They aren’t quite as optimistic on the Tigers’ farm as Baseball Prospectus, but the club still rates very highly.
Prospect list season continued on Wednesday as Baseball America weighed in with their top 100 ranking of the top young players in baseball. They aren’t quite as high on the Detroit Tigers ’ farm system as Baseball Prospectus, leaving both Josue Briceño and Jace Jung off their list. However, the Tigers still grade out better than all but a few other teams in terms of number and quality of top prospects.
Leading the way as usual, is right-handed pitcher Jackson Jobe. Like Prospectus, Baseball America has Jobe as one of the five top prospects in baseball, ranking him third overall. Young Japanese star Roki Sasaki actually draws the top spot on their list now that he’s signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers , so Jobe is now the second ranked pitching prospect in baseball. Baseball America adds a note that Jobe averaged 96.5 mph in 2024.
They aren’t quite as high on Kevin McGonigle as Baseball Prospectus, nor our own rankings. While B-Pro has McGonigle sixth overall, presumably seventh with Sasaki now added into the mix, Baseball America ranks him 23rd. Still they give him a 60 future value grade, as does Prospectus, and their blurb raves about his bat while acknowledging that McGonigle may yet have to move to second base at some point. We shall see.
One spot above McGonigle is Tigers’ center field prospect Max Clark, as the 22nd overall prospect. He and McGonigle draw the same 60 FV grade, so it’s really splitting hairs here, but perhaps they slightly favor Clark’s upside considering his potential to become one of the better defensive center fielders in the game.
2024 first rounder Bryce Rainer is ranked 60th in the game. The young shortstop also draws a 60 grade, but considering he hasn’t had a single pro at-bat yet, there’s even more risk present.
Finally, catcher Thayron Liranzo checks in at number 69 on their list. He gets a 55 grade, with respect for his combination of developing hit tool and good raw power. They have a 60 grade on the 21-year-old’s arm, but a 45 fielding grade overall, still representing some concerns about the other elements of Liranzo’s game. That’s fair, as he does have work ahead of him, but as we’ve covered, the young catcher’s tools are actually grading out pretty well at this point. I’d argue a 50 grade is more reasonable, but fair enough. Baseball America does have him in the “10 players primed to rise in 2025” companion article.
Baseball America has a companion article on 15 players who just missed the list, but neither Briceño nor Jung show up there either.
Overall, the Tigers check in behind the Mariners, who have seven players ranked, as well as the Rays and Dodgers, who both have six. The Cubs, White Sox, and Guardians join the Tigers as the teams with five players on the list.
If you’re interested in hearing more about the whole top 100 list, Geoff Pontes, Carlos Collazo, and J.J. Cooper have a two part podcast on their list with a lot of good notes on players. If you’re interested in hearing their thought process and learning more about how they evaluate players, and who their most excited about, you can find that below.