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On Monday, the Detroit Tigers made seven picks in the 2022 MLB draft, completing 10 of 20 rounds.
The Tigers made two picks Sunday, Texas Tech second baseman Jace Young in the first round (No. 12 overall) and Oklahoma shortstop Peyton Graham in the second round (No. 51 overall). Rounds 11-20 start on Tuesday at 14:00.
“We were a little worried that (Jung) would go ahead of us,” Scott Place, director of the amateur scouting club for the Tigers, said Sunday. “We were very happy when he got to us. This is the guy we’ve been talking about for a long time, a long spring, a long summer. It just so happened that we were lucky, and he got to us.
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In April, the organization traded its Round B pick of competitive balance (71st overall) and infielder Isaac Paredes to the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Austin Meadows. The Rays used the pick to select Illinois State shortstop Ryan Cermak.
The Tigers also forfeited their third-round pick after signing left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez in November 2021. Rodriguez, who signed a five-year, $77 million contract, has been absent from the team, on a restricted list, and has not received a salary since June 13.
Detroit’s first selection on Monday was #117 overall in the fourth round, then #147 (fifth round), #177 (sixth round), #207 (seventh round), #237 (eighth round), #237 (eighth round) . 267 (ninth round) and No. 297 (10th round).
“I thought everything went well,” Place said on Monday. “We are always trying to get the best player. You guys have heard me say this many times. than others. But I think we got some influence. We are excited about how the day went.”
With those seven picks—all college players—the Tigers added San Diego State right-hander Troy Melton, Boston College third baseman Luke Gold, North Carolina shortstop Danny Serretti, Tennessee outfielder Seth Stevenson, Valparaiso left-hander Jake Miller, first baseman at Georgia Tech. Andrew Jenkins and Oklahoma right-hander Trevin Michael.
“Another fireball,” second-round pick Graham said on Monday when asked about Michael, fellow Suner. “In the beginning, he and Jace could be a little cocky, especially after the Big 12 tournament. A lot of words have been said, but I think they will like each other in the end, especially now that they play on the same team.
“But Trevin is going to be a really competitive dude. He’s very stable in the back of the bullpen. I’m thrilled that he’s playing with us.”
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Meet the newest Tigers starting with the fourth round:
Age: 21.
Main characteristics: 6 feet 4,210 pounds.
Beats/Throws: That’s right.
Sketched: Fourth round (general number 117).
Buzz: The 2022 Mountain West Pitcher of the Year, Melton posted a 2.07 ERA with 15 walks and 67 strikeouts in 65 ⅓ innings in 11 starts this season. In his four-year college career, he threw in 163 ⅔ innings. Melton throws four pitches: a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a slider, and a substitute. Prior to the 2022 season, Melton changed his pitching and as a result, his scoring boosted him to a third-round pick in this year’s draft. Not only has his team improved, but his ERA has fallen from 6.14 in 2021 to Mountain West’s 2.07 in 2022. He averaged 3.7 walks per nine innings last season and 2.1 walks per nine this season.
Place said: “We have been following Troy for some time now and he has been improving his skills year after year. At the end of last year, he changed his hand movements to make them more consistent. overall performance improved. This was a guy that we’ve been following for a long time and that we liked, and he’s changed since we started researching him, and we liked what we saw.”
Age: 21.
Main characteristics: 6-0, 220.
Beats/Throws: That’s right.
Sketched: Fifth round (general number 147).
Buzz: Between Boston College and summerball, Gold has played all four positions in the field, but his main position is second base. However, the Tigers selected him as their third baseman. While defensive versatility is valuable, Gold’s true value lies in his offensive actions. He hit .309 while hitting 21 doubles, nine home runs, 24 walks and 28 strikeouts in 53 games for Boston College in 2022, earning All-ACC First Team honors. Gold has a hitting profile with contact above strength, and his low strikeout count indicates that he knows the strike zone and is not prone to chasing serves. In his three years of college, he hit .303 with a .374 slugging percentage and five stolen bases in seven attempts.
Place said: “Every time I see him, he hits. He’s just one of those guys. He picks up the ball, uses the field, hits the ball hard. He is a baseball player. I’ve seen him play several positions, but probably third base. We’ll leave him there, let him do his thing, swing the bat and keep doing what he’s doing.”
Age: 22.
Main characteristics: 6-1, 195.
Beats/Throws: Toggle/Right.
Sketched: Sixth round (general number 177).
