FanPost

2 hitters the Tigers could draft with the 9th pick

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Last season was bad. Really, really bad. In fact, because of injuries and the dumpster fire known only superficially as "relief" pitching, the Tigers had the ninth-worst record in baseball. The silver lining, though, is the ninth overall draft pick.

I love prospects, probably to a fault, so from the moment the season ended I've been biding my time looking at the lists of players eligible to draft. With the ninth overall draft pick, the Tigers are in a very good position to snag some very good talent. To give you an idea of the type of talent I'm talking about, I'll give you two examples.

Taken ninth overall in the 2009 draft was Mike Leake, whose 2015 season earned him a massive contract with the Cardinals.

Taken ninth overall in the 2011 draft was Javier Baez, a monster shortstop and second baseman who looks like he may eventually become a superstar.

Another bonus is that the pick is protected! The Tigers cannot trade, gift, lose, murder, or be robbed of their pick in any way! Sure, they could take some lefty who throws 86 mph out of Utah with bone chips and a missing ligament in his elbow, but at least they get something for it.

The way the Qualifying-Offer-Draft-Pick-Losing Rule is set up, if Mr. Avila signs a free agent who has been extended a qualifying offer, say, Yovani Gallardo, he loses his second round pick. If he signs another free agent who was given a qualifying offer, say, Dexter Fowler, he will lose his third round pick. However, this pick-protection only applies to teams with top ten picks. If a team with a pick lower on the list than ten, say, the Cubs or the Pirates, they lose their first round pick for the first free agent given a qualifying offer, then the second round pick for the second free agent given a qualifying offer, their third round pick for the third free agent, and so on.

I've been doing some digging in a few 2016 mock drafts, and I've found two guys I would absolutely love to see the Tigers show some real interest in, and possibly nab with our high pick. In my first Draft Targets post, I talked about two pitchers- Alec Hansen and Jason Groome. For this one, I'll take a look at two other players, but this time a shortstop and an outfielder.

Delvin Perez - shortstop

Listed at 6'3" and 165 lbs, Perez is a beanpole of a shortstop from Puerto Rico. His only question mark is his bat. "His defense is obviously there," one scout said after watching Perez along with more than 50 scouts from all 30 teams at the Pedro Montañez Municipal Stadium in Cayey. "It'll take time to see how much he hits. It's the hardest thing to project, because it's the hardest thing to do. But he's where he needs to be with his speed and defense."

Because of Perez's nationality and his position, it's tempting to compare him with the Astros Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa, who made history back in 2011 as the first player from the island to be selected number one overall in the MLB Draft. Such a comparison might be misguided, however, as Perez hits for little power and is arguably a better defender.

A fast player, Perez is no liability on the basepaths. The Perfect Game showcase was a performance which saw Perez run the 60 yard sprint in 6.53 seconds and reach a bat speed of 89.118 mph.

While everyone agrees that Perez's glove is top-noch, the bat is the tool in question. Fueled by Sports said this about it:

Perez has great bat speed and shows contact ability with big power potential. He does wrap the bat, but this is something that can be adjusted with coaching and experience. He’s extremely close to being a five-tool player and could potentially make a run at the number one pick.

While FBS might claim "big power potential", the "potential" part ought to be stressed and the "big" part downplayed. He might have potential, but at the moment his power is more comparable to that of Jose Iglesias. His good contact ability makes up for it, and while he still has a chance to be a Lindor or Correa-esque player (he still has plenty of room to fill out), at the moment, it is MIA.

Overview- Plus to plus-plus defender, speedy, decent contact, low power

MLB Comparison- Jose Iglesias, Jean Segura, Dee Gordon

William Benson - outfield, first base

benson_hi_speed.0.gif

A strong lefty out of high school, Benson is registered at 6'6" and 220 lbs. He played mostly center field in high school, but has the arm strength required to play all three outfield positions. He also has dabbled at first base, and has the agility to play the bag, but personally, I like him better in right field.

I tried about fifteen times to write a summary of Benson's batting profile, but I couldn't come up with anything better than this, which I found on The Prospect Pipeline:

  • Hands low at the plate, feet slightly wider than shoulder length.
  • Slight leg kick.Gets bat through the zone with excellent bat speed.
  • Pull side approach, ambushes balls on the inner half, not as fluid on the outer half and on offspeed where he feels for the ball a bit.
  • Approach will need to be refined on outer half.

He has both the power and the speed to consistently hit for extra bases, and he showed off that ability during the Tournament of Stars (defined as "an early week-long event run by USA Baseball, bringing more than 100 of the top high school players in the country together to help form the eventual 18-and-under national team that will compete internationally in Japan in late August." by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo) by hitting a double and two triples in four games.

Benson has sufficient speed and shows enough ability with the leather to play center field, plus a far above average arm for the position, but if the organization that drafts him decides not to develop him as a center fielder, he could easily slide over to right field (which is where I would put him) and possibly left field. He also has spent time covering first base, but it is not his strongest spot.

He displays good leadership abilities, and while the Tigers usually like that in catchers, you can never have too many hard workers with a good attitude.

This is the best video of him out there.

Overview- Good defender, plus arm, lots of power, decent runner

MLB Comparison- Justin Upton, Jose Bautista, Jason Heyward

*MLB Comparison is best case scenario. These players may not end up being as good as these comparisons, but it is what they could become.


This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.