The 2023 4th rounder missed all of 2024 with a shoulder injury.
The Detroit Tigers first draft under Scott Harris was notable for the switch in emphasis from college players to collecting as much high school talent as possible. That philosophy has carried through, but the one prep position player from the 2023 draft who hasn’t had much written about them is third baseman Carson Rucker. A shoulder injury early last season put him on the shelf the rest of the way after just four Complex League games. In 2025, he’ll look to get back on track after missing so much time.
Rucker was the Tigers fourth round selection in the 2023 draft. He was a rare high round prep player from the north who wasn’t a real star on the prep circuit. The Wisconsin product played at Goodpasture Christian School in Madison. The Tigers were apparently on him pretty quickly, and a strong senior season convinced them he was worth a shot. They went $145,000 over slot to land Rucker with a $722,500 bonus, and he passed on his commitment to Tennessee and signed to begin his pro career.
The then teenaged third baseman, who played a lot of shortstop in high school, got off to a nice start post-draft in the Complex League. He only got nine games before the season ended, but he walked a lot and posted a .390 OBP with a home run and four stolen bases. He returned to the Complex League the next spring in May of 2024, but four games into the season he dislocated his left shoulder on a diving play, tearing the labrum in the process. He required surgery and missed the rest of the year.
There isn’t much to take away from his 13 games of Complex League ball. Rucker showed good power for his age on a few swings as expected. He also displayed solid plate discipline, providing a little confirmation of the Tigers’ confidence in him. Still, that wasn’t anything that wouldn’t be found in his scouting report on draft day.
The six-foot-two, 195 pound third baseman comes from a solid baseball background. His older brother Jacob was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2021.
The younger Rucker was given average future power production grades with potentially plus raw power as he filled out. He was a quality shortstop in high school, but the assumption was that as he filled out he’d profile best at third base. The Tigers may agree with that assessment but he did play mainly at shortstop in his brief Complex League run.
He showed signs of hitting from gap to gap with power and plenty of ability to take pitches away to the opposite field. Rucker also showed above average speed, though again that may diminish as he fills out. There are of course, many questions about his ability to hit advanced pitching, but that’s just par for the course for a first year prep prospect who hasn’t gotten much exposure to pro pitching to date.
Beyond the visual acuity and developing hitting intelligence required to advance effectively into the upper minors, Rucker has some strength and coordination gains to make. His fairly long-limbed frame was always going to need time to build up to hit upper level pitching. However, rehabbing the labrum tear at his age should already have him stronger than he was prior to the injury.
2025 Outlook
It’s hard to say too much more about Rucker at this point. The injury means we have nothing new to go on. He showed good raw power for his age in his brief time in the Complex League. He also displayed the defensive chops, athleticism, and arm strength to expect him to play a good third base, and just maybe hang at shortstop a little while longer to see if he can make that work.
Now 20 years old, Rucker has some ground to make up. Presumably he’ll start in the Complex League briefly again to get settled into game action, but he needs to move to Low-A Lakeland pretty quickly and show he can hang at that level. If he’s been able to develop his batspeed in the interim, he should do just fine there. Rucker already showed a good eye for the strike zone. The trick is pitch recognition against better stuff, and he probably won’t really be tested too much in that regard until 2026.
For now, the mission is to knock the rust off and start getting real experience in pro ball. We’ll get a look at him in the Spring Breakout game between Tigers and Braves prospects on March 15. Hopefully, Rucker will have some success this year and get into position to tackle High-A ball in 2026. As a prep draft pick, there isn’t such a rush to advance as would be the case for a college pick who missed a year, but a rough re-acclimation to playing regularly would be a poor sign. If he gets back on track and making good progress by season’s end, he can still make up for lost time.