FanPost

Tigers' 2018 draft and beyond: It's really not that bleak, everyone.

Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

This is an odd draft year... There is no generational talent or obvious #1 overall guy to grab. No Bryce Harper, no Gerrit Cole, no Correa just sitting there waiting to sport the (now unnecessarily larger for some reason) Old English D on their hat on draft day. It kind of figures with the Tigers getting their first 1st overall pick since '97, there wouldn't be an obvious #1 choice... Just our luck. So what should the Tigers do? I think there are 4 options here and I like them all.

First, we draft Casey Mize out of Auburn. He profiles well enough to be a solid upper rotation pitcher and he's been tearing it up as of late. He might be setting himself apart from the herd a little bit with his slash line at Auburn this year. He doesn't walk a lot of batters and is hanging something like 13 Ks/9 rate so far this year. Great splitter, I want to see it live at Comerica...

Second, we draft Brady Singer from Florida. Let's get the band back together for the 2017 Florida Gators team with him and Faedo... I guess 2 guys don't really make up a whole band, so this is more of an ad hoc Simon & Garfunkel type duet in the middle of our rotation. Those guys can harmonize with anything and I'm sure Singer and Faedo will be a nice combo to be a bridge over troubled water. That analogy just jumped the shark, apologies... Anyway, Singer is legit and I think he slots in just behind Mize as a good option.

Third, we draft Jarred Kelenic out of High School... This is now becoming one of my favorite options for us. We have plenty of young arms with Perez, Manning, Faedo, and Burrows. I like the idea of getting our farm system built out with position players a little more now to balance us out. Rumor is he puts the barrel on the ball with ease and has some real potential to be a 5 tool guy who stays up the middle as he ages. This kid is only 18 and has tools that will only get stronger as he tacks on muscle to go with his barreling up ability. What's not to like?

Fourth, we draft Nolan Gorman, also out of HS... Typing this much about high schoolers is making me feel old and also probably getting me red flagged on a database somewhere for "men who own windowless vans". Full disclosure, my car has windows. This kid is a slugger, tried and true power tool but they say he has holes in his swing and might not stay at third base long enough to cement him in the hot corner. The defensive side of things is not a huge deal breaker in my eyes. The way Candelario has been playing lately, he seems like a solid long term option at third. Let's pick this kid up and get him behind Miggy at 1B. Let Miggy mold this kid into a tried and true hitter with big power while he slips into the twilight of his career.

It's rarely a bad thing to have the first overall pick, now we just need to see what we truly need as a team and hope that Avila and his brain-trust don't shit the bed on draft day.

In my head, we tear it down to the studs this year... Let's flip this team even more by trading Fulmer and Castellanos for even more prospects. We could get an absolute haul for Fulmer, likely bump us into the top 5 farm systems conversation with the positional talent we could get overnight. I'm talking a top 10 overall prospect and probably 2 more top 50-75 guys in the mix as well. Someone is going to be making a push for him by the deadline and I want our farm systems to me mentioned in the same breath as the Braves, Yankees, Padres after this year with a good first overall draft pick and good trades. Castellanos is also someone we could get a good return for. If you're going to burn it down, burn it down all the way...

I like the pieces we have already to build around, now lets build around them guys... Candelario is already solid at the MLB level; Isaac Paredes is doing well for one of the youngest guys in High-A ball, I feel like he's a severely under-rated talent in our system. We have the potential of having our 2-4 rotation pieces established within the next 3 years with Perez, Faedo, and Manning. Then we also have Burrows who is steadily climbing the charts. We get these guys humming, bring in even more prospects with high ceilings on some smart trades, and then draft accordingly over the next 2 years, get good guys above slot value and spend big where it makes sense, we might not even need to suck for 2-3 years to turn it around as we shed payroll. I'm telling you guys... It's not that bleak.

GabieBaby

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