package and a viable major league platoon outfielder. The final step is to tone down his aggressive approach just enough to put more balls in play deep in counts. Those refinements will get him to the show, and there’s still a fair chance that Callahan breaks out into a well above average major league regular.

14- 2B David Smith (Connecticut) $150,000

Smith had himself a decent enough full season debut, but struggled in 2025 and was released. He’s currently a free agent.

15- C Brady Cerkownyk (Connors State) $397,500

Cerkownyk was an intriguing JUCO pick with a quality hit tool and the possibility of developing into a major league catcher with a lot of work. He got off to a decent start, but injuries and struggles at the plate led the Tigers to release him last year. Now 23, he’s in the Washington Nationals system and still trying to get established at the Single-A level.

16- RHP Donye Evans (UNC Charlotte) $150,000

Evans is still a reliever in the Tigers system but hasn’t really flashed enough stuff or command to get on the radar.

17- LHP Bradley Stewart (Cooper City HS) Unsigned

18- 3B Ethan Farris (Cypress Woods HS) Unsigned

Farris elected to go to school, as he wasn’t going to get a big bonus and was probably more of a backup plan in case one of the other prep picks declined to sign. He’s had a decent career at Texas State but is still just a mid to late round pick. He’s started to flash a little power and is still a strong-armed infielder, so it wouldn’t be too shocking to see the Tigers circle back on him after the first seven or eight rounds this time around.

19- RHP Blake Pivaroff (Arizona State) $150,000

Pivaroff pitched briefly in the Tigers’ system, but was released in 2025 and hasn’t caught on anywhere else.

20- RHP Johnathan Rogers (Tupelo High School) $150,000

Rogers showed some early promise, then dealt with injuries as well. He and the Tigers briefly parted ways, but Rogers got himself into better shape and found his velocity again. He re-signed with the Tigers and is currently just trying to build up some volume pitching in the Complex League. He still won’t turn 22 until September.

Overall one of the better drafts in Tigers’ history​

It’s hard not to conclude already that 2023 was one of the best drafts in team history, and it may very well go down as the best ever. McGonigle is the cream of the crop, but between Clark looking like the center fielder of the future, and players like Callahan, Anderson, Peck, and Sears closing in on the major leagues, the first draft for Scott Harris went very well.

This draft did establish a template that the Tigers have largely continued to follow. Their success in adding athletes from smaller programs or without huge college pedigrees has proven very fruitful and a credit to the Tigers’ improvements in developing hitters overall. The base strategy of taking up the middle, left-handed hitting prep talents at the top of the draft is already proving a winner, and they’ve continued that tendency with picks of Bryce Rainer, Jordan Yost, and catcher Michael Oliveto in the 2024-2025 drafts.

The heavy bonus pool allotment toward prep pitchers, on the other hand, has been a minor disaster, leaving the Tigers with most of their top pitching talent still in A-ball, and with many bigger names still on the injury list. There is still plenty of time for Wilson to get it going, and possibly Jaden Hamm can get beyond his own injury woes and become a contributing factor again, but the system is currently heavily lop-sided toward position players, and that trend started with this draft.

The Harris struggles to acquire pitching at all levels remains the crucial organization weakness to worry about in the years ahead. However, the skill with which they’ve targeted a whole slew of talented, athletic young players at all points in the draft and developed them bodes very well for the system’s continued strength overall. They’ve just got to do a better job balancing things out, and figure out how to better to avoid the plague of injuries that have beset the pitching side of all three of Harris’ draft classes. Pivoting more to JUCO and undervalued Division I and II arms has been their approach the past two drafts, but those classes have still been riddled with injuries on the pitching side early on.

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