Oliveto was ranked 59th by FanGraphs, 101st overall by Perfect Game, and 219th by Pipeline.
With the 34th pick in the 2025 MLB Draft , the Detroit Tigers have selected catcher Michael Oliveto from Hauppauge High School in New York.
Let’s address the elephant in the room right off the bat; Detroit went way off the board for this pick. After taking shortstop Jordan Yost in the first round of this draft, a player ranked substantially lower than the 24th pick, some expected the team to make an expensive, highly ranked selection with this pick to spend the leftover money.
Instead, they made an even deeper cut. Oliveto was ranked 59th by FanGraphs, 101st overall by Perfect Game, and 219th by Pipeline.
What makes Oliveto stand out, and presumably one reason why the Tigers were willing to invest so heavily in him, is the monster amount of rotational acceleration he generates on his swing.
We’ve addressed rotational acceleration (or RA) once before here at Bless You Boys, a little over a year ago prior to last year’s draft. Here’s a quick recap: RA speaks to how quickly a player reaches max bat speed, and thereby can be used as a shorthand for how effectively they can tap into whatever raw power they may have.
A higher RA also allows the hitter to let the ball get deeper into the zone and still put an effective swing on the pitch, which reduces the effectiveness of tightly tunneled arsenals from opposing pitchers. For a much more nuanced explanation, check out what one Blast employee had to say here.
Here’s the juicy bit — the average MLB player’s swing has an RA of 17.2 G’s. In a workout with Prep Baseball Report, Oliveto maxed out at 27.4 G’s. You could choose to look at it as nothing more than a positive indicator of potential future performance, and therefore, not all that impactful, and I couldn’t really argue with you. Nevertheless, that’s some pretty impressive stuff from a teenager.
With a swing designed for loft and a skinny, 6-foot-2, 188-pound frame, his body has to catch up to his ambitious mentality at the plate. However, the biggest question here is his defense, which is less promising in nearly every respect than his offense. A backstop with average at best receiving and footwork and an underpowered and inaccurate arm, the road to playing time leans heavily on his bat.
This is, to put it bluntly, a slow-burning pick that confuses the heck outta me because the ultimate upside is as a bat-first backup without much of a track record against velocity on a premium showcase circuit.
The most optimistic report on Oliveto, the one from FanGraphs, assesses his skills this way: “Has one of the best-looking swings in the draft and rare potential offensive output for a catcher. Athletic lower half, hands follow hips through contact, and which hand does the driving depends on pitch location (which is a rare skill). Oliveo can flatten his path to cover the top of the zone or dip into his lower body to scoop lower ones.”
Undoubtedly, the monetary factor played a part in this pick. Detroit came into this draft with less cash than in recent years and will be trying to maximize the quality of their spending throughout the whole draft event. Oliveto, a Yale commit, will presumably be an inexpensive signee, freeing up some cash for the Tigers to splash around later on as talent slips through the cracks.
The Tigers’ next pick comes in at 62nd overall.