The Tigers have been connected to yet another high schooler, this time a SS/2B/center fielder.
The MLB Draft is only days away and mock drafts are popping all over the place. On Sunday, July 13th, the Detroit Tigers will pick 24th overall and put mock draft season behind us. Until then, we’ll be covering the latest news to make a rough sketch of what to expect from Scott Harris and the rest of his draft room. Today’s subject is The Athletic’s latest mock draft , headed by Keith Law. The article is paywalled but linked here for anyone interested in more details.
With the 24th overall pick, Law projects the Tigers to take high school infielder Sean Gamble. The jokes write themselves, so I’ll spare you. Gamble is currently a second baseman for IMG Academy who played some center field, too, but there’s little consensus on where he ends up as a professional. Some scouts think he belongs at second base; others say he has the arm strength and range for shortstop, and a few believe he projects best as a centerfielder. Regardless, this is an up-the-middle asset. Offensively, Gamble is a well rounded lefty who has shown good bat control, strong swing decisions, and power to all fields as an amateur.
There are questions about his ability to hit velocity, and at 6’1”, 180 pounds, he could stand to fill out a bit more, but realistically, these are concerns about all but the most elite high schoolers. In his four years at IMG, Gamble has shown the ability to adjust, to improve his contact rate, and leverage strength gains into in-game power. This skillset has him as a strong commit to Vanderbilt, so any interested team will have to make it worth his while. He’ll merit plenty of consideration in the second half of the first round.
Interestingly, Law projects Steele Hall, a high school shortstop routinely ranked closer to the 10-15 range, to the Royals at 23rd overall. I mention this for two reasons. Firstly, Hall is a premium talent in the draft. His plus hit tool, plus speed, and fringe-average power create for an exciting offensive package as one of the only 17 year olds in the draft. Plus, he’s a likely shortstop, giving him irresponsibly exciting ceilings to players like Trea Turner. Hall being available near the Tigers’ pick is exciting in its own right. More importantly, though, it reinforces how chaotic picking 24th will be.
Someone will slip through the cracks as teams with small bonus pools reach for college players with less leverage early, or contenders grab high-octane college arms who can help them in 2025 or 2026. In recent years, the Tigers have opted to pounce on the prep players who fall later on day one of the draft, like Owen Hall or Paul Wilson. This year, though, they’ll have that opportunity starting in the first round. It’s too early to say who, but be prepared for Harris to capitalize if someone like Steele Hall starts slipping down the board.