Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Tigers Draft College Arms Amid Bullpen Troubles

Originally posted on Inside The Diamonds
By Gage O'Leary | Last updated Jul 15, 2024 7:14 PM ET

The MLB Draft started this past weekend, and the Detroit Tigers added a plethora of High School players. With their first three selections (picks 11, 49, and 72), they chose high school prospects Bryce Rainer, Owen Hall, and Ethan Schiefelbein. They finally added a college prospect to their farm system with the 85th pick. They used that selection to draft RHP Josh Randall out of the University of San Diego. They doubled down on college arms with the 114th pick by selecting Michael Massey from Wake Forest.

One of, or possibly even both of those two pitching prospects, could help aid the issues Detroit has had with their bullpen this season in the somewhat near future.

Josh Randall College Career

With the 85th pick in the 2024 #MLBDraft, the Detroit Tigers select RHP Josh Randall pic.twitter.com/xPEtdIQhFE
— Detroit Tigers Player Development (@RoadtoDetroit) July 15, 2024

Randall, who will turn 22 in October, started his college career with the Arizona Wildcats, the rival program to Arizona State, which was where Tigers prospects Spencer Torkelson and Gage Workman played at the collegiate level. Randall pitched two seasons out of the bullpen for Arizona before joining the University of San Diego. Prior to switching schools in 2024, Randall also pitched for the Orange County Riptide of the California Collegiate League in 2023.

Randall pitched 72.1 innings and appeared in 14 games this season for the University of San Diego. He has a 4-2 record, 3.73 ERA, and 1.127 WHIP. He struck out 84 batters and has walked 27.

Michael Massey College Career

With the 114th pick in the 2024 #MLBDraft, the Detroit Tigers select RHP Michael Massey. pic.twitter.com/qkOgerT3D9
— Detroit Tigers Player Development (@RoadtoDetroit) July 15, 2024

Massey and Randall have some similarities. The 21-year-old right-hander started his career at Tulane as a relief pitcher. He transferred to Wake Forest in 2023, where he was one of the best relief pitchers in college baseball. As a sophomore Massey had an astonishing 16.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 27 relief appearances. He finished that season with 76 strikeouts and only 16 walks. He had a 2.59 ERA and 0.936 WHIP in 2023 as well.

Massey’s stock dropped this season when the Deamon Deacons moved him to the starting rotation. He wasn’t quite as good in that role and dealt with nagging injuries throughout the season. Massey will likely pitch out of the bullpen in his professional career, and Tigers fans should be excited about that with some of the inconsistencies out of the pen this season.

Massey’s ability to rack up strikeouts could make him a go-to option out of the bullpen for the Tigers if his development goes smoothly. Massey’s ceiling is still high despite this season not going how he planned, and if he stays healthy, he could be the steal of the draft for Detroit.