The Tigers second rounder in the 2024 draft will have plenty of eyes on his pro debut this season.
The Detroit Tigers ’ 2024 amateur draft may someday be known as the great arm talent draft, in contrast to Dave Dombrowski’s failed reliever draft over a decade ago. The Tigers drafted shortstop Bryce Rainer in the first round, then spent the next four picks on pitchers. They doubled back for a few position players with their sixth through eighth selections, and then went back to the well for four more straight pitching prospects drafted. Of this group, second round selection RHP Owen Hall is the most well regarded.
Hall pitched his high school ball for Edmond North HS in Oklahoma. He was becoming a popular name on the prep circuit after his junior year, and a strong senior season saw his draft stock creep into second and third round projections by the summer months. He was a featured starter in the MLB-USA Today All-American game during All-Star week, and that performance raised his performance even a little further. The Tigers were perhaps a little aggressive to take him where they did, but they were able to convince him to forego his commitment to Vanderbilt, whereas third round money might now have done the trick.
Even with college arms, the Tigers are pretty careful post-draft and rarely give their latest pitching additions much in-game work in their draft year. With prep pitchers you never see them debut after the draft, and the situation was no different with Hall. As a result it’s hard to do much more than regurgitate what we knew about him on draft day. At the same time, Hall will debut this spring, presumably at the Low-A level, with three-quarters of a year of pro work under his belt. The difference between where he was on draft day and where he is as he debuts could be really significant.
Hall stand six-foot-three with a more projectible frame than his slender appearance might indicate at first glance. He should fill out well and add velocity with pro strength and conditioning work. He has long limbs with an arm stroke to match but also a really quick load and release once his arm is up and in position to throw. The 18-year-old deals from a standard three-quarters slot, utilizing a pretty average leg kick, and has the potential for really good extension to the plate. However, he does have some excessive head movement to the first base side as he brings his arm into release that can occasionally get him off balance and produce some wildness. That move and his very wide wingspan will make some a bit nervous about his future command projections.
We’ve already seen Hall sit pretty comfortably 93-94 mph, and he’s been up to 98 mph in high school. He packs three average or better offerings already and throws a good amount of strikes. There are some minor delivery issues to clean up, but his fastball command in particular is pretty advanced and Hall comes after hitters with plenty of aggression.
Right now, Hall’s fastball movement is pretty inconsistent. At the top of the zone, he’s able to get above average induced vertical break and generate plenty of whiffs. When he’s in the upper band of his velocity range it’s an absolutely explosive fastball. For his experience level he’s quite adept at working both up and down in the strike zone and seems to tailor his release for best effect, getting more run when he isn’t targeting the top of the zone. He isn’t always consistent with his fastball release, but at his best Hall can spin it up to 2600 rpms, which is into elite territory. So there’s plenty of potential for a plus or better mid-to-high 90’s heater here as the Tigers decide how to refine his delivery and stuff.
Hall’s best secondary pitch is a low-80’s slider with good two-plane break. He can snap that off for swings and misses, particularly in getting right-handers down and away. Hall will throw the slider for strikes, but sometimes has more trouble burying it effectively without spiking them in the dirt. More consistency is required.
He backs those primary offerings with a mid-80’s fading changeup with pretty good depth. That pitch has plenty of potential as a good third offering. As he builds his body up and likely is throwing consistently in the mid-90’s, the velocity separation between fastball and changeup should improve. That’s a pitch he’ll need to develop quite a bit to become a high end starting pitching prospect as he advances through the minor leagues. He has a 12-6 curveball as well, but that pitch needs to become a little harder and tighter to develop into a real weapon in pro ball.
2025 Outlook
Hall was well regarded, but he wasn’t among the top names in the prep class last summer either. Many thought he’d require first round money to pass on his Vanderbilt commitment and wasn’t going to get it, but the Tigers were able to sign him for the full slot bonus with the 49th overall pick. They paid Hall $1.9 million to get his name on the contract.
There’s big-time potential here, but Hall’s lanky frame, very long arms, and somewhat high effort delivery suggest plenty of work lies ahead. Some of those elements also give him a lot of projection, and the Tigers may ultimately have a pitcher with an outstanding fastball and a good slider-changeup combination to back it with.
However, there’s still plenty of relief risk as well. Nothing unusual about that. He’s still just 18 years old. Hall needs to build himself up both to improve his stuff, but also to streamline his delivery and get his long limbs all in order consistently. He’s talented, and the Tigers got themselves quite a lot of pitcher here for a second round prep selection, but the potential isn’t staring you right in the face immediately the way it did in the case of Jackson Jobe.
Hall spots his fastball pretty well already, so that’s a pretty good starting point. If he can refine his slider and changeup as he adds velocity, he’ll be in very good shape in the stuff department. The raw material here is excellent. It’s all about building up to a major league workload and refining his command, and those are hard to predict, especially when he hasn’t been on the mound against pro hitters yet. For all we know Hall looks radically improved from his high school days already. More likely they’ve made progress but some of his issues on draft day remain a challenge for him. We’re very excited to see him take the mound this spring and get his career underway.