2025 MLB Farm Review: Detroit Tigers

The Tigers’ top two picks from 2024 both played in Lakeland, albeit both had short stints on the field this season.

Bryce Rainer was a standout in high school, and players in the Florida State League saw why that was the case in 2025. Rainer hit five home runs and 10 extra-base hits across 35 games. He slashed .288/.383/.448 and also tallied nine stolen bases.

Rainer made consistent, hard contact in the FSL. He sported a Barrel% above 10%, one of the best in the circuit. The only thing that slowed him down was his health. Rainer was placed on the full-season IL in June.

As for Owen Hall, Detroit’s second-rounder, the 20-year-old walked nine over nine innings in a season where he spent most of it on the injured list. He struck out nine. Hall occasionally used a changeup and four-seamer, although the bulk of his work was done with a sinker that sat primarily 93-95 MPH, along with a mid-80s slider.

As for the rest of the team, Lakeland saw Lucas Elissalt, a 13th-round pick from 2024, succeed. Elissalt, picked out of juco powerhouse Chipola (FL), struck out a team-best 77 over 65 innings. He sported a Whiff% of 28.2%, above the league median.

A three-pitch pitcher (four-seam, slider, curve), Elissalt doesn’t throw too hard. His fastball capped out at 94-95 and mostly sat in the low-90s. However, he got a lot of in-zone whiffs.

Moving on to the rest of the team, R.J. Sales (63 K over 66.1 IP) pitched well enough to attract attention, enough for him to be a piece in the Kyle Finnegan trade last July.

Franyerber Montilla and Woody Hadeen, the latter of whom was a sixth-round pick out of UC Irvine in 2024, both stole 20+ bases and on-base percentages north of .360.

West Michigan Whitecaps

Perhaps no Minor League team heading into the year had more intrigue than the West Michigan Whitecaps. The Whitecaps started the year with three marquee prospects: Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark, and Josue Briceno. And by the end of July, all three forced their way to Double-A.

I’ll start with McGonigle, who simply outmatched High-A hitting. The former first-rounder slashed .372/.462/.648 (1.110 OPS) over 36 games. McGonigle hit seven home runs and 19 doubles. Seventeen of those extra-base hits came in June.

McGonigle did all that in very little time, notable as he missed six weeks in April & May in June. He was able to make up for lost playing time in the Arizona Fall League, where he also performed well.

Briceno showed power both in Low-A and the AFL in 2024. Like McGonigle, he too was impressive. Briceno sported a 24.2% Whiff%, above the league median in terms of contact. However, the power was the draw, as Briceno sported an OPS of 1.024 and 29 extra-base hits over 55 games.

It was such an impressive run that Briceno finished 2025 tied for sixth in home runs despite so few games played.

As for Max Clark, he walked more than he struck out (65:56) and accumulated 21 extra-base hits over 68 games. Clark posted an 18% Whiff%, one of the 15 best in the circuit.

West Michigan’s roster also featured two of the best contact hitters, as Woody Hadeen and Seth Stephenson had sub-20% Whiff%.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Izaac Pacheco (123 K, 32.9% Whiff%) and Bennett Lee had among the worst swing-and-miss rates in the Midwest League.

As for the pitching staff, the big standout was former UConn star Andrew Sears. Sears, who in 2024 flashed mid-90s velocity and four pitches with Lakeland, struck out 94 over 82 innings, along with a Whiff% above 30%.

Erie Seawolves

Before Troy Melton became a key player down the stretch in the regular season and playoffs for the Tigers, he started the year as an Erie Seawolves pitcher.

Melton cruised with the Seawolves, as he struck out 45 over 39 innings with the Seawolves and a Whiff% just above 32%. Among the roughly 180 pitchers who induced at least 250 swings, Melton ranked among the top-40 in the Whiff% category. Not to mention, opposing batters hit just one home run off Melton.

The right-hander was one of several interesting pitchers on the Seawolves. Intrepid knuckleballer Kenny Serwa posted a sub-4.00 ERA for Erie, while hulking right-handed sinkerballer RJ Petit averaged over a strikeout per inning and earned himself a Rule 5 Draft pick by the Rockies.

Former fifth-round pick Jaden Hamm was awfully good in West Michigan back in 2024. His 2025 in Erie wasn’t as strong, as Hamm walked 32 over 83 innings and ranked in the bottom-half of the Eastern League in Whiff% (26.4%).

As for the offense, Josue Briceno didn’t do too badly (25.1% Whiff%) in Double-A, although his .716 OPS was far lower than what he posted in West Michigan. Briceno still earned his walks, as he took 25 free passes over 45 games.

Max Clark (.799 OPS) also did fine, thanks to his ability to work walks. However, the two standouts were Max Anderson and Kevin McGonigle.

For those who read our weekly MiLB recaps, Anderson was a staple of those. Anderson (22.8% Whiff%) regularly made contact and was an extra-base machine. He had 41 extra-base hits over 90 games.

As for McGonigle, a sub-20% Whiff% and 12 home runs over 46 contests.

On the opposite side, it was a tough 2025 for Thayron Liranzo, who was acquired from Los Angeles (NL) for Jack Flaherty in 2024. Liranzo struck out 125 over 88 games and a 36.2% Whiff%, concerning for obvious reasons. However, he hit for power with 11 home runs and 27 extra-base hits.

Toledo Mud Hens

Hao-Yu Lee was a find for the Tigers in 2023 when Detroit traded Michael Lorenzen to the Phillies. At the time, Lee was a notable prospect. But since that trade, Lee, then an A-ball prospect, has put himself in the conversation to be a future asset at the MLB level.

Lee did what he had to in Toledo. He walked 65 times over 579 plate appearances, posted an above-league median 9.2% Barrel%, and belted 45 extra-base hits. Eight of those were triples for Lee, who also stole 22 bases.

The Mud Hens also saw Jace Jung perform, as the former first-rounder walked 78 times and recorded 45 extra-base hits over 110 games. The only place where he’s yet to hit is the Majors.

Gage Workman, a 2024 Rule 5 Draft pick by the Cubs, was returned to the Tigers. He hit for power but also had one of the worst Whiff% (39%) in the International League.

As for the pitching staff, Troy Melton was yet again the star. Melton struck out 56 batters over 36.1 IP with Toledo. When he was initially promoted, I noted that he induced a ton of swing-and-miss off the slider. He didn’t get as much at the MLB level but that pitch showed the same vertical depth and was nearly unhittable in Detroit.

Toledo also proved to be a reliever factory for the Maryland/D.C. teams. Dietrich Enns (Orioles) and PJ Poulin (Nationals) both logged time in the Majors last year. However, Poulin didn’t see any action with Detroit after he was selected in June. Enns did, albeit only in seven outings, before the Orioles scooped him up.

Early Projected Top 5 for 2026

1. Kevin McGonigle
2. Max Clark
3. Josue Briceno
4. Bryce Rainer
5. Cris Rodriguez

One player in this top five didn’t even play in full-season ball. Cris Rodriguez, the 17-year-old outfielder who signed for over $3MM nearly a year ago, posted a .904 OPS and hit 10 home runs in the DSL, a level where home run hitters are far and few.

The Tigers’ prospect pool is currently thin on high-end pitching talent. Troy Melton and Jackson Jobe graduated, and the onus will be on the likes of Jaden Hamm, Owen Hall, and 2025 second-rounder Malachi Witherspoon to be the next wave of pitchers.

But from a pure talent standpoint, there are possibly one or two organizations in the game right now with a comparable top four.