Buzz: That’s five straight college players for the now-winning Tigers, with four of them being position players. (See?) But Serretti, a four-year starter in North Carolina, is the first forward the organization added in this year’s draft. He hit .365 this season with 17 doubles, 10 home runs, 32 walks, and 38 strikeouts in 64 games. This is the best result in my career. His .437 OBP was led by Tar Heels. The best moment in Serretti’s development in college was his strikeout rate, which dropped from 19.9% (48 strikeouts in 241 plate games) in 2021 to 12.6% (38 strikeouts in 302 plate games) in 2022. He’s started all his games this season at shortstop, but he’s no stranger to second base, which should come in handy.
Place said: “It’s always risky when you (come back to college) as a player, especially with injuries and things that can happen. It’s been crazy lately, like it was in baseball. This was hard. He decided to return. We saw him for the last time This year we saw him again. We liked what we saw and thought we had a good player.”
Age: 21.
Main characteristics: 5-9, 165.
Beats/Throws: Toggle/Right.
Sketched: Seventh round (general number 207).
Buzz: In an unsurprising move, the Tigers grabbed another college bat — and another hitter — in the seventh round. What makes this pick different is that Stevenson is by far the fastest player the Tigers have drafted. In 2022, he hit .339 while hitting 17 doubles, four home runs, 15 walks, and 41 strikeouts in 59 games, while also stealing 25 bases in 30 attempts. He mainly played for the Volunteers on the left flank, but his speed should have allowed him to deal with the center field. He also played some second base, so he’s a valuable utility player. With this pick, Tennessee set a program record for most players selected in a single draft. Before joining Tennessee in 2022, Stevenson spent two seasons at Temple Junior College in Texas.
Age: 21.
Main characteristics: 6-2, 185.
Beats/Throws: Left/left.
Sketched: Eighth round (general number 237).
Buzz: The Tigers selected the pitcher for the second time in the draft (and the first since the fourth round), but Miller became the organization’s first left-handed pitcher. Along with a 6–2 record, he posted a 5.58 ERA this season with 17 walks and 75 strikeouts in 61⅓ innings in 12 games (11 starts). Miller finished fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference with 11 strikeouts in nine innings. He allowed 10.4 hits per nine – a big minus – and 2.5 walks per nine. In 2022, he became the first Valparaiso pitcher to win six games since Dalton Lundin in 2016. Miller had a 2.66 ERA with eight walks and 22 strikeouts in 20⅓ innings this summer in the Coastal Plains League.
Age: 21.
Main characteristics: 6-0, 217.
Beats/Throws: That’s right.
Sketched: Ninth round (general number 267).
Buzz: Jenkins, the 2022 All-ACC Athlete of the Year, is a clean slugger, hitting .381 with 22 doubles, 17 home runs, 21 walks and 64 strikeouts in 60 games for Georgia Tech this season. He had .440 OBP and .679 for 1.119 OPS. Jenkins could be a left fielder – because of his strong hand – to get his bat in the lineup, but he’s the best defensive player at first base. Hitting Jenkins and something to watch out for when he gets to the pro ball is his strikeout rate, which was 21.8% (64 strikeouts in 293 plate matches) in 2022.
Place said: “He is somewhat similar to Gold. Every time we saw him, he hit. We’ve always seen him hit. He is a better athlete than some people think. … But he’s just a good striker and he has power.”
Age: 24.
Main characteristics: 6-2, 200.
Beats/Throws: That’s right.
Sketched: 10th round (general No. 297).
Buzz: Michael spent two years at Lamar University and one year at Northern Oklahoma Junior College, but in the 2022 season, the imposing right-hander ended up in Oklahoma, winning the Big 12 tournament and advancing to the final round of the College World Series. He posted a 2.89 ERA with 20 walks and 95 strikeouts in 71⅔ innings in 32 games (two starts). Michael served closer to the Sooners, and one day he could have acted as a high leverage pitcher or as a starting pitcher. The Tigers can bring him back to the starting lineup because of his four serves (fastball, slider, curve ball, and changeup) and smooth delivery.
Place said: “Really good stuff. I mean four innings and could start with extra passes across the board. He has a really good replacement, good breakball and live fastball. And he’s physical. He’s older than the guys we usually take, but his material speaks for itself. In the 10th round it was a really good serve. … With his innings, he could start. There will be some talk about how we want to handle this, how much he’s going to get out of the bullpen. I definitely think if he (the pitcher) he will move fast.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter. @EvanPetzold. Learn more about the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
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