MLB Draft 2018 Tigers recap: Where are they now?

It has been a full month since the Major League Baseball draft. Naturally, fans want to know where each player is within the system, and when they are going to be called up to the Tigers. Several players have already made a bit of an impression, and by and large they’ve all received their first assignment and begun the process of assimilating into pro ball. We can’t say when you’ll see one of this bunch in Detroit—think half decades—but at least we can tell you where they are at the moment:

Round 1: Casey Mize, RHP Auburn. Unassigned. The top overall pick just signed on June 25th, and thus, hasn’t even finished counting his $7.5 million signing bonus yet. The Tigers have announced that he will pitch in 2018 somewhere in the organization. Lakeland seems to make the most sense, where they can keep a nice, close eye on him.

Round 2: Parker Meadows, OF Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) HS. GCL Tigers West. Meadows saw his first professional game action on June 28th and mashed his first homer on July 2nd.

Round 3, Kody Clemens, 2B Texas. West Michigan. The fans in Grand Rapids were ecstatic when Clemens was assigned to the Whitecaps. He notched his first professional hit on July 2nd and added a spectacular diving catch, wearing his dad’s number 21 jersey. On July 4th, he brought some thunder of his own with a pair of home runs in consecutive innings.

Round 4, Kingston Liniak, OF Mission Hills (Calif.) HS. GCL Tigers East. The 18-year old is eight for his first 33 (.242) as a pro.

Round 5, Adam Wolf, LHP Louisville. Connecticut. After a couple appearances in the GCL, Wolf made his NY-Penn League debut on July 2, where he allowed two earned runs on two hits, striking out three in a three-inning outing.

Round 6, Hugh Smith, RHP Whitworth University (Wash.). GCL Tigers West. The 6’10” Smith has not yet appeared in any game action.

Round 7, Eric De La Rosa, OF Grassmont College (Calif.). West Michigan. De La Rosa was impressive in a few games down in the GCL and was then sent up to the Whitecaps, where he’s had a rough start, just three for his first 29 up there (.103). He has swiped four bags in nine games though.

Round 8, Jeremiah Burks, SS Fresno State. GCL Tigers West. The 21-year old Burks is off to a solid 9 for 27 (.333) start, and is flashing some extra-base power.

Round 9, Tarik Skubal, LHP Seattle University. Connecticut. Like Wolf, Skubal made a couple appearances in the GCL and also debuted with Connecticut on July 2nd. He allowed one earned run on three hits, striking out four in his first outing.

Round 10, Brock Deatherage, OF North Carolina State. West Michigan. Brock has been all the rage since exploding for three homers in his professional debut in the Gulf Coast League. He was quickly bumped up to the Whitecaps, where he’s hitting .290 with a homer and five stolen bases thru nine games.

Round 11, Kacey Murphy, LHP University of Arkansas. Unassigned. Murphy’s Razorbacks played all the way into the College World Series finals, where they were defeated by Oregon State. As such, he was just signed on July 2nd, and has not yet been assigned.

Round 12, Reece Hampton, CF, UNC Charlotte. GCL Tigers West. The swtich-hitting Hampton has been abusing GCL pitching, going 13 for his first 28 (.464).

Round 13, Christopher Proctor, C, Duke. West Michigan. Proctor is backing up Joey Morgan and, after just eight at bats, is still looking for his first Midwest League hit,

Round 14, Luke Sherley, SS, Texas State. Connecticut. The 22-year old Sherley has hit safely in each of his first four games for Connecticut.

Round 15, Nick Ames, 1B, University of Nevada (Las Vegas). GCL Tigers West. Ames has hit safely in seven out of eight GCL games and has five runs batted in.

Round 16, Dayton Dugas, CF, Wichita State. Connecticut. Dugas has four multi-hit efforts in nine pro games.

Round 17, Avery Tuck, OF, New Mexico Junior College. GCL Tigers West. Tuck is off to a slow start with the bat, just 3 for 23 (.130) through seven games. He has drawn seven walks though, which is always a nice indicator at the rookie ball level.

Round 18, Ethan DeCaster, RHP, Duke. Connecticut. DeCaster, who was second all-time in Creighton baseball history in earned run average before transferring to Duke to pursue a graduate degree, will likely be an anchor in the Connecticut bullpen.

Round 19, Angel Reyes, RHP, U Science and Arts Oklahoma. GCL Tigers West. His first appearance was a disaster, with six runs allowed (three earned) in just two-thirds of an inning. Reyes has since followed that up with two clean outings.

Round 20, Kelvin Smith, 3B, Redan High School (Georgia). GCL Tigers East. Kudos to the Tigers for finding this potential gem late in the draft. The 18-year old former University of Missouri commit is ten for his first 36 (.278) with a home run and six swipes.

Round 21, John Valente, 3B St. Johns. GCL Tigers West. They aren’t falling for the 23-year old Valente yet, just five for his first 25 (.200). He has only struck out one time though, so he’s putting the ball in play.

Round 22, Mark Conger, P, Vanderbilt. GCL Tigers West. Conger has just two relief appearances so far in 2018.

Round 23, Jordan Verdon, 3B, San Diego State. GCL Tigers West. Verdon has been on fire early, 12 for his first 30 (.400) with six extra-base hits and 12 runs batted in just eight games.

Round 24, Zach Malis, 3B, Grand Canyon University. Malis had three hits in his pro debut back on June 19th, but is 0 for 14 since.

Round 25, Chance Kirby, P, University of Texas-San Antonio. GCL Tigers West. The 22-year old right-hander has been sharp in his first two appearances, yielding just one earned run in eight innings of work, with twelve strikeouts and two walks.

Round 26, Garrett Hill, RHP, San Diego State University. GCL Tigers West. After a seven strikeout debut start, Hill was victimized for three unearned runs in his follow-up relief effort.

Round 27, Stevie Ledesma, RHP, UC Santa Barbara. GCL Tigers East. Ledesma has appeared in two games for the GCL Tigers, walking three and striking out three in 4-1/3 innings.

Round 28, Daniel Reyes, LF, Miami. GCL Tigers East. Eight of Reyes’s twelve hits have gone for extra bases, and he has driven in eight runs in nine games.

Round 29, Jeb Bargfeldt, LHP, Miami. GCL Tigers East. The 22-year old southpaw was touched for homer in his debut, but has since registered three clean outings.

Round 30, Jared Tobey, LHP, Wayne State. GCL Tigers East. The St. Clair Michigan native has allowed just one earned run in 14 innings over his first three professional starts.

Round 31, No. 915: Jayce Vancena, P, Michigan. GCL Tigers East. A former Wolverine, Vancena has allowed two earned runs in ten innings over three appearances.

Round 32, Clark Brinkman, CF, Wayne State. GCL Tigers East. The third consecutive draftee with ties to the state of Michigan, Brinkman has been an on-base and run-producing machine so far. Through eleven games, he boasts a .471 on-base percentage, driven by ten walks, along with five extra-base hits and eight runs batted in.

Round 33, Justin Childers, 1B, Ohio Dominican. GCL Tigers East. Like Brinkman, Childers has also been taking advantage of free passes. Through eight games, he’s hitting .300 with seven walks, good for a .421 on-base percentage and seven runs driven in.

Round 34, Vinny Esposito, LF, Cal State Sacramento. GCL Tigers West. Despite smacking a pair of doubles in his pro debut on June 19th, Esposito has fanned ten times in his first 26 plate appearances.

Round 35, Chavez Fernander, RHP, Polk State College. GCL Tigers East. The 20-year old Bahamian product has been nearly perfect in three starts (nine innings of work), no runs, three hits, nine strikeouts, and three walks.

Round 36, Yasin Chentouf, RHP, Pitt. Connecticut. After a 3-2/3 inning, seven-strikeout debut in the GCL, Chentouf was bumped up to the New York-Penn League.

Round 37, Matthew Jarecki, LF, Benedictine. GCL Tigers East. Jarecki is 10 for 37 (.270) with three doubles and two triples in his first eleven games.

Round 38, Cole Henry, RHP, Florence High School (Alabama). Did not sign. Henry was a top 250 overall talent entering the draft, and will play baseball at LSU. The (Detroit) Tigers will be keeping a close eye on him in years to come.

Round 39, Cory Acton, 2B, American Heritage School (Florida). Did not sign. As with Henry, Acton was a top prep player, projected to go somewhere between the fourth and sixth rounds on talent alone. Instead, he has opted to go to Florida where he has potential to become a Day One pick down the road.

Round 40, Kevynn Arias, C, Montreat College. GCL Tigers East. A 21-year old Dominican Native, Arias has seen limited action so far in the GCL, with one single in twelve at-bats.